The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-18 00:00:00

TilE EARTHQUAKE AT MENDOZA.

FIFTEEN THOUSAND LIVES LOST.
We have now received full information of the
total destruction, on March 20, by earthquake, of
one, if not three, populous cities of the Argentine
republic—namely, Mendoza, San Juan, and San
Luis. The former has certainly been destroyed,
and very few of its population of 15,000 souls have
escaped to tell the fearful tale. The news was sent
by telegraph to Valparaiso, and was confirmed by
the subsequent arrival of a mail courier from the
ruined city.

The latter stated that he arrived at Mendoza on
the morning of the 20th ; that at half-past eight
p.m. a brief but excessively violent shock of earth-
quake, lasting but six or eight seconds, destroyed
every building, public and private, in the city, and
that the number who were enabled to escape was
very limited. The streets being narrow, the build-
ings high, and the inhabitants totally unused to
such 'phenomena, were paralysed with terror, and
neglected to seek refuge in the open courts of their
dwellings until too late. The postmaster was
buried beneath the ruins of the post-office ; the
governor was missing ; and when asked why he
brought no certificate that the mails were lost, the
messenger replied, " There was no one left to write
it, nor materials to write with."
The aspect presented by the city after the first
shock was terrific. Hoarse subterranean thunders
deafened the ear, animals of all kinds rushed franti-
cally through the open spaces howling, the earth
opened andvomited forth floods of water, while to
crown the scenes of horror, flames burst from the
ruins and consumed nearly the entire business por-
, with its dead, its dying, and its
wtioonunodfedth. e city

On the 28th a number of letters were received at
Va!paraiso and at Santiago, by relatives and friends
of Chileans residing in Mendoza, but the hope until
then entertained, that the earlier accounts were
exaggerated, soon gave way to the dreadful cer-
tainty that the calamity had not yet been painted
in colours sufficiently vivid. The earth still con-
tinued to tremble, the few walls that had resisted
the first shock one by one fell, until now no vestige
of a building remains. The mountain roads are in
a most dangerous condition, not only on account of
the huge masses of rock that have already fallen
and obstructed the road, but because the vibration
of the earth is still hurling them down from the
heights above into the valleys.
The gauches or natives of the surrounding country,
hastened to the spot, not to assist the needy or aid
in rescuing the wounded from a lingering death,
but to seek for plunder among the smoking ruins,
and to snatch thelittlesaved from the wretched sur-
vivors. One gentleman writing from thence, after
describing these horrors, says :—" I believe that in
a few days we shall have no other law here than
that of the poignard."
The prison was destroyed : out of 100 inmates 92
perished. The remaining eight, who were already
hardened villains, formed themselves into a band
of freebooters, and had gone, it was supposed, to the
mountain passes to intercept and rob the parties
sent from Chili for the relief of the sufferers. One
woman was found robbed and murdered by the
roadside. She was recognised as one who was on
her way to Mendoza to see her fam4. They, too,
had all perished on the 20th,
In the Jesuit church there was preaching that
night. The services had just concluded, and the
congregation was about dispersing when the shock
came. The few who had reached the plaza were
saved, but the walls and roof of the building fell
inward with a crash, and priest and penitent
together were hurried. into eternity.
The latest advices from Mendoza represent the
suffering to be extreme, there being neither food,
clothing, nor shelter for the survivors, everything
being buried beneath the ruins. They also state
that San Juan and San Luis, two other populous
cities of the confederation, have shared a like'fate,
the San Juan river having after the shock left its
bed and swept over the town, utterly destroying
what the earthquake had spared. This news is
not, however, fully confirmed.
As news was rendered
beyond
in-
dividuals vied with one another in energetic efforts
soqounesatison the, thdeis Governmentastrou and private s
to send immediate relief to their suffering brethren.
Without waiting for the completion of the work,
on the 30th a party of physicians and others left
for the scene of the disaster, bearing medicines,
food, and clothing, and accompanied by a small
body of troops.
The gloom and terror spread throughout the re-
public of Chili by this awful calamity may be ima
gined. " Situated upon an eminently volcanic
region," says a letter from Valparaiso, " we have
constant evidence of the insecurity of our tenure of
existence. Separated but by a chain of mountains
from the scene of destruction, and taught by sad
experience the frightful and irresistible force of
the unheralded earth-storm, we retire each night
with a feeling of terrible insecurity. The coast has
been frequently visited in past years by earth-
quakes. Chillan has been twice destroyed; Con-
ception once ; while Valparaiso, Santiago, and
Copiapo have suffered severely. No amount of
human foresight, no precaution, avails against the
mysterious visitor, who comes at dawn, at noonday,
or at midnight, and, in a few seconds, levels to the
ground the proudest monuments of hunm