The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1868-09-19
Terrible Earthquake i'm Seitla

lAssacptG:s.
The Gdiding Star from Asrinwall. bring;
the following: On the 18th ult, terrible
earthquake visited the cities along the coast
Of Peru and Ecuador, whereby thirty two
thousand lives were lost and property valued
at three hundred millions of dollars destroy,
ed Rumbling sounds preceded the earth
quake; the sea was terribly agitated and
Hooded the land for great distance. Are
quipa, a city Of thirty-fye thousand inhab-
tants, was washed away, and scarcely YES
tige remains. Only four hundred lives were
lost here. africa, a town oftwclve thousand
inhabitants, was also destroyed, leaving not
house standing. Five hundred persisted
here. The tidal wave, which was forty feet
high rolled with terrific roar on shore,
carrying ships further on land than ever be-
fore known. The United States storeshp
Fredonia capsized all on board lost. The
Fredonia had one million eight hundred
thousand dollars worth of naval stores
The vessel was rolled over and smashed to
atoms. The United States steamer Wateree
was carried half a mile inland, and left high
and dry. Only one sailor was drowned
Owing to the great distance she was carried
she never can get afloat again. The Peru
Wan corvette America was also carried
ashore. Thirty three drowned from her
The American merchantmen Rosa Rivera
the English ship Chancellor, and the French
bark Eduardo were also lost. The towns of
Inquique, Moquega, Locumbia, and Pisaqua
persisted at Inquique. The American mer
chants lost heavily-nearly all-and are
totally ruined. The tows of Ibarra, San
Pablo, Atuntaqui, and Imantad are in ruins.
Where Coatacheachi formerly stood is now
lake. The population of the above named
towns were almost entirely swept away
Pancho Puellaro and Cachiquanjo were also
destroyed. The dead are so numerous that
the surviving inhabitants have been forced
to fly from the stencil of their purifying
bodies.
FURTHER PARTICULARS
PisCo, August 10, 1868.
On the afternoon of the 18th August, between
five minutes past five and ten minutes past FIVE
o'clock, both the sea and the land he.cabouts
were the scene of an appalling calamity The
full area covered is not yet known, but so far
we are sure that it reaches from Cohiia to Chaa
the last port where we cast anchor Cha!a is in
ruins, and the destruction was dealt inland as
far as Arequiqa. which no longer exists l
viewed the sad sight of Arica's deso!atiun, and
viii first tell You what l saw before stating
what has reached my ears about scenes of rain
inland.
When we loft Copu!mbo Oh the 18TH several
changes in the atmosphere were noticed, but we
added no importance to them. Ordinarily at
africa an agreeable bleeze is felt from ten A. NJ
until five Z. NJ, and at night there is o calm
which in summer causes an almost unbcar-
able feeling. About this time however the
above order of things changed. At morning
there was rarely any breeze, while at night there
were strong gusts OF wind that stirred up the sea
very much. On the 18th inst. the water wore II
dead calm for some time. Towards fiye o'clock
in the afternoon fresh breeze from the south
set in, but it lasted only while tho damage was
being done. A noise like to that of II tempest
disappearing in the distance preceded the awful
shock Of earthquake and the ground began to
shake from south to north with so great force that
all the buildings began to shed their decorations
and in Il few moments tumbed to the ground
themselves The wooden buildings stood few
seconds longer than their stone-buit neighbors
All at once the cry was heard" The sea the
seal" On looking towards the water we saw
at n glance that we had to move rapidly to the
hills 81 be engulphed, for the sea had 10 use the
expression, shrugged up to an immense
hight. We could not measure it. In an instant
it rushed impetuousiy on the shore, which was
shaking from the earthquake. The vessels We're
at anchor in sight. They were now pitched
ruthlessy northward, then southwark, and
tossed thus to and fro for some moments by
waves about thirty feet high, when they were
cast ashore or dashed to pieces on the reefs
Five different times did such a wave rise, but
the last four lines its hight was less than the
first. Had the waves risen a few feet higher
they would have washed away the upper portion
of the town, which, however, has been rendered
uninhabitabe by the shocks of the earth. These
shocks kept us in terror They REQUIRED on the
,,..t y IL
second day every hour There in the town.
stands a palm tree mistaken by the CONFUSION
and untouched by the sea, its leaves as green
as ever.