Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1868-09-14
THE TERRIRLE EARTHQUAKE IN
SOUTH AMERICA.
Cities Swept tAway-UsParalleled Less Of
Life and PPOpePty.

Cneses swept Away-Onparalleled Less Of
Life and Property.
On the 18th ulumo o terrible earthquake
visited the cities along the coast OF Peru and
Ecuador, whereby thirty-two thousand lives
were lost, and property valued at three hun.
dred millions Of dollars destroyed. Rumbiine
sounds preceded the earthquake; the sea was
terribly agitaied. and flooded the land Tor q
great distance. Arequipa, city Of thirty
thousand inhabit tants, was washed away, and
lives We're lost here. africa, a town Of twelve
thousand Inhabitants. was also destroyed,
leaving not a house standing. Five hundred
perished here. The tidal wave, which was
shore. carrying ships further on land than
ever before known. The United States store.
ship 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 atsms.
The United States steamer Wateree was car
ried half mile inland, and left high and dry.
Only one sailor was drowned. Owing to the
great distance she was carried she never can
get affoat again. The Peruvian corvette
america was also carried ashore. Thirty
thirty-three drowned from her. The Ausri.
can merchantman Rosa Rivers, the Euglish
ship Chancellor, and the French bark Eduar.
DO were also lost. The towns OF IquiQ ne,
tirely destroyed. over SIX hundred perished
at lquique. The American merchants lost
heavily-peerly all-and are totally rained.
The towns Of loarra, San Pablo, Atuntaque.
ana tmantAd are in ruins. Where Coatache.
acni formerly stood is now a lake. The pop.
ulation OF the above named towns were almost
entirely swept away. Pancho Puellaro and
CacniquanJo were also destroyed. The dead
are so numerous that the surviving inhabitants
nave been forced to fly from the stencil Of their
petrify ing bodies.
Letters Iron Lima, Peru, give additional de-
tails. The earthquake commenced at half. past
hve o'clock on the 18th OF August, extending
from Bolivia to the southern ports Of Chilli.
The coast, and over a hundred miles inland,
W nUvn and rifs
were literally ruined. All the buildings which
were not destroyed by its ravages were so badly
injured as to require demolition. All the pub
lie ed1nces in africa were destroyed, including
the custom. house, containing more than foaf
million dollars worth of goods, all Of which
were lost.
The loss Of the Fredonia and the landing of
the Wateree are described as follows They
were both at anchor in the harbor of africa, near
each ether. After the first shock had occurred
on land, which created great CONSERVATION on
Fredonia. and the paymaster OF that vessel,
took boat and went on shore to inquire for
the welfare Of friends, and to offer the services
OF the ship. In a few moments after leaving
the vessel a great upheaving Of the waters in
the bay commeL ced, and the Fredonil, parting
Der chains, was dashed about at the mercy Of
the waves, and finally went to pieces on the
reef. Nothing OF the vessel was saved. Her
officers and crew, twenty seven in number,
were lost, and also Mrs. Dyer, the wife of the
lieute nant commanding. The officers names
were Lieut.; Is: Dyer; David Organ, master; s
We'll, paymaster's clerk. The vessel had nearly
Two mliione OF dollars worth OF naval stores
on board, all OF which was totally lost.
Ia W aferee was more securely an c bored but
dragged her anchors, and the great tidal wave
swept her four hundred and fifty yard. inland.
about two miles north ofthe ruined town. She
now lies between two hillocks of sand very
slightly injured and it will be utterly i'm posi-.
BILE to extrlcate her, and Admiral Turner is only
hopefui OF saving her battery and stores. Only
one sailor vas washed over boar and drowned.
Lieutenant johnson, Of the Wateree, was
ashore at the time, and while carrying hls wife
In his arms to place Of safety, she was struck
by portion Of falling building and instantly
rails, cars, machinery, gun carriages, house.
hold furniture, barrels, dead animals, and
mutilated corpses are lying about iu ,nfusion
The city numbered seven thousand In b abItants,
and Its multItudes stands hopolessly beggared
on the beach. Three hundred lives were lost
conflagration destroy ed nearly all that was
not demolished by the earthquake, and q
drunken rabble robbed and despoiled VIII at re-
NAMED. Heavy cannon were carried way up
from the island battery and now lie buried in
the sand on shore. The stencil is sickening.
