Recent Earthquakes in Nicaragua. — Crawford. s l 
phere to be followed by earthquakes but always have been agree- 
ably disappointed in this and in other countries when studying 
earthquake phenomena. It is full time, I believe, to expunge 
such nnsustained statements from our climatic and seismological 
literature. Since the commencement of the earthquakes, domestic 
animals such as cows, horses; etc., were noticed to graze all day 
near the houses and not go out as usual, far into the postraros for 
grass'; also wild animals, as the deer I Cervus nicaraguensis), came 
out from their usual places, the ravines and woods on the sides 
.and near the top of the extinct volcanic mass Mombaeho, and were 
found in numbers herding with and hiding near the cows, near the 
houses or residences on the haciendas. 
The motion felt during the first six days as described by nearly 
all persons, was. at first, jarring, as if the earth on which they 
stood had suddenly dropped down and come in contact with a 
solid portion : then the motion during the remainder of the shock" 
was undulating as if the earth beneath them was sliding from 
place to place against other parts of the earth in an effort to be- 
come permanently adjusted: The sound which preceded and accom- 
panied ihe first motion during the first few days, was a grating, 
grinding noise, rumbling like the sound of heavily loaded cart 
wheels over cobble paved streets. After the 5tb or 7th instant, 
the sounds, motions (and causes ) of the waves were very differ 
ent from those above described; the motion was that of true 
horizontally inclined progressive waxes, and the sound was rough, 
gurgling, bubbling, as if of water at 212 Fah., or greater tem- 
perature. The first waves were elicited by the sudden shrinkage 
of the geological formations, and often repeated efforts to attain 
equilibrium between the friction and gravity at some point where 
tin- loss of heat had been much more rapid toward the interior 
than at the surface: and the frequent recurrence of the shocks 
for several days until the 7th instant, was. 1 am persuaded, from 
considering all the phenomena, mechanical energy, causing change 
of position and form, and readjusting ami compacting of the 
volcanic materials. There are many reasons to believe that the 
formations, from surface tofocus, and even deeper in that locality, 
are composed of loosely compacted materials with mam cavern 
ous places, rendering contraction and sudden shrinkage probable 
occurrences. The mechanical energy also. I believe, occasioned :. 
