Nebraska advertiser. [volume] (Brownville, Nemaha County, N.T. [Neb.]) 1856-1882, 1868-11-19
CALIFORNIA EARTHQUAKE.
Personal ExPerlencea-AtmOs.
pherlC Phenomena.

A private letter received by a gen
tleman in this city from his nephew
in Oakland, near San Francisco, gives
the following interesting account oi
some personal experience during the
recent earthquake in California:
SAN FRANCISCO, October q, 1853.
"I had just left home, and had
reached the street in front of my house
when / heard q noise like g strong
rushing wind through the trees,
and on looking up to the oaks found
their branches in fearful commotiOn.
As the morning was very sunny, and
there was no indication of wind,
thought il strange that q gust should
spring up so suddenly. Presently
felt the earth rock, and then knew
that it was an earthquake, I stood
still few minutes to watch the thing,
and it rapidly increased in violence,
and soon saw chimneys tOppling and
falling. 1 beat hasty retreat home,
and found the family just coming out
of the house very much frightened.
BY this time the work was done, and
old Mother Earth resumed her wOnted
serenity, the shaking having cOntin-
ued about one minute.
''I think have felt more alarming
motions at previous shocks, but this
continued much longer, and it is to
this fact that the increased damage
done must be referred. We had three
chimneys broken of, but not thrown
down. One was so badly cracked
that / had it taken down. The other
two were cut offsmOOth, twisted round
oh loft az hirn
/ had several vases broken, &C., but
aside from this sustained no loss. Will
lian's and Dicks houses were un-
harmed. About One-half of the Chin
neys were cut of, and of this number
say One-third thrown down. Some
buildings lost their Prevails and avn
ings, and much glass was broken in
Oakland, but the damages were not
severe.
1.-THE papers give so full account OF
the damages. done in this city that ]
will refer you to the enclosed account
for the details. In taking a ramble
through the city am surprised at the
little damage done. In my part Oi
the town no apparent harm is done
The buildings whose walls have been
seriously cracked are being braced up
No well built edifice has been harmed
to any extent worth mentioning.
There have beeu great many rumors
Of1Oss of life, but as far as know the
fatalities number four in this city anC
one at San LeandrO.
by the way, our trade yesterday
the day after the shake, was unusually
large"
PHENOMENA PROCEEDING THE EARTH
QUAKE-THE VAPOR.
The San Francisco Bulletin has the
following:
"For several weeks preceding the
earthquake the climate phenOmens
have been more remarkable along thi:
coast than at any given period fol
many previous years. The atmos
phere has been dull and oppressive
and so charged with vapOr as to at
tract general attention. 1t is not an
uncommon occurrence to have a few
days of smoky atmosphere in the au'
tumn, a few weeks before the rains
set in. This usuallay results from fires
in the woods, which are often eXten
sive in the coast range. And although
there were severe fires in this region
and more extensive ones in Oregon
they do not furnish any satisfactory
solution to the atmospheric phenOme
ma under notice. The vapOr extended
seaward from one hundred to three
hundred miles westerly, and landwarC
in an easterly direction, beyond the
slope OF the Sierra, making breadth
Of not less than five hundred miles.
1--WE find the same phenomena a:
far north as Washington TerritOrory
in the Puget Sound region, and as IA
south IS San Diego county, the south
ern limit of California, or extending
along the coast for a distance of fifteeT
hundred miles. The territory whert
| the same phenomena has been wit
messed is probably much larger thar
that described. We have only named
such extreme points as we have hearC
| from at this date. The atmOspher'
was dense, and so charged with smOku
or other vapor, that after nightfal
vessels navigating the bay and Sacra
mentO river were obliged to wait 70
daylight. Vessels attempting TO en-
ter COnse bay, in the southern part o
Oregon, were detained outside Of tn
I oar, III SOME lIlSJduCCSS AO4 ANN "a %
weeks. At other coast ports great DIFF
fieulties were experienced in making
the entrance even at midday. In
atmosphere had what old settler
termed q burnt smell, but was NOR
oppressive at times than that know
t0 result from the burning of forests
at is now reasonably certain tina
this condition Of the atmosphere wa
not caused by fires either in Oregon o
this State. There have been no fire
sufficiently extensive TO account TO
these peculiarities. There have beeI
fires, extending along the coast rang
for forty miles. and yet the smoke wa
noticeable in this city hardly more thai
a week. The phenomena must De re
ferred To some other cause having
close connection with the earthquak
of yesterday. 1t is said that the sam
atmospheric peculiarities are recog
nized in South America as immediate
" proceeding an earthquake. An
thar ara rao1xy an -fhia vicinity VIII