The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1870-10-27
An EARTHQUAKE.

On Thursday Of last week a slight
shock was experienced in different
parts Of the United States which was
pronounced to be that Of an earth
quake. It was perceptible in the
Eastern States, New York, different
portions Of Ohio and elsewhere. We
take the following report from the
Cleveland Herald Of the shock in
Cleveland, which is about the same
in effect as the reports from other
places:
The city experienced a sensation on
| Thursday morning Of a genuine KIND
/ The West Side murder, the news
/ from France, and all the other excite
ments Of the day became as nothing
/ conpared with the great sensation
that not only shook society, but set
I the buildings to rocking and tremb-
/ ling as II the end Of all things was
nigh at hand and the wreck OF mat
I ter and the crash Of wOrldsu were
! about TO come OFF with no postpone
ment on account Of the weather.
Alta quarter to eleven O'Clock on
I Thursday morning the occupants Of
high buildings in the business portion
Of the city were startled by a swaying
and rocking motion Of the buildings.
] Doors shook, windOws ratified, gas
/ fixtures swayed, furniture trembled
and the the manifestations Of a gen.
| eraI shaking up were so strong that
| most Of the people in the building
stood not upon the order of their go
/ ing, but piled down over stairs and
| out upon the sidewalk with unneces-
sary delay. Pale faces looked into
/ pale faces for an explanation, but goa
none, and the universal query was
/ "What's the cause Of this cOmmO-
/ ton" Some said il was an earth
quake; others that q powder mill had
blown up; petroleum tanks were sug-
| gested; nitro-glycerine hinted at; and
one gentleman, who iG the course of
his residence in the city says he has
/ experienced two previous shocks of
the kind, announced his unalterable
belief that some the city and all that
is therein would disappear forever
within the engulfng jaws Of ! huge
quicksand lying below and awaiting
a stirring up by bigger shock than
I mas YET Deen IelL-
It was noticeable that the shock was
not felt at all, so far as we can ascer-
tain, on the ground floor, was but
lightly felt on the first floors above
and increased in severity with each
story, the upper fiooTs of high build
ings being shaken to an alarming de-
gree. It was thought by some that
this was an argument against the
earthquake theory as in case of the
earth trembling those on the level
Of the earth would have felt the quiv-
ering, whilst nothing of the kind was
experienced. These believe in a con-
cussion of the air caused by an eXplO-
siOn, though no sound accompanied
the shaking up. On the other hand
it is claimed by the "earthquakers'
that an explosion would be accom-
panied by noise; that the greater
rocking in the upper stories was the
natural result Of a shaking of the earth
the swaying being always greater as
the elevation is increased; that tho
usual sensations of an earthquake
shock dizziness and sickness of the
stomaeh-were felt, and that the
Earthquake wave" If it were such, /:
generally testified to as proceeding in
one direction-from East to West.
The weather at the time was dull
rainy and dark.
We note some of the incidents Of
the shock in different buildings.
TESTIMONY ON THE EARTHQUAKE
SIDE.
A clerk in the office of Bradstreef;
Commerce.. Agency, on the second
floor of the new National Bank Build
ing, was sitting, busily writing, when
he felt sudden dizziness and sick
ness of stomach, accompanied by q
rocking sensation. It being a dark
morning he had been burning gas and
supposed it likely that he had been
affected by it. On looking at the
desk before him he saw the inkstand
dancing, and realized that the build.
| ing was in motion. The shaking
continued, and as he had lived in
South America, where earthquakes
had been no unfrequent visitors dur
ing his stay, he Immediately recog-
niZed the symptoms and lost no time
in joining the human stream rushing
headlOng down stairs into the street.
He says he had no idea his old South
American acuaintauces would have
! followed him so far North, and he OBJ
iects more than ever TO Northern To-
calities with Southern principles.
HERALD BUILDING.
The shock, or explosion, or what
ever it may have been, was sensibly
felt i'm the fourth story of our build
ing. That story contains the bind
cry, and is one large room. The col
Ored ink in bowls, standing upon the
ruling machine, was so much agita-
ted as to oblige the man in charge
to cease his work. A closet door
swung back and forth, and all the in
mates of the room, noticed the dis
/ turbance. In our job room, in the
third story, one man sitting leaning
/ against a case, felt a jogging, but not
enough to disturb him, or to make
/ him suspect any other cause than a
mere local one. In the basement
press room, on the Office floor, and in
the second story, the agitation was
not felt.
PERKINS BLOCK.
In this block in the northwest cor
ner Of the park, the shock was sensi-
bly, felt by mary in the second stOr-
les. A lawyer in the second story,
supposed, at first, that it was giddi-
ness produced by close application to
| his business. He arose to his feet to
recover, and then saw the chandelier
vibrating, the safe door swinging, and
matters generally in a turmoil. He
ran down stairs into the street, and
found the occupants of the block, and
blocks adjoining, had rushed pell-
nell from the upper stories, filling
the tagging with wondering faces.
Another lawyer, in the third story,
also supposed himself attacked by
vertigo, but rising to his feet discOv-