EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES. 391 
In February, 1798, San Salvador was badly shaken 
and after a rather long rest, broken by “ no great shakes,” 
two very destructive earthquakes were felt in March and 
October, 1839. On Sept. 2, 1841, Cartago, in Costa Rica, 
was destroyed ; in June, 1847, the Balsam Coast was 
greatly ruined ; on May 16,1852, the disturbances occurred 
northward, in the vicinity of Quezaltenango; on April 16, 
1854, San Salvador was destroyed, — not, however, for 
the last time. On Nov. 6, 1857, Cojutepeque was badly 
shaken, and the same misfortune came upon La Union 
Aug. 25, 1859. The following December houses were 
shattered in Escuintla and Amatitlan; Dec. 19, 1862, 
Antigua, Amatitlan, Escuintla, Tecpan Guatemala, and 
the neighboring towns were severely shaken; June 12, 
1870, Chiquimulilla was destroyed, and much damage 
done in Cuajinicuilapa ; a month later a severe earthquake 
was felt in the Departments of Santa Rosa and Jutiapa; 
March 4, 1873, San Salvador and the neighboring towns 
were destroyed, — a process they must have become quite 
accustomed to by this time, —and eighteen months later 
it was the turn of Patzicia to be destroyed, while Chimal- 
tenango, Antigua and the vicinity were only ruined. The 
year 1878 was marked by the destruction of several towns 
in Usulutan, San Salvador, and on Dec. 27 and 30, 1879, 
most of the small towns in the neighborhood of the Lago 
de Ilopango were overturned. 
Hardly a month passes without some slight tremor in 
western Guatemala. In recent years so much more 
attention has been paid to seismology, or the observation 
and record of the time, duration, and direction of earth¬ 
quake shocks, that the longer lists seem to indicate the 
increase of slight tremors; but this is not probable, and 
