214 REPORT OF THE CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKE COMMISSION. 
built some 40 years ago, on a well-laid foundation going down to bedrock, which here under- 
lies hard ground; yet the brick walls were badly cracked on every side. This guard-house 
stands on a high terrace, and the lower grounds appear to be alluvial deposits of the river. 
In other parts of Benecia, brick houses built on hard ground were occasionally cracked. 
The town is somewhat spread out, some of it resting upon the alluvium near the river, 
the rest extending back over high rolling ground similar to that at the Arsenal. On the 
alluvial land the shaking was naturally most disastrous. A frame building near the water- 
tank, used for a saloon, collapsed; and a large cannery was so damaged that most of it 
had to be taken down. The water-pipe for the city was temporarily broken. 
SACRAMENTO VALLEY. 
Red Bluff, Tehama County. Population 2,750. (G. L. Allen.) —The earthquake 
awakened most sleepers. Quite a number of clocks were stopt. The chandeliers were 
caused to move considerably and in all directions. The tall head of a bed slammed against 
the wall, frightening the occupants. A lady tried to get up to keep an electric-light bulb, 
which was swinging violently, from striking a stove-pipe 2 feet distant from the cord; 
but she became dizzy and had to return to bed. The bulb did not strike the pipe. (J. H. 
Smith, Weather Bureau Observer.) No objects were overthrown, but hanging objects 
were caused to swing considerably. There was but one rather sharp jar, or shock, the 
direction of which is unknown. The inhabitants of the town were not unduly alarmed. 
Corning, Tehama County. Population 1,000. (B. D. Wilkinson.) — I was awakened 
by what was at first thought to be wind moving the building; then I felt the bed and 
the building apparently roll in waves. Hanging electric lamps swung from south of 
east to north of west. Open doors swung for about half a minute. 
Chico. Population 2,640. (W.M. Mackay.)—The shock here was quite pronounced, 
but not sufficiently so to do any damage. No chimneys were broken; nevertheless every 
house shook violently. I was awakened by the rattling of the weights in the windows. 
More than half the people interviewed say that the noise awakened them. Numerous 
clocks stopt, but no glassware or crockery was reported broken. In Chico Creek, adjoin- 
ing the town, splashes on the bank indicated that there had been a violent commotion of 
the water. In places the water had been thrown several feet. The water-tank at the gas 
works was so disturbed as to cause the water to flow into the main, necessitating the pump- 
ing out of the main before service could be restored. 
(EK. Meyhew.)—I was in bed awake at the time of the shock. The motion was from 
north to south, and appeared to come in two waves, with an interval of about 6 seconds. 
The disturbance lasted about 15 seconds all together. It made windows rattle, and 
- chandeliers and electric-light bulbs suspended by cords were caused to swing. It stopt 
2 clocks in my store, one hanging on a southwest wall and the other on a southeast wall. 
All other clocks in the store continued going. A rumbling sound was heard thruout 
the disturbance. F 
Willows. Population 895. (A. W. Sehorn.) — The motion increased until the weights 
in the window-frames rattled considerably ; trees swayed back and forth as in a hurricane 
for about 30 seconds, gradually diminishing. The movement appeared to be northeast 
to southwest, and was strongest near the middle. The clock was stopt, and the bed felt 
as if some one were pulling it. Chimneys were not injured. A rumbling noise preceded 
the shock. - : 
Mr. G. K. Gilbert made a trip into the section of the Coast Ranges lying between the 
Clear Lake district and the Sacramento Valley. His purpose was to verify the report of 
a large rift said to have been made in St. John’s Mountain by the earthquake. The rift 
was not found, tho sought for to the summit of the mountain; and the descriptions of it 
as an opening 10 feet wide by 20 feet long indicate that it is something quite different from 

