Washington sentinel., 1854-06-18
From the New York Herald
The Late Earthquake In San Salvador,
Central America.

ne SuDJOlneQ general account OF the EARTH
quake, with the accompanying documents, is
translated from an extraordinary bulletin" Of
the government of San Salvador, which has
been removed to the city Of Cojutepeque.
From the Boletn Extraordinaro del Gobicrno del Sal
vador," Of May q
Ruin of the City Of San Salvador.
Quis tallia fando!
Tcnlperet a lacrimis.-vRGn.
The night Of the 10th of April will ever be
one of sad and bitter memory for the people of
Salvador. On that unfortunate night our hap.
py and beautiful capitol was made heap of
ruins. Movements Of the earth were felt on
the morning Of Holy Thursday, preceded by
sounds like the rolling of heavy artillery over
pavements, and like distant thunder. The
people were little alarmed in consequence Of
this phenomenon, but it did not prevent them
from meeting in the churches to celebrate the
solemnites Of the day. On Saturday all was
quiet, and confidence was restored. The peo-
pie Of the neighborhood assembled, as usual
to celebrate the passover. The night Of Sat
urday was tranquil, as was the whole Of Sum
day. The heat, it is true, was considerable,
but the atmosphere was calm and serene. For
the first three hours Of the evening nothing
unusual occurred but at halfpast nine a es.
we're shock Of an earthquake, occurring without
the usual preliminary noises, alarmed the whole
city. Many families left their houses and made
encampments in the public squares, while others
prepared to pass the night in their respective
court yards.
Finally, at ten minutes to eleven, without
premonition of any kind, the earth began to
heave and tremble with such fearful force that
in ten seconds the entire city was prostrated.
The crashing Of houses and churches stunned
the ears Of the terrified inhabitants, while
cloud Of dust from the fallingru ins en-.
veoped them in pail Of impenetrable dark.
ness. Not drop Of water could be got to
relieve the halfchocked and suffocating, for
the wells and fountains were filled up or made
dry. The clock tower of the cathedral carried
great part Of the edi6ce with it in its
fall. The towers of the church Of San Fran.
cisco crushed the episcopal oratory and part Of
the palace. The church Of Santa Domingo
was buried beneath its towers, and the college
Of the Assumption was entirely ruined. The
new and beautiful ediGce of the University was
demolished. The church of the Merced sepa.
rated in the centre, and its walls fell outward
to the ground. Of the private houses few
were left standing, but all were rendered unin.
habitable. 1t is worthy of remark that the
walls left standing are old ones; all those of
modern construction have fallen. The public
edifces of the government and city shared the.
common destruction.
The devastation was effected, as we have
said, in the first ten seconds; for, although the
shocks were tremendous and ac-
by rumblings beneath our feet, they
had comparatively triaing results for the rsa.
SON that the first had left but little for their
ravages.
Solemn and terrible was the picture pre-
sented on that dark, funereal night of whole
people clustering in the plazas, and on their
knees crying with loud voices to Heaven for
mercy, or in agonizing accents calling for their
children and friends, which they believed to be
buried beneath the ruinsl A heaven opaque
and ominous; a movement of the earth rapid
and unequal, causing terror indescrbable;
IN intense sulphurous odor filing the atmos-
ohere, and indicating an approaching eruption
,fthe valcano; streets filed with ruins or over
lung by threatening walls; q suffocating cloud
# dust almost rendering respiration impossi.
lie. Such was the spectacle presented by the
unhappy city on that memorable and awful
lightl
A hundred boys we're shut up in the college,
many invnlids crowded the hospitals, spd the
'arracks were full Of soldiers. The sense Of
be catastrophe which must have bsfallan them,