Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1865-10-20

ifg people Of San FFakcisco had an lun-
common experience; Nature played thsm
out with, afFpluntTy pfhsTYEP, which
few individuals In any congregation stop
ped to hstsF ttes Isdot,Q .EEbiL9
An earthquake is no joke 70 q large,
substantial built Teity.a Tbs one, which
frightened San francisco on Sunday,
while it did comparatively littlehaun, was
from present accounts the most severe
which has been experienced in Californis
since the one of the 9th ofJannary, 1857,
which was, we believe scarcely 6eltin San
francisco, though in the. interior Of, the
state it tscaused considerable losses - s.a
), Hittell, in his yalasbls, work On the
Resources of California, remarks thatearth-
quakesl are common. in the state but more
frequent IN the southern than, in, the north,
ern part of il, ."aAbout dozen feb; in, the
year at different, places" He. adds, that
no person has been hurt, nor any strongly
built house injured, north of the. thiFsy-
fifth degree of latitude, since, the Amen
can conquest. \ From this we suppose that
the shock Of last SHndayHis the seEeFest
by far that San Francisco has felt since il
ceased to be called -Yerba Buena, and be-
came an American town; for 81 Sunday
several persons were haft, s0ftls ehimnsys
were thrown down, and plastering fsf
from half the ceilings in the city, i-rf zissfi
Darwin writing ofthe great sarthquake
in Chill, of which he experienced sonic 90
The shocks, remarks upon the change
which would take place IN che habis md
customs of Europe We're that continent
suddenly to become subjectto earthquakes.
Tall steeples, columns amp pillars would
no longer be seen; be suggests, high
many-storied houses would cease to Be
built, many beautiful and imposing archi-
tectdfal effects womb be lost, and man, no
longer able to trust to the steadiness Of his
foundation, the earth, would no longer
continue TO build great permanent works,
but substitute in their place lighter and
less expensive structures. 81 He seggests
that in course Of time such aihstafs of
things might lead to new architectuzl de-
vice, as well asto important changes in the
habits of whole nations. 'ia'j- on = esiiA -
1T would delight Mr.. Darwin, no ioabt,i
to oconipare these ingenious specsIlaiiohs Of
his with the actual condition ofSan FrsHE
cisco, a city built by people of BaroPeaR
civilization, upon ground subject to'earths'
quake Shocks Hittell tells us, writing IN
1868, that In the city, ~'the fear of searshai
quakes prevented high structures for show.
and for thisreas there is not stall steep
le in San Francisco. The largest church,
es have been begun on sach a plan that
they might be crowned with lofty spires,
but it was thought more prudent to leave
them with low towers. The same motive
induces many wealthy families ste reside
in wooden houses, which ara considered
better fitted to resist the shock OF ,eaFths
quakes. These wooden houses it must
be kept in mind, are not framed with
mortices aud tenons' as large wooden
houses usually are erected in the Atlaatic
states, but are Chicago frame held to-
gather with nails. This style. Of building,
though introduced, solely beesusek Of its
ohespness and simplicity, is Considered by
far the most secure against earthquakes,
Yet experience has shown that large
structures of brick, when placed on firm
not 'made"-ground, and substantially
built viii bear severe shocks. The s.0c-
cidentap and "Cosmopolitan," the gress
hotels Of San Francisco, were not badly.
injured by the shock of Sunday; but we
suspect that rooms in the upper stories are
not in great demand at this ,moment-,
The writer from whom We have quoted,
relates the case of a friend who, running
out of a room in the forth story Of brick
hotel, saw the water splashing out of 3
basin BY the movement of the house-in
which, nevertheless, not even the plaster
was cracked by the skock.K tii 40 .oi','
A list of the principal earthquake
shocks which have been faltsin California
during the present century exhibits soma
curious pheonomena. Hitten writes that
perhaps a hundred" persons have actual
ly left the state from fear Of earthquakes;
but he adds that 1sthey' areiH more danger
front lightning on the Atlantic side than
from earthquakes on the Pacific, for there
are fifty killed by, lightning in the Missis-
sipPi Valley for one killed by an earthquake
IN OaiilorIia' liilotsf.1 aoiaJ i.sa.,l sai ,,..
In October, 1900 six severe shocks
rendered uhinhabitabie nearly every house
in the village Of San Juan Bautista, and
caused destruction also at San Pedro. In
June, 1905, twenty-one shocks were felt
in what in now San Francisco, whose few
houses were seriously injured: In Sep
tember, 1912, on Sunday, the mission
Church of San Juan Capistrano was
thrown down, and. thirty persons were
killed. Another chuFeh, m another place,
also fell and the sea FecededI asd1etuF6sd
with great violence sini Santa BaEkas&
Bay I'm 1918 theu mission Ohurchsirat,
Santa Clara was thrown down. zAllthoser
it should be remembered, were.
poorly built of adO6es,i oBofi stone badly
laid.,y We come down now, at once, to a
more recent period fssis r,e,fiio 7isril iia n
On the 18th ct May, 1851, - severe
shock broke windows, threw merchandise
from the Shelves and caused. vessels TO-
roll heavily in the harbor inSaRFraneiseos'
On the 10th of July, 1856, an earthquake
cracked the walls, Of tWentyTsix houses at
Los Angeles; but no house fell nor was
any one hurt, On the 9th tof, January,
1857, the earth shook from Fort Yuma to
distance Of five hundred
miles, and some yery. remarkable phenom-
enas resulted The current Of Kern River
was turned up stream, and run over the
bank; the Los Angeles River was thrown
out ofits bed; the water of ToIurs lakstEas
thrown upon its shores new springs were
formed; large new stream was found
running out Of % monntaini houses were
thrown down at San Diego and elsewhere;
trees were snapped off close tothe grounds;
he earth was rent and large. fssuFes
ormed in different places, and in ensPlace
he split was twenty feet wide and forty
niles long. The sides of this huge break
came together with such violence as TO raise