The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-04-03 00:00:00

FEARFUL EARTHQUAKE IN imam

Telegrams descriptive of a terrible earthquake, which
has resulted in the loss of seventy lives, and an im-
mense amount of damage to property, in Mexico, are
given in the New York papers. On Friday the 11th
of February, at 8.30 p.m., a very severe shaking was
felt in the capital of Guadalajara, accompanied by a
strange subterranean sound. A few moments before
the• earthquake the heavens were clouded and the
atmosphere hot and suffocating. The shakings were
of a tremulous character, terminating in oscillatory
movements, and lasted about ten seconds. The
phenomenon was so marked that it seemed as if the
great terraqueous mass was about to pass from under
foot, and for a moment the falling in of every
roof was expected. Four minutes afterwards the
shaking was repeated with equal force and with the
most tremendous noises. The public squares and
every place where it was thought the failing houses
could not reach were taken possession of by the multi-
,oide, who were completely panic-stricken. Many
buildings suffered considerable- injury, among others
the Institute, the chapels of Loreto, la Merced de
Jesus, Liceo, end Mexicalcuigo, while an arched roof
was cracked open in the Penitentiary, a tower cracked
loose, belonging to the cathedral, &c. A falling stone
from the cathedral destroyed a man's foot. The whole
night was passed in watching. On the following day the
telegraph announced that towards the east as far as Leon,
the north as far as Calchihuite, the south as far as
Zacoalco, and the west to the Pacific, all the towns
had felt the earthquake with greater or less intensity,
especially those near the volcano of Ceboruc.o. In the
valley of the river, near the hacienda of Mr. Porta),
a large rock fell down, killing a horse and wounding a
man. In San Cristobal the affair was very bad, as
nearly all the houses of that town were destroyed. Up
to the 15th or 16th of the month, besides the bruised
and wounded, the bodies of 70 killed were taken from
the ruins. The town only contained a population of
800. It may be said of San Cristobal that it has dis-
appeared, and that its ruins only exist.
A correspondent at St. Cristobal thus describes the
catastrophe :—" At 25 minutes after eight p.m., a
rumbling sound came from the earth, the precursor
of a tremendous earthquake. The animals instinc-
tively manifested their surprise; the dogs howled, the
horses turned down their ears and snorted, the cattle
which were lying down jumped up terrified and assumed
their attitude when fearing to be eaten up by wolves.
An instant afterwards came another subterraneous
rumbling, and then began the catastrophe. The
earth swung from the north-east to the south-
east, rapidly succeeded by oscillations from the
east to the west; it seemed, so to speak, that
the earth had been wounded by some electric
shock. A frightful whirlwind followed, after which
all was confusion. Even the river itself seemed to be
frightened, dashing from side to side, its current being
lost. I happened to be in the edge of the town, and
proceeded towards my home, but the rapid movement
of the earth threw me down twice, and a moment
afterwards I heard a terrible noise occasioned by the
falling of the houses and the doleful screams of nearly
all the inhabitants. A cloud of dust covered the whole
town, and the air was suffocatiog. I ran with pre:.:ipi-
tate haste towards the spot where my house stood,
meeting on the way a number of men and women,
many of whom, but partially dressed, were wildly ges
ticulating, alternately calling upon God to have mercy
upon them, and making use of certain superstitious ora-
tions. To add to the horrors of the scene, the groans of
Persons tended to prove that each heap of ruins would
also be a sepulchre. After some hours had been lost,
the work of searching for friends and relatives known
to be beneath the ruins was commenced ; but it is
impossible at this time to state exactly how many
perished. It is reported from Ahuacathlan that a little
while before the earthquake was felt, the volcano of
Ceboruco was covered with reddish clouds, aid that
continued subterranean noises were heard. At ten
o'clock at night there was a shower of sand, which
lasted for more than five minutes. The volcano of
Ceboruco was observed to be throwing out fire with
great activity.