Litchfield enquirer., 1868-10-08
WHOLE NO. 03l4
THE GREAT EARTHQUAKE.

FURTHER DErAIhs-FoRTY THOUSAND PER
 SONS KILLED OR BURIED UNDER ITS Ru- 1 INs-PEsTILENCE AND FAMINE THE RESULT. ! From Correspondent of the N. Y. Tribune.l
 GUYAoUIL, Sept. 1O.-The regular mail from Quito arrived at this city on the 27th ult., bringing further particulars of the terrible earthquake of the 18th of August. The desolation and destruction is even greater than at first estimated. The loss of life has been put down at 40, 900, and is, believe, not far from the truth. I shall endeaVor to give you, in as condensed form as possible, the information that has been recelved here. About fifteen towns have been completely destroyed, and oth- CTS seriously injured. In the City of Qui. ; to nine churches are in ruins, and nearly all the houses haye moro or less suffered. But the principal transaction took place in the province of Imbabura Of the towns ot lbarra, Otaralo, and Cotacachi no ves- tlge remains, having been swept completely from the face of the earth The city of Ibarra was the capital of that province, and was very handsome town, about Fl leagues distant from the city of Quito, and situated on a beautiful plain about 1000 feet above the level of the sea. The pop. nlatlon just previous to it's destruction, is estimated to have been 16O00, of which number 13,000 were buried under it's ruins. Otaralo was situated to the east of Ibarra. It contained about 10000 inhabitants, of whom from 6.00O to 1000 perished. Cota- cachi was to the north of Otaralo. It con- tained many good buildings The larger part of the town was composed of Indians, Of i very light color, and well formed The features of the women are sad to have beeu very beautiful. The total population of lnt t> 65,OOO Estimating that B per cent. were saved, gives the terrible result of AS, 600 who have persisted. This province was one If the most fertile and productive in the republic The inhabitants were an in- duatrions people, principally engaged in agriculture and the manufacture of coarso cotton goods, Tho busy hum of life is hushed, and where yesterday plenty and prosperity abounded, is to-day ruin and d wilderness, covering thousands of corps es, whose mouldering remains make the air pestiferOus, and the region uninhabita- ble. The descriptions that have come to hand from various points visited by this visitation are heart-rending. As I before informed you, the earthquake took placo tt-midnight, when all wero in the deepest slumber The shock was so sudden, and so terrific, that no time was allotted for any one to escape In tho majority of instan- ces, the houses at once fell over tue heads Of the helpless victims, either killing them outright or burying them alive under tho ruins. Those who were so fortunate as to escape with their lives, had of course no clothing but that in which they had retired, and they were thus placed in the most dis dressing condition with no money, they could obtain no food. The destruction ey- eryWhero was SC complete that even money itself was of no value To these horrors must be added that tho Indians of the sur rounding countries rose and could not be prevailed upon to aid ill saving those who were buried alive under the ruins. Hence the unfortunates who were not immediately killed were forced to linger and fDally die of hunger and thirst. Within a few days after the ,tastroph. ,, the dead bodies be- gan to decompose, and the living were compelled to fly from the scene. The price of all provisions and produce has risen, and must continue to do so. After the pestilence must come famine. The produ- cing element has been cut down, and hence the people have nothing to look forward to. They are ill the most lamentable condition m which human beings can be placed. They merit the sympathy of the world. l The Government has thus far acted well, but 1t IS poor and cannot ease the suffer-
 
 sent without delay. The calamity is a ter rible one for Ecuador. The full extent of the earthquake IS not yet known, but it was felt far into the interior of Colombia, among the mountains of Pasto. You will, per haps, soon hear from that quarter. The Medical Commission sent out by the Gov erment writes from Carauqui, under date of August 22, as follows: "The destrnc- tion of the whole of tho canton of Catuchi we have first to note. It's two towns were totally destroyed without having left as much as 8 vestige of their former pres ence. From all tho information we have gathered, , per cent. of the population Was saved here. The surrounding farms are destroyed great Assures run through the ground, making it completely valueless as an agricultural district. Following the direction of the Western Cordilleras, and i'll tine order of the ill uries inflicted, are the former towns of Tnmbalira, Urcuqui, and Salinas, which are Ill the same sad con- dltlon, but are. unapproachable, from the fact that the roads have totally disappear ed, and ail the bridges swept away. Tho town of Atuntaqni is also destroyed; of its population one fifth have been saved. The farms surrounding this place have suffered terribly. Of Ibarra two-thirds of the in- habitants have been saved, and if fifty per sons nad enef8etlcally gone to work to ex- tricate those who were buried alive, the number Of victims would not have exceed ed three hundred in number. But indo- fence, apathy, and thirst for robbery among the people, prevented any attempt from being made to unearth the victims, whose cries and lamentations continued for five and six days Our endeavors to bring together all the wounded at one point and establish hospital have been futile. The local authorities held out no inducements to us, nor gave the slightest attention to our representations. All attempts to get the people away from tho ruins when q pestilence must soon break out and give rise to putrid levers, have been unsuccess- ful. Tie desire to steal and rob is too igreat to keep them away. A horrible fu- turo is ill store for us."