From Guayaquil, uader date OF August &c,
We have bref accounts Of the earthqu IKE in
Ecuador. 1barra, capital Of the province OF
Imbabura, San Pablo, and AIturtaqui are in
ruins The entire population Of those towns
thirty thousand. at Quito the earthquake
commenced at twenty minutes past O'Clock a.
m, Aug ustl6, and continued at intervals for a
few hours. Up to the last date, the 18th, the
churches, public buildings, and private dwell
ings were already in ruins, and The people hv-
ing in tents in the great squares. The towns
adjoining Quito-named Verusho, Puelioro,
and anjo-have almost entirely disap.
peared, with their inhabitants. Few were left
alive, being Obliged to fee to escape the pesti-
lence arising from the dead bodies The towns
OF Nlnich0 and San Antonio have also disap-
pealed. The number Of deaths in the city of
Quito is not yet known. A large number of
wealthy inhabitants died from pestiience or
disaster.
A Valparaiso letter dated August II, saws:
advices from Talquahano state that at nine
O'Clock on the night of August iith, three
earthquakes occurred. The second caused an
immense INN s ~ t,dai wave, which sweptaway nearly
hall almost uninhabitable. Four lives only
Were lost, the Inhabitants fleeing to the hills.
AT Tome the same occurred, bu', being high,
little damage was done The port of Consti.
tuein suffered from the wave, but was not
much damaged. Several small vessels were
driven ashore, and fve men drowned. The
town OF Conception was also damaged by the
same cause. Cobija, Meriilonss Islands, Pisa
qua, and all the cities and towns, in fact, from
Cape Francisco, N Ecuador, TO Magellan
Straits, suffered more or less from the terrible
visitations Of the ear thquake.
At Callao the sea burst over line Of houses,
skirting the shore, at ~ O'Clock p. m. on the
l3th, completely cutting them OF their contents.
Several vessels colIided. The next night q fire
broke out, and nifty seven houses in the busi-
ness portion OF the place were destroyed, en-
failing loss Of q million and half Of dollars.
No lives were lost. The cities Of lea and Pisco
also suffered heavily, forty houses being over.
thrown and twelve lives lost at the former
place. -e.-
I he steamer Santiago, bound from Callao to
Valparaiso, put in port off Chala, when, on
the 18th. she was seized by the great wave her
chains snapped, and the vessel carried TO sea-
In a few min utes the wave returned towards
shore, carrying the steamer with IL, and carry.
lpg with it all her passengers safely over a
high cliff, leaving it safely inside the chrunel
in the port OF Chala, completely covered with
wafer.
AT Caldera the wave and earthquake COM
ings being left heaps Of rubbish. No traces of
streets are to be seen. The inhabitants fled to
the mountains, but many were drowned or
killed. Thirty-seven dead bodies had been
discovered at last advices. At Inquois the
shock lasted four minutes, after which the
wave came and destroyed about three q arters
of the place, with many lives, nearly all the
provisions, and the condensing machinery
" which supplied the In Inhabitants with drinking
water. Provisions and water have been sent
there from Valparaiso. One German house an
Iquique lost over $4,000 worth of property
Over six hundred people Were drowned, At
ArequipA the earthQuake commenced few
minutes past five in the afternoon. In five
minutes nearly every house in the city Nas
levelled to the ground. The tower Of Santa
Catalinea Church is the only thing LETT stand.
ing, and that will have to be pulled down.
Nearly all the inmates Of prisons and hos pitals
Nearly one hundred shocks occurred in three
days. The city is one mass OF complete ruin.
The river has changed. Mount Iniesta Is ac.
tually throwing out lava, smoke, and uuanti.