312 REPORT OF THE CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKE COMMISSION. 
had an old crack widened, due to the settling of the foundation. The City Hall had 
considerable plaster cracked, but this was due to the swaying of a 50,000-gallon tank 
on the roof. Three chimneys were cracked, and one was reported to have fallen, but 
this was not verified. At the houses where the chimneys were cracked, milk was not 
spilt from open pans, so it is apparent that the chimneys were faulty and not that the 
earthquake was severe. 
(E. Hughes.) —A careful and exhaustive inquiry was made at Stockton by Mr. Edward 
Hughes, under the direction of Prof. J. C. Branner, and the following notes are con- 
tributed by him: 
The shock, while strong enough to alarm many of our people, was chiefly notable for 
the absence of the destructive effects experienced in many less fortunate localities. It 
began with a gentle trembling motion, which increased slowly for the first 5 or 6 seconds, 
then rapidly to a maximum of rough jolting shocks lasting perhaps 5 seconds. These 
were followed by a series of long, smooth vibrations, which gradually decreased in am- 
plitude until no longer perceptible. The effects, as noted by many observers, would 
indicate that the heavier shocks traveled in a northwest-southeast direction, while the 
smooth oscillations which marked the latter part of the disturbance ran nearly east- 
west. The immediate effects, as noted in dwellings, during the shock were the creak- 
ing and straining of buildings, the swinging of doors, the rattling of window weights 
and pictures on the walls, the swinging of chandeliers and drop-lights, and the stopping 
of clocks. Out of doors, some observers claim to have noticed the swaying of tall build- 
ings and smoke-stacks; and many mention the violent motion of the trees, the branches 
of which lasht together as if in a storm. Birds frightened from their resting places flew 
in confusion, and the air was filled with their startled cries. 
A careful canvass of the city gives the following results in the way of damages sus- 
tained: There were a few small cracks in the arches in the-hallways of the county court- 
house. It is safe to attribute this to faulty construction rather than to the violence of 
the shock, as a number of large cracks had opened in various parts of the building soon 
after it was finished. One water-tank was overturned, the supporting framework being 
insufficiently braced; this tank fell about 15° east of south. 
A large gasometer at the natural gas well on north Commerce Street was slightly 
damaged. Castings supporting the guide wheels were broken, and the gas tank was 
slightly twisted to the left so that the guide wheels were thrown off the guides. 
In two or three cases in the city, the tops of chimneys fell off. Examination showed 
that the mortar had never properly united with the bricks, owing probably to their 
dryness when laid. In several cases houses suffered damage by the spilling of water 
from attic tanks. 
Aside from these cases of relatively insignificant damage, everything gives testimony 
to the comparative gentleness of the shock. In china stores, where fragile wares were 
displayed in all sorts of insecure positions, not a piece was displaced or broken. So 
far as can be learned, no plaster fell anywhere in the city, and there was no breakage 
of bric-a-brac or china in the dwellings. Observers who watched the minute hands of 
clocks that were not stopt estimate the duration of the shock at from 30 to 40 seconds. 
The heavier shocks were undoubtedly from northwest to southeast. This was shown 
in several ways. Tanks spilt water in both these directions, and the tank noted above 
fell nearly to the southeast, although its frame ran approximately east and west, and so 
offered some resistance to free motion to the southeast. In McCloud’s Lake, the waves 
ran northwest-southeast, breaking highest on the bank and bulkhead in the southeast 
corner, while the north side was little affected. At the city pumping station on Mormon 
Channel, a similar effect was noted. Several observers claim to have seen tall buildings 
and stacks swaying in the direction indicated, and those who were standing were con- 
