Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-10-26
THE EARTHQUAKE!
THOUSANDS FRIGHTENED!
NO ONE INJURED.

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the Atlantic coast on the west by lake.
Erie and Ontario, and on the south by
Inc drawn along the parallel Of latitud,
from Cleveland to New York. 1t was o
short duration, and, so far as we have
learned, did not result in any loss ofli6
or any serious damage to property.
As a fitting scene for the termination
OF the week Of storms that has passed
oyer b neighbOrhoOd, Cleveland was
thursday morning visited by an earth
quake, that tarried with us a few seconds,
gave every house a vigorous shake and
then passed on without even saying
good bye.
This sturdy visitor arrived at about
half past ten o'clock, when the mind is
generally absorbed in business transac-
tons or in other pursuits. Business
men were all in their offices, talking
over stocks, DO DIS, etc, work men were
at their benches, telegraph operators
near the battery, printers distributing
their cases" and through all our school
houses the twelve thousand school chill
dren were seated at their desks. All al
once the inmates Of houses felt a shock.
Zach person thought himself alone
affected and believed a sudden vertigo
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thought their seats were turning over,
and, attemptingt to straighten themselves,
looked up and found every one near
labOring under some strange excitement
Then the gas pipes were seen TO be sway
ing 70 and fro, and every indication of a
building about to tOtter to the ground
was visible. or course no one believed
that any other buildings in the city were
effected in this manner, and a general
rush was made to get out Of the falling
tenement Everybody started rapidly
down stairs.
The shock had been felt only in the
upper stories Of buildings, its intensity
being proportional to the height Of the
room. People in the lower stories drove
their quilts, measured their tape, weigh
ed out their sugar, disposed Of their pro-
duce or drove bargains without the
slightest idea that the sure and firm-set
earth was rocking beneath their feet.
There Is. perhaps, no house m the city
where it was felt in the lower story and
no pedestrian in the streets was aware of
the convulsive thrObs undergone by
mother earth until informed of the fact
by some frightened individual sent fiy-
ing dOwn to the earth from a third or
fourth story.
In the Western Union Telegraph office,
in the upper story Of the National Bank
buildings, several operators were seated
at work, when they all felt the tables be-
fore them o A glance about the
room sufhced TO reveal the whole situa-
ton. The wires all swayed to and fro,
and the building is said to have Oscilated
a foot east and west. The inmates of the
edifice state that they were taken with a
sudden dizziness and a pain in the stom-
ach similar to sea sickness. They thought
the shock lasted in their building about
fifteen or twenty seconds, and that the
building swayed to and fro ONE ten
times during that interval. Men who
were sitting about an inch from a table
soon felt the table fall against them. All
were not long in getting down into the
where a hundred other persons
were found in the same state Of fear and
excitement.
In the upper story Of WOrthingtOn's
block the earthquake appeared, causing
the general tumbling down of large piles
of hardware. Hatches and axes were
dashed TO the floor with a crash.
The upper part Of Payne's block was
by no means sighted, the shock making
known its presence by the sudden fall
of sacks filed with coffee and other
articles.
In the Kennard, Weddell and Ameri-
can houses looking glasses were terribly
shaken, and some fell to the floor. The
inmates reeled back toward their beds in
sickness, and in a few seconds stared
aghast and precipitated their steps away
from what they considered an unsafe
hotel. The clerks in the offices were
~astOnished to see such a stream Of people
rushing down from the stairs.
In a residence in the upper part Of the
city, a lady had just received a prescrip-
ton from the physician, who stood hat
in hand about to leave. The lady felt
the shock, and feeling faint with sick
ness, requested the doctor not to Leave
At the same moment her mother re-
marked that the sofa, where she was sit
ting, manifested an inclination to take a
promenade about the room, and that the
gas pipe was making vigorous efforts 10
get down from the wall, as if wanting to
lay itself upon some ones back. The
discovery Of the cause Of this was re-
ceived with a scream and a leap for the
street, where, horror on horrors head,
the frightened people were only laughed
at for their pale faces.
N THE SCHOOLS.
The earthquake was not felt generally
in the schools, and the teachers were
sstOnished when Intercepted on the
subject by parents anxious for he safety
OF their children. In Sterling avenue
school, a slight sensation was eIpe-
rienced, but not enough TO create the be-
lief Of an earthquake without further
proofs.
POST OFFICE BUILDINGS.
In the United States court, in this
building, a case was being argued before
Judges Swayue and Sherman, but the
sudden motion Of everything in the
room caused a speedy suspension Of
business. The room shook once or twice,
from east to west, stopped a few seconds,
and then began shaking again. The
LAWYER left his case and the judges their
bench, and every one shot down into the
street with the greatest rapidity. Sew
eral OF the gentlemen here felt a diZzi-
ness, accompanied by a pain in the stOm-
ach. The dignity of the court was
before so unceremOniously broken in
upon.
ALL OVER THE CITY
On both sides of the river the shock wa
felt and a repetition Of the experience Of
every one affected is unnecessary. Those
who had any definite idea Of the shock
say the buildings they were in moved
east and west. From fifteen to thirty
seconds is the estimated duration Of the
earthquake, during which time the ma
iority Of our citizens felt an ailment akin
to sea sickness.
The getting down stairs and into the
streets was simultaneous throughout the
CITY and thousands of persons from
counting houses, schoOl-roOm and work
shops, appeared on the sidewalk at once.
Their faces were blanched with fear as
each eagerly Intercepted pedestrians as
to what was 'the matter" and cast fur
tive glances at the tops Of their build
ings which they expected to see falling
down. The sidewalks and roads were
a scene Of dismay and excitement. No
one in the streets had experienced in the
slightest degree the presence OF an earth
quake and many were at a loss TO ac-
count for the strange antics Of the crowds
that so frantically rushed out Of doors.
It sOon became apparent that an earth
quake had passed. over the city, giving
every building a shock on its way.
The men working amid the hum and
buzz Of wheels in machine shops were
stricken with fear in feeling the walls of
their building shake. In Wilson's sew
ing machine factory the men broke for
the street and ran toward k~rieger's ma
chine shop, where from fifty to sixty
men rushed out against them. Each
crowd expected to see the buildings just
evacuated fall to the ground, and each
sought refuge in the other's house, The
two parties looked at each Othsr's pale
faces in surprise, and on seeing the
buildings stand firmly UP were sOrely
puzzled at their own conduct. The ap-
pearance Of the whole street, however,
showed that they were not alone in their
fright and they soon learned that the