Delaware tribune. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1867-1877, 1868-12-10
Letter rrom california.
INTERESTING DESCRIPTION or THE REcES
EARTHQUAKE.


INTERESTING DESCRIPTION or THE REcESr
EARTHQUAKE.
san Francesca, 10th month, Still, 1868.
My DEAR ---; Thy last letter expressed
much solicitude for us on account OF earthquakes
and suppose nothing has TRANSFERRED recently 10
relieve Thy fears. We begin to be little timid
ourselves, or rather did SO few days ago, but
we are getting ever ii now.
The caitlquake we had here about n week ago
is thought TO have been the hardest ever felt in
California, and yet 1t did little damage except to
buildings on made ground, where there was n bed
of mud beneath. None Of them were thrown
down but some of them settled so as to break
the walls and in some The loose walls on top were
thrown off. Frame houses are always safe, MS
they cannot be thrown down by an earthquake.
The most exaggerated accounts have been pub
lished in the newspapers to make them fcll. Thee
can judge for thysrlf what terrible affair it was
when compared with that IN South America
which destroyed $4,000 lives, when thee reflect.
that though il was clock ia the morning. and
the streets were full Of people. only four perscn,
were killed In San francisco and one elsewhere
| and only one other person was so badly hurt n,
to have lost his life since These Fix persons wer,
on high building ut work or were struck by
falling bricks as they ran out of the houses.
was in bed at the time, about to rise, when tn,
house began suddenly to dance like railroad cal
that had run off the track and was flying over
turnpike lay awhile waiting for it to stop in
few seconds, like all the others we have had, bu
IL did not stop; so got out of bed. The hous
| rocked and danced worse and worse for about T.
| third OF minute u i,-not more There VIA
nothing to DO done. so stood on the floor, o
went to the bureau aud replaced bIlt
| that had been tilted over by the shock
But my mind was down town among the brcl
| houses, for knew there was mischief done. A
| soon as The shock was over luuk d out the win
dow, but ii was So fpg.y that | could not So
much only all the people in the neighborhou,
in the stlett, while every dog was barking hi
best AS iai around as could see, all the chin
peys were stundirg bat one. IL every huus
| rome mischief was done 10 rrockery and III
like. The extent If our loss was a few light or
namcnts thrown from the manlles, but not til
lamps or heavier vases. The clustering was
little cracked, but moi enough ~ require repairs
aud one Of the chmneys wis cracK.d I'll inca
the top, though il did mol fall.
In Alameda county 1t was much worse. Tn
focus from which the mischief seemed TO come
was at Hayward's, about 20 miles from San Fran
clsco There is not u chimney left standing i
hat ncghborhood, and all the houses are niue
damaged.
The impulse was communicated To the waite,
90 that vessels On the bay and on the ocean lelt
shock us ii striking rock. A small "iid Il wave
was got up on the Oakland side of the hay,
loot or two high. so The "od salts" say, and iii
tide was ut Il stand Tor several hours. II i sal
the breakers outside the heads cooled dow
for an hour or SO. One thing Is sure, we are
no danger from wave such US destroyed III
people of South America, No wave can get int
the Golden Gate to- do tni chief
The papers say the .'cnrtli Opcncd.' So
did-thut is to say, it settled ina few places whci
, there were quick-sauds beneath so US To sho
some cracks. For five days after the great slluc
there We're several little silucks every day, while
! kept many people IN great terror. They wei
such however, rs no one woald have notice
walking in the street Indeed, there were pc
sons in the street who felt nothing OF the prnc
pal shock. man was riding in buggy ne
my house aud had no Idea of anything cxtraorl
nary I'll he saw The people rushing from the
houses.
Some people were cruzpd with terror an
Others were not disturbed. A man WAS In ii
! bath at "a hoaidng house and rushed into II
street naked. while the landlldy's dauyhtr
thinking OF nothing Out the iororn condition I
. the poor fellow, slntchcd up Lis clothes and IA
/ after lin.
Business was suspended along the wharycs a,
IN the damnged sections, but elsewhere il WEI
on us usual. AT noon there was Il ) lie of ri
| brought the usual pIlce An unl-utl amount .
property has bpcn sold since without dcprrcli
tiuii.
1t would he Absolutely impossible to give an
/ one who had never + Ii an earthquake an nd,
quate idea Of the nif .ir.
After all the damage have mentioned scarcel
/ light ol glass was hr.,ken from the window
, even in Alameda. Another singular fact i. ii
absence Of all material damage t. the tuke
houses There are several very high ive-stor
, buildings IN Mont Emery street,--Lrge Ii, tel
1 which There were several hui drcd people. Scare
/ ~ n crack was made IN any of their walls. m
motion was lost or sgJteHed before il reached ii
top Of these buildings, and the weight Of Inc IL,
per part held The l',wer part still. The create
{ mischief was done 10 two-story buildings
e Dick OF course, not wood, for il is text TO in
Y possible for an earthquake To destroy Il wootlp
building. lady compared the motion to lh
il caused by a cat shaking a rat in her teeth. II
Z earthqnake three years ago was one greet wa,
/ which pitched things sideways This was n 10
i iatllng, or tninbling ur twisting, or ever, kind
i molten You can conceive nf mixed up tng,thp