Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1828-02-16

nature has ,eTr:hnd manRinti,.R ""uiu STU
must he sought FOR in the combines forces o.
the volcanoes Gaila, Soltara and Purace when,
during many years, having 6ecn resetsin9 pow
erful material; and when The day oi ernp''oh
arrived, it tuok place 10 he disnay oil the co"h'
try.
the volcano Of Purace which was full 1T water
on the western side, as Humboldt, observed, is
supposed to have produced less damage IN thai
Jirec,ioa than towards the eastern, where II
threw out great quantities Of burning lava,
which must have overwhelmed those immense
regions Of desert On the other sides, large
cracks have bren opened in the earth, the rivers;
and torrents particularly the Nnagle and Up.
sala, have increased their water 20 on astonisa-
ing cgree, which, in some places being stopped
by avaiaEches, have produced horrible inunda-
,ions The town Of Purace was totally del
stroyed; but it is not known whether any oi the
inhabitants we're lost. The neigh3orinE towns
and adjoining farms suffered similar fae.
The earthquakes have now became very rare,
and almost nnperccp'ible; SO tha, they are the
las, rxerlions Of tie volcano, whose cruPton
has been experienced in shock like that ct
he lecoi 0! gun Oh the hand that dscharg|
es y.
Fortunately for Popayan, nobody persisted in
the Earthquake, and two women, only, died oil
fear. The bull lngs have suti' red ncalr"iaoy.
The higher houses are uhlnhabi' ab'c; ara the
low r"quirc great and Immediate repairs. All
tie inhr- i,ants are on, Of he oiiy. BY order
oil the au:hori'ieS, they are making iorr chaP-
els of straw, Tor The celebration oil divine wor>
ship, as there is not single church that can
he entered without tn exposure ot le.-
The public distress is very great: and This
town has reason "a FEAR thai II WI be D!ottca
from TIC map of Colombia.
Ir0nSiaion cont ned
GIGAN L, Nov, 26lh, 1927.
At ha pasr 5, on tho evrring o. the leih
lust which will ever be an epoch with US,
s'r.ag and frighrful earthquake occurred, dur
ny which the church and several houses OF
this town were over:hrown, and The rest w"re
left Entirely useless. It's duration was about 1--WE
minutes; and lis terrible power was 50 Srea',
that the hills shook Ike shrubs blown by
strong wind, giving a frightrul roaring. while
roc Ks ana masses OF earth were rolled down
into the valleys, filing up the beds and rapids
Of the rivers.
After the interval Of quarter Of an hour,
occurred Il second shock Of! equal force, altho'
of shorter duration, which reduced the remain
ing buildings Of the town 10 ruiUs, and joined
hills and mountains together. 10 crown our
mis{ortuncs, a cupioas rain succeeded, to which
the nhabi1anls wers exposed IN the open plan,
having no houses left 10 shelter them. The
traeical scenes Of the night cannot be describ-
"d-lhere are no co'ors in which can r'pre-
sent them, and language is inadequate i'.r he
task. The cracking Of falling trees, the heavy
rolling Of stones and rocks, the rushing OF wa
Ter, the motion Of the earth, the nIem!lInS
ram, the VOICES Of men, and the unusual cries
and bowls Of cattle: ali these, In the dAI knrss
Of the night would h, r. supplied tie liveliest
imagination that would !avr attempted 10 part
'Ciadem Illus noctts am Junera judo
and 10 ex PLAIN what we HAD t. endure Men and
women, terrified and distracted al the sight 81
an extra JrGnary and fIishriul phenomenon,
necessarily repeated, and filled he air with their
cries, aud iuplored The aid Of heaven, almost
without asking the continuance 81 lille ops
pressed with suff;rngs aud Ismay worse even
than death itself. ne rocks from the hills
into the rolling Grandinosa and Honda, (these
ae called gued,udas, mad slreams,) obstructed
their passage for more than two hours and 10
proportion as they rose against the obstacles,
prnd uced tlnols and deposit, ofrar,h SO extern
ST aid ruinous that they leveiled every thing
they eLcoun:er ed, increasing he Devastation,
and, apparently, the earthquake itself
Thus, my friend, we passed that night, AID
the SIX succeeding ones, in unspeakablc anXle-
". an | ,ssurc you the whole -Four first days
we had only one continual earthquake. Alter
wards intermisspns occurred; brt we did not
on his account iail to experience shocks and
trials as great as before; forthe high hills on
each side Of The Snaz, bad become united, and
for eleven DAYS this abundan, s'rram was not
able to break through the obstacle, nor TO open
its passage so that we consider the cities Of
Suaza and La Viciosa a, inevitably exposed Ia
inund4tion, and We anxlousy await TO hear the
fatal re sui; Of the bursting OF the barrier -
There is not church remaining in the whole
Of the Canton: and only f'w habitable hous-
IS are TO be fund The above rapid rivers
have produced foods equal 10 the others; as
thry all appear like Lakes, and have orerwh helm
ed he property OF the inhabitants. covering
the surface with mud and broken fences, ieav>
ing them reduced TO the most hopeless wretch
edness, because there is no earthly power which
Can relieve them.
Up 10 this date we have heard OF the dsatf
of e92 persons in the Canton, the partio ular'
OF which we have not been able 10 ascertain,
because the water has rendered the communi-