The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1855-07-05

oscillations were very regular, and we,
from North to South. The same day an
the same hour, Constantinople was sha
ken by violent earthquake, the centr
of which was soon ascertaincd to be th
ill-fated city of Brousa. After torrent
of rain had descended for "a hours, &C
companied with terrible claps of thunde
and strong gales from the southeast, at
o'clock in the evening the sky was sud
denly overcast, and the strong odor G
burning sulphur and iron was diffuse,
through the atmosphere, when suddel
shock of earthquake laid the city in III
ins. The first oscillation was from ives
to east; then came another oscillation
much more violent than the first, ano
then calm succeeded, after a shock o
SO or GO seconds duration. But short al
the time was, it was long enough to bring
destruction upon this ancient, renowned
and fourishing city. From 60 to 81
minarets, with as many mosques, were
either shaken down or else cracked il
such a manner as to threaten instant fall
ing. Numerous khans were also destroy
ed, and large, splendid edfices utterly
disappeared under the mighty heaps Of
ruins which covered them.
! Among the mosques destroyed was one
ancient and celebrated, and the pride OF
the city, being of elegant Grecian archi.
lecture, and having stood 1900 years
Another, whose magnificent proportions
and splendid workmanship recalled the
ancient grandeur and opulencc of the old
Turkish capital, and had been erected
600 years, was greatly injurnd, but not
destroyed. The Greek quarter, situated
upon hill, was the most damaged-the
houses from above falling upon those be-
low, and together crushing the dwellings
and their inmates. In one case silk
steam factory fell upon the owner, his two
sons, and thirty female operatives, bury
ing all in its ruins. To add to the ca
lamity, fire broke out among the fallen
buildings, which spread further destruc-
ton of the property and life, but which
was arrested after six hours work of de-
struction. Travellers upon the land, and
passengers upon the sea, gazing at the
terrible volume Of fame, were unable in
the distance to determine whetheriit was
a confagration or volcano.
During the night the shocks were re-
peated every half hour, but with dimin-
ishing violence, and continued to be felt
for FIVE or six days after, but slightly,
and at unequal intervals. The streets
blocked up by the ruins the houses fallen
or rendered uninhabitable, the people
were obliged to resort to the fields out
side the walls, where they pitched their
tents, or pillowed their heads under the
canopy of heaven. Even the wooden
buildings we're so injured as not te be
trusted by their owners. The whole num-
Der of those who persisted was full 3OO.-
At the same time, intelligence was
brought from different parts of the prov
ince, that whole villages had been utterly
destroyed, frightful number of the in
habitauts being buried in the ruins.
The internal forces of the earth seemed
to have exhausted their power with the
overthrow of Brousa and the surrounding
country, for shocks were felt only feebly
and unfrequently during the month of
March. A citizen of Brousa, writing un-
der date of April 4, says: For three
days we have not had an earthquake, and
confidence begins to be re-established a.
mong the people but the misery is i'm
mense and indiscribable. The country,
also, favored with an admirable temper
ature, is clothed with vegetation and
without any disaster occurring, the best
hopes of the farmers will realized" At
the very moment these hopes were
cherished and expressed, the reinforced
agencies Of nature were prepared for new
and wider destruction. For the night of
April 8, the people, sunk in refreshing
and quiet sleep, were alarmed by a violent
shock, which recalled the scenes of Feb.
%. These shocks were repeated from hour
to hour during the night, but with less
force, when they finally ceased with slight
vertical and horizontal movements.
But Wednesday, April IL, was mem
orable day in the records of this devoted
only repeating, but exceeding
the horrors of February %. At half
past Elk o'clock in the evening, a vio-
lent shock was felt at constantinople,
which lasted Is seconds, and was follow
ed by others during the night following,
and was felt at Smyrna at the same time. |
A passenger who came from Ghemlek,
the port of Brousa, stated that the shock
was so violent there, that though be was
in a wooden house, be desired to leave it,
and was obliged to step on the stairs, and
hang on to them in order to escape fall
ing. But the shocks which only fright
rned the people of Constantinop!e and
Smyrna, annihilated whatever remained
Of Brousa. Beginning about eight o.
clock in the evening, they were repeated
with extraordinary rapidity, and came
Sith such violence that all the people who
to- be in the streets or out of
loors, were thrown upon the ground
They continued during the whole of the .
night, with less violence, and also with
ess destruction, because they had achicv-