394 The American Geologist. June, 1902. 
dulations of the earth’s surface in the cities of Leon and Chinondega 
caused the church bells to toll, i. e., caused the bells which are 
fixed within the towers of the churches to be sounded by the clapper 
which is freely suspended in each bell, as the church and the tower 
oscillated to and fro—another evidence that my estimate, v. of the 
Rossi-Ferol scale, was about correct. 
During this class, and stronger earthquakes it is ficult to learn 
from the people the material facts, other than injuries to persons and 
property. They try to and do tell the truth as they remember the 
impressions received at the time, phenomena of light and sound; but 
the atmosphere: is so disturbed, entangled as it were by the numerous 
rapid inflections and refractions of the waves of light, sound and 
force in almost every direction, that no one is correctly impressed 
by what they feel or see or hear during the few moments—excepting 
that everything is in confusion. 
I remember the confused condition of the atmosphere during a 
severe earthquake that occurred while, with four mozos, or peons 
I was more than 200 feet below the surface of the earth in the crater 
of an extinct volcano. We ‘had been an hour getting down to the 
lake in the crater. It occupied almost two-thirds of the crater, was 
crescent-shaped, with convex surface westward, the water line on 
the eastern margin-of the lake being a chord extended north and 
south. The walls of the crater bounding the convex side of the lake 
were nearly perpendicular and 300 feet high in some places. The 
mozos were in the shade of a tall but low-branching tree. My four 
companions were bathing in the lake. I was seated on a knoll coy- 
ered with grass, writing my notes, having my feet near the margin 
of the lake, and about two feet above the water, when clouds hid the 
sun, the atmosphere became oppressively “heavy,” and warm, and 
the early movements of a severe earthquake were felt. These ap- 
pearances became stronger and stronger and lasted, in all, about 
26 seconds. The mozos hurriedly climbed the tree.» The bathers, 
in their haste to get to the shore, made slow progress, stumbling into 
the water every few steps; I arose to my feet and saw, apparently, 
that the little stream of water that I had admired flowing over 
mosses and ferns down from the walls into the lake, was a cloud of 
spray or heavy visible mist, nearly over me, and the lake of water 
and its western wall of rock were rising to entomb me; and as thle 
moving cloud uncovered the face of the sun I saw, apparently, the 
brilliancy of the sun-light, dazzling in September, from the 
surface far above me, as if the brilliancy of a farewell to 
time and things; soon recovering myself the scene and the 
sounds were mysterious, varying, deceptive, but splendid. The 
reflections and refractions of the undulations of force, light and 
sound from the waterfalls and the atmosphere charged with much 
dust, in almost every direction, were too rapid for the senses to fol- 
low, and were very confusing. When we got to the surface of the 
