Weekly Trinity journal., 1868-09-26
PRECINCT ENROLMENT CLERKS

THE EARTHQUAKE AT ARICA-STATEMENT OF AN
EYE-WITSEss.-The only personal account of the
great South American earthquake that has come
to hand is given by the agent of the Pacific
Steam Navigation Company, who was at africa
on the coast of Peru, and which is in Is degrees
81 minutes south, and had population of 3, 500.
He says :-'Arica no longer exists. At about 5
O'Clock in the afternoon of the 18th we were
visited with a tremendous earthquake. l had
barely time to get my wife and children into the
street, when the whole of the walls of my house
fell-fell is hardly the word as they were blown
out as if they were spit at me at the same time
the earth opened, probably two or three inches,
and beched out dust, accompanied with terri
BILE stencil as of powder, the air was darkened,
and could not see my wife, who within two
feet of me with the children. If this had lasted
any time we must have been suffocated, but in
about couple of minutes it cleared, and, COL
lecting my household gods together, | then
started for the bills. How we passed through
falling houses, when we saw men struck down,
some stone dead, others MANNED is to me a mys-
terry. But mercful Providence was over us.
We wendell our sad way as we'll as we could to-
ward the hills with the earth shaking, making
US stagger as drunken people, when great cry
went up to Heaven. The sea had retired
hurried on and had barely got to the outskirts
vessels in the bay carried out irresistibly to sea-
probably with speed of ten miles an hour. In
a few minutes the great outward current stopped,
then arose mighty wave, should judge about
fifty feet high, and came in with fearful rush,
carrying everything before it in its awful ma
jesty the whole of the shipping came back with
it, sometimes turning in circles, but all sped on
to an inevitable doom. Meanwhile the wave had
passed in, struck the mole into atoms, swallowed
up my Office as n giants mouthful, and roaring
on swallowed up the custom house, and rushing
down the same street carried everything before
1t in its irresistible course. The remains of my
dwelling house disappeared faster than the
change of scene in Christmas pantomime my
launches had long since disappeared, and my
ruin was thus completed. / stood breathless
looking at the awful sight, thanking God life
had been preserved to me and my loved ones,
but each second was lifetime looking sea-
wards, l saw the ships still hurrying on to their
doom, and in few minutes all was completed.
Every vessel was either ashore or bottom up
wards. The Peruvian war vessel america lost
about IS hands. The United States steamer Va
teree escaped with the loss of one life with q
small draft of water she was carried bodily on
the top of the sea and landed about quarter of
mile in-shore on the railway track. The
United States storeship Fredonia was bottom up
wards every soul on board persisted. The Cap
tain, Surgeon and Paymaster were on shore and
were saved. The British bark Chanarcilo of
Liverpool, was lying high up the beach, the
remains of hull; half of her crew persisted.
An American bark, laden with guano, was swal-
lowed up and has not left Yestge to tell her
fate. The last of the Inflated squadron, Peru
Wan brig, was placed the railway track ap-
parently without losing rope or spar. On what
has since happened it is needless to dwell for
nearly two days we lay on the hills without COW
erng and without food, in constant state of
alarm, as the shocks of earthquake were inccs-
sant.'