The Sun.
London, England, 1860-05-30 00:00:00

IHE EARTHQUAKES AT LINA.

A letter from Lima, dated April 26, says,—" I
am now going to give you an account of what hap.
pened here on Sunday, the 22d inst. (April). I was
that day at Chorrillos, which, as I have before
stated, is a bathing place on the seacoast about
nine miles from here, when, at 2 p.m. the severest
shock of earthquake was felt that has ever been ex-
perienced here within the memory of the oldest in-
habitant. I was at the time on a visit at the house
of my friend, Mr. It , together with several other
people, among whom were the American Minister,
wife, and daughter; on the first oscillation we all
rushed out ; it was really frightful, the earth heav-
ing in the midst of atremendous subterranean noise
—the houses and walls falling, the women scream-
ing, and in the midst of such a thick cloud of dust
that we could not see the ground we were
standing on, the shock lasting for the space of
about 50 seconds, when it ceased ; the wind
gradually drew off the thick cloud of dust raised
by the trembling of the earth and the fall-
ing of walls and rubbish ; the sight then began
to look somewhat ludicrous, the whole population
in the open air begrimed with dirt, many ©n their
knees crying out Misericordia !' and the women
fainting all round. Several houses were thrown
down, and nearly every house more or less injured,
the one in which I was at the time, though not
entirely thrown down, was rendered uninhabitable.
My house scarcely suffered at all, being new and
strongly built, a few bottles and crockery being
the extent of the damage; two poor women were
killed, and several injured. Of people who were
bathing at the time some were injured and some
were killed by the cliff falling upon them. Had
the shock taken place during the night or during
church time the loss of life would have been very
great; indeed it was so severe that we expected
Lima would have been laid in ruins, but to our sur-
prise less damage occurred there than in Chcrrillos,
the houses of this city being very massively built
in order to resist such accidents. A great deal ef
damage, however, has been done, and the papers
have since published daily long lists of casualties,
though but few lives have been lost. The earth
continued trembling at intervals for 36 hours after,
and the next morning (Monday) at 6.45 a.m.
another very severe shock was felt, though not so
strong as the one on the previous day. This, of
course, added greatly to the panic generally felt.
No carts or carriages were allowed in the streets,
for fear of their noise adding to the general alarm.
The shops were closed, and all business suspended,
everybody remaining at the doors of their houses,
ready for a run at a moment's warning. Many
people went into the fields, and the two following
nights were passed by thousands in the open air.
On Monday evening the image of our Lord of the
Miracles was taken out of his church and carried in
grand procession, followed by an immense concourse
of people, to visit St. Peter, where it remained all
night, and was conveyed back again the next morn-
ing. This act of devotion did a great deal of good
by quieting the minds of the common people, who
believed that it would put a stop to the earth-
quakes—in fact there have only been sonic slight
shocks since. It was an impos'ng sight to
see a procession of 8,000 or 10,000 people going
along the streets by torchlight, and praying in a
loud voice, in a more solemn and probat)ly more sin-
cere manner than they ever did in their lives be-
fore. The sensations I felt by the shock were such
as are felt by all ; no animal courage is of avail in
such cases, as in fires, shipwrecks, or any other com-
mon disaster, where the danger is palpably before
you, and cannot-be altogether realised. In severe
earthquakes both man and beast are tilled with in-
describable terror ; of course, coolness and presence
of mind are very necessary where you may happen
to be in a dangerous situation. When the second
shock occurred, the next morning, nearly every one
was in bed, and many got up and rushed into the
street in the state they were ; and, of course, wan!.
laughable stories have been told of the figures cut
by some. 1 was in Lima, in our own house—as I
came from Chorrillos at once to see what damage
had been done--and in bed. I got up, but did nut
leave my room. Our house is a very strongly built
one, and I knew that in the event of any earth-
quake strong enough to bring it down there
would be no escape for any one, so I kept
quietly where I was. One poor woman was
killed by running out of her house into the street,
the well on the opposite side falling upon her.
Had she remained quietly in her house nothing
would have happened, as it remained quite firm.
" A chasm nearly a mile long and several feet
wide, has been opened in the ground at some dis-
tance from the city, and all the farms have been
much injured by the unsettling of the surface of the
ground. It is net likely we shall be disturbed
again for a long time, as these very heavy shocks
only occur at long intervals."