The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1868-09-17

Probable Loss Of 5a.ano lives.

New York, Sept. Is Later advices
from Panama bring full details OF the
fearful calamity which has overtaken the
the republics of Peru and Ecuador.
Whole cities and towns, with, in some
cases, nearly AL their inhabitants. have
disappeared from the face OF the earth.
The estimate of the n'mber OF lives lost
so far as heard from, anl many from
mountain towns there has not yetabeen
tldnhgsI ls, 80, 090 to 90 990, and the loss OF
property is, set down at nOtles thanS300,
0O0, OUJ. The agent Of the Pacific Steam
Navigation Go. writes to the nanagers OF
the company as follows - yzG9el5i .suezI5i
Into other matters 1t Is now useless
to enter,as L write under the shadow OF a
great grief. ArIco. no longer exists. At
about four 0 clock IN the afternoon of the
9th, we were visited with a tremendous
earthquake Ihad barely time to getiny
wife and children intothe street when the
whole of the walls Of my house fell-fell Is
hardly the word, as. they were blown out
as Ii they were spit at me at the same
time the earth qopened probably two or
three inches, and rbeiohed out dust, ac
companiea witha terrible stencil, asofpow-
der The air was darkened, and [ could
n0tSee my wife, who was within two feet
OF me with tnc children. Ii this had last
ai any time we must have been suffOcated
but III Il about two or three minutes 1t
cleared. and collecting my household
goods together, / then started for the
Chilo. How we passed through the
following houses, where we saw men
struck down, some dead and others maim-
ed, Is, to me. mystery but a mercIful
Providence was ouer us. We wended
our sad way as well as we could toward
the hills with the earth smoking making
Us stagger as drunken people, when a
great cry went up to heaven The sea
has retired. | hurried on and [ had
barely got to the outskirts Of the town,
when | looked back and saw all the yes
sels In ths bay carried out irresistibly to
sea, probably with speed OF ten miles
an hour. La fifteen minutes the outward
current stopped; then arose a mighty
wave, [ should judge abut fifty feet high,
and came on with fearful rush,
carrying everything before its fearful
majesty @
,fhc whole of the shipping came back
with it, sometimes turning in circles, but
all speeding on to an inevitable doom.
Meanwhile the wave had passed in, struck
the mole into atoms. swallowed up my
Office as giant mouthfnl, andsroaring on,
swallowed up the custom house, and
rushing down the same street, carried
everything before it in its irresistible
course. The remains of my dwelling dis
appeared faster than the change OF scenes
in Christmas pantonime. My launch
es had long since disappeared and my ruin
was thus completed [ stood breati,less
looking at the awful sight, but thanking
God hat life had been spared to me and
my loved ones But each second was a
lifetime. Looking seaward | saw the
shiys still hurrying on TO their doom and
in few moments all was completed.
Every vessel was either ashore or bottom
upward The Peruvian war steamer
lost about eighty five hands. The Unit
ed States steamer Waterce escaped with
the loss of one life. With small draft
of water she was carried bodily on the
top Of the sen and landed about quar-
ter of mile inshore of the railroad track.
The Ffcdonia, United States Steamship.
was bottom upwards. Every soul on
board perished a.. the Captain, Sur
geon and Paymaster, who were on shore,
were saved The British bark Chanarco
10, of Liverpool, was lying high UP on
the beach Half her crew perished.
An American BARK laden with gnano was
swallowed up, aud not vestige was left
to tell her fate A Peruvian brig WAS
placed on the railway track, apprently
without losinga a rope or spar.
- The Wisconsin State. Journal IS the