, 1868-10-30
EARTHQUAKE m sam FRANclsco,

hAauuboS oOAVt0 etSub . CLOCK InlS WOfnluR
San francisco was visited with the heaviest
earthquake shock it has ever known. The
general direction Of the shock was southeast
and northwest. 1t lasted AZ seconds, and
gathered violence as it continued until near
the end. The time of theisecond shock was
twenty-three minutes after nine o'clock du.
ration five seconds. The direction was the
same as before. Lighter and briefer tremors
occurred at intervals of half an hour until
fifteen minutes past twelve. The more prom
inent Of these caused fresh stampedes to the
street, of those who we're attempting to cons
duct business or trying 10 work.
The initial shock was most severely felt
along the eastern side Of the city, and within
the limits of made land, between Montgomery
street and Water. On the solid land, on the
outside of the thickly built business portion
of the city, no serious damage was done to
any well constructed house. In the limits
Of made land, at least a score of brick build
ings were so badly strained or cracked, that
business can't be resumed in them, and they
may have to be pulled down. Owing to the
excitement, business is generally suspended
for several days.
resulted from the falling of cornices or fire
walls on the sidewalks beneath Had the
shock occurred half an hour later larger
number of persons would have been killed
and wounded. The greatest damage done
was to belt extending several hundred feet
wide and running about northwest and south
east, commencing near the custom house and
ending at the Folsom street wharf, injuring
and demolishing in its course the following
buildings: On Clay street, Graves wire
works; Howard building, Clay and Sansome;
A. S. Rosenbaum, Clay and Battery S. P.
Taylor q Co., J. Frank & Co., NJ. Reeso's
building, California street, near Sansome
the old one story brick building opposite the
New Orleans warehouse Coffey & Risdon'
new building, corner Bush and Market
streets Booth & Co., corner of Mission and
First; Gas Co.'s building, Howard and Fre>
mont streets; Folsom street wharf
The custom house is terribly damaged, and
it is questionable whether it will admit of
repairs. The building is closed, the business
of the department being temporarily removed
to the internal revenue office Cofey & Ris-
-don's building, the walls of which were very
thin, is completely demolished. Benchley's
building, Oriental Block, and Murphy &
Grants building, all adjoining Cofey 4 Risr
don's, were not injured in the slightest de-
gree. The roof Of the old Mechanics Mill,
on Mission street, corner of Fremont, was
Frustrated and the walls badly toppled over
into the street in several places. The Mes
chauios' Cooperative mill, on Mission street,
was badly damaged and the machinery
thrown out of place. The floor sunk down
in places and raised in others. Several feet
of the fire wall in the mill sunk down. The
planking in the center of Mission street ex>
poses an opening eight or ten inches across
in front of the mill, and openings of the
ground are also plainly to be seen on Fremont
street in the same vicinity.
The floor Of the Pacific Foundry is raised
about two feet 10 places. In the Union Foun-
dry, on First street, corner of Mission, most
of the machiIery was displaced. The San
Francisco gas works suffered severely; the
chimney fell through the roof and the main
walls were cracked. On Front street the de,
struction was still greater. A great quantity
of coal was stored in the building and the
pressure of the mass forced the wall out on
the Fremont street side from the roof to the
foundation and for the space of about fifty
feet. The City Hall is in bad condition,
and the only people inhabiting it are the offs
GERS of the Fire Department. The Courts
are adjourned, and the prisoners taken from
the Station House to the County Jail. A
line has been stretched across Front street
to keep people away.
A part of the walls of the new Calvary
Church fell down. About 100 feet of the
Merchandise shed, south side of Falsom street
wharf, was completely wrecked. At the corr
ner of Market and First streets, the ground
opened 10 a 6ssure several inches wide and
forty or fifty feet in length. At other places
the ground opened and water was forced above
the surface. At No. 158, Natoma street,
Charles Moneypenny's brick boarding house
was made total wreck. Most of it was
thrown down. At No. l44, same street, John
Farmers house was badly injured and most
of his furniture destroyed. All the patients
in the U. s. Marine Hospital were removed,
the structure having been declared unsafe
Howard's building, on Battery, between Clay
and Commercial streets, the cornice and u
portion of the fire wall have fallen and de>
uOllSueU bu6 HOOuCu oWhAH6 oHA AO"OA OOAN
nice the New Orleans warehouse on Califor-
MIA and Davis streets, the fire wall on califor>
MIA street is demolished fire wall on Hooker
& Co.'s building, California street is demolt
ished; Thurnauer & Zinn's building, occu-
pied by them, on Sacramento street, is badly
cracked the chimney on the Mint building
is so badly damaged that it became necessary
to close the establishment for repairs. The
walls of Kimball & Co.'s carriage factory,
corner of Bryant and Fourth streets, is con-
siderably damaged, and the wOrkmen have
left the building. The ground opened on the
crossing of Fourth and Harrison streets. The
railroad track settled about eight inches, the
planks between the rails rising about ten
inches. The walls of the BrevOort House,
on the Mission street side, were badly shat
tered. On California street, below Sansome,
large one story brick building, formerly
occupied BY Heynemann & Co., was wholly
ruined, and the adjoining one, occupied by
the Pacific Pump Factory, is thrown partly
afIo of (iaI1f0rDIa