The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-04-03
THE EXTENT OF TIE TRADE.


A month after I landed in Sacramento
enjoyed my first earthquake. 1t was one
which was long called the great earthquake,
and it is doubtless SO distinguished till this
day. 1t was just afternoon, on q bright
October day. I was coming down Third
street. Tie only objects in motionanywhere
in sight in that thickly-built and populol,s
quarter were man III buggy behind me,
and strect-car vending slowly up the cross
street. Otherwise, all was solitude and Il
Sabbath stiffness. As turned the corner,
around q frame house, there was great rat
tie jar, and it occurred to ME that here was
an item--no doubt fight in that house. Be-
fore I could turn and seek the door, there
came really terrific shock; the ground seemed
to roll under me in waves, interrupted by a
violent Juggling up and down, and there was a
heavy grinding noise rs of brick houses rub
bling together. / fell up against the frame
house and hurt my elbow. ] knew what it
was now, and from mere reportorial instinct,
nothing else, took out my watch and noted
the time of day; ut that moment third and
still severer shock came, and Us reeled about
on the pavement, trying to keep my footing,
L saw q sight The entire front Of a tall,
four-story brick building in Third street
sprang out like door and fell sprawling
across the street, raising a dust like a great
volume of smoke. And here came the
buggy-oyerboard went the man, and in less
than | can tell it the vehicle was distributed
in small fragments along 800 yards of street.
One could have fancied that somebody
had fired charge Of chair-rounds and
rags down the thoroughfare. The street.
car had stopped, the horses were
rearing and plunging, and passengers
were running out at both ends, and one
man had crushed half way through Il glass
window, OH one side of the car, got wedged
fast, and was squirming and screaming like an
INHALED mailman. Every door of every house,
as far us the eye could reach, was vomiting a
stream of human beings, and almost before
one could execute wink and begin another,
there was massed multitude OF people
stretching in endless procession down every
street nv position commanded. Never was
solemn solitude turned into teeming life
quicker. OF the wonders wrought by "the
great earthquake" these were all that
came under my s,eye; but the tricks it
did elsewhere, and far and wide over the
town, made tootiisome GOSSIP for nine days.
The destruction OF property was trlhing; the
injury to 1t was widespread and somewhat
serious. The g curiosities of the earthquake
were simply endless. Gentlemen and ladies'
who. were sick, or were taking stestd, or
had dissipated till late hour and were ma
king up lost sleep, thronged into the public
streets In all sorts of queer apparel, and
some without any ut all. One woman,
who had been washing a naked Child, ran
down the street holding it by the ankle as
if it were dressed turkey. Prominent
citizens who were supposed to Keep the
Sabbath strictly rushed out of saloons III
their shirt-sleeyes, with bHliard-cues in Their
hands Dozens Of men, with necks swathed
IN napkins, rushed from BARRIERS shops, iatl-
cred to the eyes, or with one cheek i5 c 6,
shaved and the other still bearing >ihl1ry
st,ibble. Horses broke from stables, ana a
dog rushed up short attic ladder
and out on to root, and when bis scare was