Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1868-01-16
The Earthquake at st.
Thomas.

THOMAS.
List Of shocks and rumbling sounds
which followed the earthquake
on the West India island of St.
Thomas on the 18th of Novem-
Der last.
The 18th of November was a
beautiful clear day, with a fine,
tlue West India sky. The wind
was East by North, but very lit
tie Of it. The ocean was quiet,
nearly q calm. The sun shone-
bright and warm, and the barome-
ter stood at twenty-four degrees
Reaumer in the shade. There
was not the least sign of any kind
that foretold this great revolution
in nature, when at once, just about
"a o'clock in the afternoon, there
was heard the underground rum
bling noise, which was immediate
followed by a terrific earthquake,
which seemed to come from South
by West, and pass to the North by
East. The earth seemed as if COM
posed of small waves rising and
sinking under your feet, SO that
if you made step forward your
foot seemed to meet higher ground,
and if you putt backward it also
there met higher ground. To
stand still in one spot was impos-
sible, and when trying to walk it
was as if something kept you
back. The underground sound,
while the first shock was going on,
for about one minute and a half,
was most dreadful. 1t terrified
every living soul. The sun SEEM
ed at once to become dim; it was
as if eclipsed, and this dimness
lasted that first day until sunset,
and continued the whole of the
next day, but in a smaller degree,
and only wore entirely away in
the course of two days more. 1t
was as if the sun, though apparent
ly as bright as usual, had lost
some of its warming and illumina-
ting power. After the first ter
rifle shock the ground kept on
groaning and trembling, when,
about ten minutes after, second
strong shock was felt. Directly
after this second shock the ocean,
which shortly before the first shock
had receded from the land several
hundred feet, was seen to rise like
one huge wave and come in to-
ward the harbor. 1t stood up
like one straight white wall, about
from Is to 20 feet high, and ad-
vanced very fast into the harbor,
sweeping or upsetting the small
vessels before it, and raising the
large men-of-war and steamers to
its top. The appearance of this
wave was like a white masoned
wall, erect and straight as if made
after a rule; it had no appearance
at all of wave in general. 1t
broke in over the lower parts of
town to tho height of couple of
feet, and to the extent of about
$50 feet inland, according to the
level of the locality. This wave
rising was repeated a second time
after an interval of about ten min
utes, and this seemed to be even
a little larger than the first, and
went a little further inland. AT
ter these two waves had passed a.
way the ocean remained, as far
the eye could see, again quite
calm, just as before the first shock
of the earthquake.
The shocks continued, and were
felt every few minutes. 1t was
as if the shocks of the first day
hung together as in one chain, but
from 4.45 o'clock on the morning
Of the 10th of November, the
shocks were felt more separately |
and distinct, and, then seemed as |
# they were more frequent. |
From 2.45 o'clock P. NJ, on the /
18th, to 2.45 A. NJ, on 10Th, there
we're eighty-nine shocks. From
2.45A. NJ, on the morning of the
10Th till-midnight there were two
hundred and thirty-eight shocks. |,
The shocks became less severe
rom the 21st of November.