The Fairfield herald. [volume] (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1849-1876, 1868-09-30

cHhiDle 80 hlucn fcSCniDlanC nee to those
Of volcanoes, that it is difficult to re.
slst the conclusion that they arc pro-
duccd by the same chemical process,
acting at great depth bcncath the
surface OF the earth. Ecuador, which
has suffered SO severely in common
with Peru from the late visitation,
has twenty two mountains which rise
above the limits Of perpetual snow,
aud twenty-five more above 10000
feet, of which II majority are volcanoes,
some constantly active, others occa.
sionally so.
The accounts so far which have
reached us Of the late earthquake give,
atearful picture Of the working of the
Etcrrliic su6tcrrancan forces which have
swept oil whole populations and laid
large portions of cities in ruins. The
sea and the yawning earth seems to
have been contcnding of the prey of
human life. What bombardmcnt Of
artillery oan ho compared to a shock
which, III live minutes destroys town
like ArcTuipa, built Of the strongest
granatc and containing $4,000 inhabi-
tants How puny the most formida-
bic motive power Invented by man
compared to the enormous tidal wave
which carries stout ships, some Of chem
war vessels, Il distance in shore, lcav-
ing them high and dry on the main
land 1t is difficult for the human
inras nation to conceive such Ii spccta.
Gle of terror, horror and misery such
an exhibition of the utter impotence
of man in prescucc of q grand convul-
sion Of nature, us is exhibited in the
late scenes in Peru and Ecuador, of
. Wholesale destruction Of thousands ol
human lives, and the panic, and utter
lcslltution Of many OF tho survivors
These terrific shocks to what we arc
) IN the habit Of calling the solid earth,
show what lrail matter it is after all
wien assaIscd by the mighty forces pcnt
) mp hcncalhits comparatively tina crust.
7, This earthquake was probably felt over
an area Of Il thousand miles square. and
I many Millions OF cubic miles Of rock and
J earth and water must have been url,cav
, cd. There is no form Of human express
! son that can give an idea OF such Il
! power. Yet there i; is all the time ii
: meath our feet. But seldom manfrsine
i itself in Our vicinity, it is in ceascl"ss
' action III the neighborhood OF volcanoes
'. whether they bu active or extinct. Ant
: volcanoes are the great characteristic:
II OF the Pacific coast Of South America
!. OF the two hundred and twenty-five
:, volcanoes that have been in state 0
ACTIVITY within the last hundred and six
9 rv years, Il hr&e majority are on The Pa
= eli!C coast OF this continent. Thu Ande.
: arc full OF them, some Of The vocani,
: peaks OF that great range being among
the highest mountains in the world. Ii
J. the neighborhood ol Arcp.pa, whsci
:, appears TO have been about The centre o
81 this last terrible visitation, there ar,
3 no,mtams between four and five mile
Q height, and Tic inconcevah.o nowc
4 that aphcavcd those vast masses are be
'S yoad all doubt the same that have beer
= recently at work ovcrlhrowing the frebl,
" productions Of human hands, upon yvhicl
: we sometimes look with such wondcrn.
u eyes.
u The only earthquakes ofmodcrn time
} which compare in special interest will
9 the late terrible tragedy are those of lis
bon III 1853. and the Kingdom OF Ma
$ pies in 1853. The loss Of life in tin
. latter, according to some statement
. made at the time" were from $4,000 L
9 10000 The destruction. however WA
y not as instantaneous as in the late ca
! amlty. In That Of Lisbon, however
n 10000 persons are believed to have per
Is Ishcd IN six minutes.
's H. has been observed in formcrrcmark
. able earthquakes, among them That a
! Lisbon, that the waters Of distant ocean
u and lakes exhibited, about the same
u lim", an extraordinary agitation, the i'd
IN some places rising twenty feet. Some
Q hing similar to this is believed to lav,
;, accompanied the late earthquake in Pc
y I'll. y telegram from San Francisco
Q published III the Atlantic cities abou
G The last OF August, mentioned that 0,
, tic 9Th of that montll series Of wave
commenced flowing upon tile coast 0
II San Pedro, Southern California, causing
$ the tide to rise siyly:lhrcc or sixty-fou
i feet above the ordinary high wate
S mark, which was followed by tho Gallin,
= OF the tide an equal distance below The
u low water mark. This rice and fall i
. sand to have occurred regularly every
J, hall hour for several hours. and it is now
J. conJectnred that this tidal phenomena,
had its cause in tho commissions of tbt
waters produced by thc shock in Peru
= ihc waters having travelled nearly iou
y thousand miles within The two DAYS o
0 less that interycncl between the shocI