Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1840-04-24
From tho Boston Patriot.
EARTHQUAKES AND THEIR TER
RIBLE EFFECTS.

HlBliE FL II EOlo.
In looking over Murray's Encyclopedias
photography, we were very forcibly struck
with tho graphic description Of these destruc.
tive phenomena. We shall therefore state a
few OF the facts as there given but must re-
fer the reader TO the work itself Tor full nc.
count OF these dreadful scourges Of the hu'
man race.
Earthquakes may be said to be universal,
there is no country entirely exempted, ana
not q week passes without some part OF Ihr
carlh's surface being more or less ngilaled
while few districts. sometimes, experience
continual series ofconcussous, Confined
20 no particular season 1.-THE year, or state ol
The atmosphere they occur al noon us well
as a, midnight, &wi,hout n moments warning
precipilale thousands into eternity in few
seconds The shocks at first appear like
perpendicular hcavings--lhen as horizontal
undulations or oscilalions--lhc effects OF
these ure terrible but the most dreadful OF all
are the rotary molions---during which large
masses Of rocks und houses are whirlrd u
bou,--S,urdy palm trees are twisted around
one another like willows--the most subsian.
,ial buildings are ins,untlyshatlered to pieces,
and the inhabitants buried beneath their ruins
The duration of u single shock rarely ex'
ceeds halfa minute, bu, in most cases, more
shocks follow al short intervals. After the
first & second,the others are less destructive
though they frequently continue Tor months
with longer or shorter lnermlsslons Du'
ring one oflhesc awful scenes the violent az
itation of the sea shews the extent, as well
us the power OF these tremendous ngen.
cics. The submarine land seems 10 be
thrown out Of It's bed BY the struggling and
bursting os,he pent gases; and the waters,
MS il alirigh,ed rush TO tho shores aud over
flow their bounds even on distant continents.
In 1855, wave sixty feat high overlooked
part Of tho city OF Cadiz; aud during the
Earthquake n, LIMA, one oil eighty iout fee,
rolled into the harbour OF Callao. Ships u,
sea&at anchor are shaken so that they seem
TO be- falling asunder---their masts SPRING
the guns break loose from their iasteningS,
and spring from the deck to the height of
several inches Sometimes the earth is torn
asnnder Tor miles, and chasms hundreds OF
fee, in width aud depth are formed IN an ia
stan, at others. the ground heaves like u
boiling sea. and several hundred OF these
rents may be seen at time opening in rapid
succession. The largest mountains lremble
foundations their SUBMITS open--the sides
heaveaud rend--and huge masses are thrown
from them into the suhjacen, vallies; rivers
are damned up lakes formed. and the gen.
cral features SO much changed tina, places
can scarcely be recognised.
The earthquake in Calabra, threw down
nearly all the houses in two hundred towns
and villages in the shon space OF two min
u,es, One hundred thousand ofihe inhabl,-
ants petished and in some instances, ii was
difficult, TO Snd even d,s,ant relations TO sue.
coed To the property Of some families "D1.
ring the reign OF Jusiinian each year was
marked by the repetition OF earthquakes Of
such extcnlthat the shocks were commuaica-
ted to the whole surface Of the globe. or AT
leas, Of The Roman Empire and OF such do.
ration that Conslaulinople was shaken above
forty days Two hundred and fihy lhous.
and persons are said 10 have persisted in the
earthquake OF Antioch. The earthquake OF
ls22, in one horrible night destroyed every
city. village aud cottage in the pashalic Of
Aleppo within ten or twelve seconds. and bu-
ried a vast number under the ruins.
1.-THE earthquakes of Syria have often pros.
trated Antioch. Balbec. and Acre. those Of
South America have ovrrihrown Lima, Gu
mana, aud Caracas; and for magnitude,
namber, and duration. the latter are not inie-
rior to the lormer. We shall give an exlrae,
from the description oi,he one which destroy.
edCaaeeas in lSl2. aud refer our readers to
the work Tor the test "on The aslh of Mar.
Il was oveuhrown by one Of the most dread.
falcauhquakss recorded inei,her hemisphere.
After four in the evening, two successive
shocks were tet. during which the ground
was ia continual undula,ion, aud heaving
like iluid in a state OF ebulli,on. The
danger was then though, TO be over. when u
sub,rrranean noise was heard, like the roll
ing OF loud thunder j, was followed by Two
shocks,oae perpendicular &one undula,ory,
so Tremendous, tia, in few seconds The
whole city was in ruins. Several OF The lolti.
est churches tell, barying 5000 or 1000 OF
the inhabitants, and they were so completely
destroyed. that none OF The fragments were
more than i've or six fret above the ground
The CaRerne el Quartet vanished alnos,
ennrly, and regiment OF soldiers stationed
there. dis appeared along with il, only few
individually escaped The sky was clear
there was no lorewarainy aud The daralion
OF the shocks, which produced this awful ru.
IN. was thought TO be less than a moment
In 1885, Chlla received 500 shocks in IL
days averaging shock an hour, which com,
ple'ciy prostraIed many Of her towns.