Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1868-11-13
The Rscant Earthnnnke.

WORCESTER defines an earthquake 10 be
"a shaking or violent agitation of the
earth, which Is often attended with de-
structiye consequences, and Is one Of the
most formidable phenomena Of nature"
These phenomena are very curious In their
manifestations Sometimes the earth
simply opens and swallows up cities. At
other times boiling hot springs bubble up
from the ground, islands disappear into the
depths of the ocean, the air Is full of
strange low mutterings, the sea rises and
falls rapidly and great tidal waves sweep
over the inland, carrying everything be-
fore them. During the present year these
earthquakes have been common in South
America and along the Pacific coast of
North America, and have been sometimes
attended with terrible loss of life, and
widespread destruction Of property. The
earthquake of Tuesday last, however, ex-
ceeds all others, both in the extent of ter
ritory 1t covered and the irretrievable ruin
II caused. Every part of the United States
was visited by it, from Maine to Califor-
MIA, and its effects were felt TO greater or
less extent in every village and city Of
the country. 1t would be impossible to
conceive of an earthquake, in fact, which
could involve greater disaster and 1t is
TO be presumed that, in the future, men
speaking of earthquakes will compare
them, in point of extent and destruction,
with that of Tuesday, and that the chill.
dren of to-day, fifty years from now, will
say to their grandchildren, as they read
in the press of some contemporaneous
earthquake: " oh that is nothing. You
should have seen the earthquake of No
vember Sd, 1868"
There were warnings of this earthquake
in October, which were felt in Maine
Vermont, Connecticut, Pennsylvania
Indiana and Ohio. Those States were
violently agitated and there was palpa
BILE shaking and trembling. In some In
stances it was attended with destructive
consequences, and yet, in spite of thi
warning, the late Democracy, like the II
reverent individual who scoffed at Noal
and his ark, refused to give heed to II
The great earthquake commenced at
o'clock a. IN. on Tuesday and lasted unit
p. m. without intermission. 1t was
constant succession of shocks, accompa
MED by an incessant shower of ballots
and when the sun went down 1t LOOKED
upon widespread scene of disaster. TIL
great tidal wave, which was one Of tn
formidable phenomena, seemed to carr.
everything before it. All the relics @
slavery and the outcroppings of rebelliol
were washed away. The great fabric c
Reputation, which the Democracy ha
reared, crumbled to pieces before 1t. A
the preposterous roorbacks which the
had invented vanished in a day. Th
losss of life was not inferior to the los
Of property. The earthquake did nc
leave enough Democrats alive to bur
their dead. Here and there q body {
some White Boy in Blue has been n
cognized, but the late Messrs. Seymou
and Blair, and all the leaders, have not beer
and probably never will be, seen agair
In our own city, the destruction was con
plete. Not soul was left to tell the tsl,
And where, on Monday night, there wer
revelry, and boasting, and festal procei
sions, the blaze of fireworks, the glitte
of uniforms and all the pomp and eli
cumstance" of war, on Tuesday nigl
there was only a confused, shapeless an
promiscuous mass of torches, calciul
. lights, rent flags, smashed transparencie
unpaid bills, here and there dead bod
I, without money enough on the person
T pay his bets or give him decent burial, an
here and there a mournful creditor, seel
ing amidst the wreck for something of su
, ficient value to satisfy his claims. Eartl
. quakes are sometimes very fantastic
, their effects. They have been known
cook fishes in their native streams an
boil clans on the bottom of the sea. TIL
earthquake OF Tuesday was no less fanta
tic in its effects. Every one of the vi
Tins thus far discovered had his backbor
completely broken, so that restorativ,
were of no avail. The completeness (
/, the destruction is not the least remarkab
! feature of this earthquake. AS there is NJ
a single Democrat to be found to-day, "
; are compelled to themournful conclusio
: that every one of them was overtaken ar
: overwhelmed by the great tidal wave, {
whose crest the Republican ark was ri
! ing, with the great Captain at the he'll
= and Schuyler at the masthead.
And after the earthquake came the sti
small voice, saying" Let us have Peace
and all the people answered, ave hay
! it."-CnicGSo Tribune.