The new North-west., 1872-12-14
Shocks Of Earthquake.
MycH ADO AND LITTLE. DAMAGE.

'''s~ ssssO 6O. OSSV0Vbs
Montana hs. hah :. series of admirable
earthquakes admirable in that they have
had all the characteristics of first class enters
ssinments Of that kind without doing any
particular damage. At 4:3O p. n. on Tues.
day, the first and hardest shock occurred.
1t was quite heavy. giving pcrccptiblc
wave motion to the earth. rocking buildings
roughly. The earth vibration is estimated
to have lasted four seconds. The vibration
communicated to buildings lasted some scc.
onds longer, and that to suspended articles
and liquids for II minute or two. The di-
rcction appears to bc established Us from
few points South Of West to few points
North Of East. There are conflicting opin-
ions ON this. but We submit to the following
The suspended lamps in the postoflicc and
farchcn d UAuchcrs were given nm oscil.
lating motion In these. directions. Messrs.
Phil Evans and -. Butcher. who were
on top of building in the valley, heard
the noise distinctly in tho Gold creek noun.
ta'ns, and intcrchanged remarks rs TO what
II was, before the shock reached them Oh.
scrvations of the stoppage of thermometers
have demonstrated that the shock travels at
the rate Of 1000 to 5000 feet per second,
and the noise through the earth at the rate
of 5000 to 10000 feet per second. The
observations Of the parties mentioned arc
thus substantiatcd, as also by those at West
Chicago. although those at Philipsburg dif.
fer. Mr.. Granville Stuart informs US his
time was 43S p. NJ, thermometer standing
at II deg. in the shade; barometer at o5. 8l4
inches; western third Of the sky oversprcad
with light cirri, perfectly calm. Nothing
unusual apparent in the mir or sky. Mcssrs
Wiley snd Frcdcricks exchanged kilograms
minute after and could distinguish no ef
feet on the current. The barometer and
thermometer evidenced no unusual vsria
tions for the "a hours preceding aud sue
cccdirg the shock
Among the effects We notice: The Pcni.
tentiary walls show u number Of cracks, two
or three feet long; some Of the stones arc bro.
ken in two. and one of the brick cell walls il
cracked. II IL not considered dangerous.
In several houses plastcring was knocked off
and sash .bound window lass broken. Three
or tour persons were thrown down; two
men cutting ice on the river sat down very
quick and unpremeditstcdly The ground
IL full Of innumcrablc frost cracks-a not
unusual thing-but believed to be very
greatly increased in numbers since the
shock. Some persons were made '.sea sick"
others did not notice it at all. Jack
Vaughn's clock was stopped by the shock.
Subsequent 10 this there have been other
shocks rs shown below:
First shock. December ia t:ss M. heavy
Second shock. December II, 2::D A. ". light.
Third shock, December II. G:sJ A. N. moderate.
Fourth si.ork, December II. ! 4. ~, very light.
These were the first shocks felt in this
valley. Mr.. Stuart. who has been here u
years. las never observed any before. In
'05 one was reported in Washington gulcI,
On Saturday anil Sunday, May s2d md 23d,
1860, two shocks were felt in Helena, the
first quite strong. We believe !: was in the
winter of 'G0.sO another was reported ut
Boulder valley. In the vicinity Of the Ycl-
lowstonc Lake they are quito frequent, but
not severe, nearly every party experiencing
them but seeing no disastrous consequences.
They are believed u bc caused by sudden
constraint or release OF cons,raint by the in.
ternsl fcrces OF the Garth giving wave.
like motion to the flexible exterior crust.
Every part Of tive world, except Guinea,
Greenland and Southern Africa, las had
earthquakes recorded. The place most sub.
ject to them is point In the Atlantic ocean
midway between Gui:ca and Brazil. An
earthquake 10 known to have extended over
one.cighth of the globe, passing from one
hemisphere to another. Cnlabria, Italy, had
O40 shocks in five years. In the year Geo, in
Antioch, Syria, $50, 900 persons were killed
by enc. In Lisbon. in November 1855, Co..
600 persons were killed in six minutes. In
Java In 1872, 40 villages were destroyed and
2,057 persons killed. In 1879, the city Of
Caracas was totally destroyed and $4,000
people buried. In the Ncapolitan provinces.
from q, 600 to 40, 600 persons were destroy.
cd in 1857. In March 1860. Quito, Ecuador,
was almost totally destroyed, and our neigh-
b0rs Of California and Mexico have hsd
repeated disasters within the past few years.
It will be seen, therefore. that VIC have had
. iirst.class sensation without any severe
results, ss compared with other victims, and
instead Ut chasing it ~ = calamity, We are
privileged To note it merely as an Interesting
event, ''Shake" with it aud let it pass along.