The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1868-09-30
From The Charleston Courier. |
Ih, Ealthouake.

h%y From The Charleston Courier
Ih3 Earthquake.
llumbolt, the great traveller, geo.
graphcr and philosopher, said Of the
region near the Andes, in Peru. that
earthquakes arc SO frequent there that
they excite but little more surprise
than sudden shower does IN Europe.
Though this is, of course, somewhat
exaggerated expression, it, ncvcrthc
less, conveys Il striking idea of the fire.
quency Of earthquakes in that region,
rnd of the degree to which the people
have become familiarizcd with these
awful convulsions of nature. Il is
said, OH almost equally good authority,
that, taking the range Of the West
coast Of South America, from the
Southern part of Peru to tho upper
part Of Ecuador, there is scarcely a
day without shock of some kind, and
it is estimated that The coast Of Peru
has risen cigthy-tivc feet from these
causes since it was first inhabited
Intelligence Of terrible convulsion
of this kind has been published in our
columns, and the calamity, rs describ.
ed is Of the most fearful character. It
appears that on the 18th of August, Il
widespread earthquake devastated a
large part of the coast of Peru and
Ecuador, totally destroying from ff.
teen to twenty cities and towns, some
of them being moro than u thousand
miles apart. The accounts do not cna-
bic lis to identify all the places men
toned. At least six Of them, how
ever, viz africa, Iquiquc, Moquceua,
Pisagua and I4ocumba arc in the de-
r""tmont of Mnslncgnn, tho most
Southerly part of Peru; two others,
Arcquipa and Chincha, arc in the
department of Arcquipa and Chala
may be either Of the Peruvian towns
of that name, one being in Mouucgua,
and the other in Arc1uipa. fbarra
and San Pablo arc in Ecuador. Are
qlipa is the capital Of the depart mcnt
ofthat name, and was city Of about
forty thousand Inhabitants, with many
wcll-built and substantial public
buildings, q cathedral, churches, con
vents, Nc. 1t had been four times
previously devastated by earthquakes
hrica was once a very important place
having bcon the shipping port for the
largo wealth furnished bv the mines
of Potosi. It's formerly had a popu.
lation of oyer 10000, but had been
reduced to about 1000, though it is
now put down at 10000 Tacna was
town of about 10000 population
and is united with africa by a Govern.
mcnt railway Of about forty miles in
length. Moqucgua was the capital OF
tho department. of that name, with a
population OF about 10000. IUuiouc
and Chincha were small seaport towns
with populations of probably 1000
each, deriving their chief Importance
from the guano islands of tho same
name in the immediate vicinity
PisaGua is also u small seaport, and
I.ocumba is inland. Ibarra, one OF
tho destroyed towns in Ecuador, is
situated about fifty miles to the North
ward of tho city of Quita, which was
sotdEoadfully ravaged by an earth
! quake in 1859, and is at the foot Of
the Volcanic mountain Imbabura. 1t
'was'awoll-bailt and beautiful town,
containing about $4,000 inhabitants.
San Pablois in the same Vicinity. ~
Those towns contained from eighty
thousand to aone hundred, thousand
inhabitants, and If they were totally
destroyed, rs stated, there must be-
fully that many people homeless and
rumcd.io How many ofstho Nunfortu
nate ,5s ,5Sashaheiittants aeitants persisted outright is
not SO clcar.- One account says twon-
ty-liyc thousand, ; but from tho much
smaller numbers reported to have lr}eF.
lshed in Arica and Ignique,th is
good reason to hope that twenty-five
thousand is an exaggcraton. Bot be
this 1T may, tho loss of life, tho
destruction of fpropcrty, and The uttcr
run ll' OF OF 50 many thriving cities and
towns are lawful subjects. ofcontcmpla-
ton. ,Asusual in such eases, tic hor-
rorsiofthc event, when tho earth was
rising and falling astsif It vas SO mnc!.
water, and when houses were recline
and totte,ring, were fearfully aggrava-
ted byatho suddon,5rising Of tho sea.
whichrollcd in upon tic shore in n
greatgwayc, like a wall, forty feet
high
I4ima, tho capital Of Peru, which
appears to have suffered but little
daniage on this occasion, has cxpcri.
cnccd horetoforc upwards of twolyc
troniendous earthquakes, which were
terFibly destructive to life and pro.
8Pertyy IN il one Of which eycryL house in
the city 4 was destroyed !; but in mono
wore so many lives lostas this last
fnarfal calamity Ihe original town