The Portland daily press., 1872-04-01
CALIFORNIA.
TEA EARTHQUAKE.
Further Particulars of its Great
Violence,

SAN FRANCISCO March 31.-Dispatches have
been received from the volcanic district in Yo
County, 400 miles south of the earthquake dis
aster Tuesday. Shocks continue, though with
decreased violence. 1t is remarkable that only
a slight shock was felt in Central and North
California. Corro Gordo was badly damaged,
having several buildings thrown down and one
man killed. Lone Pine appears to have been
directly over the centre of the disturbance
Among the killed at the latter place was Mr..
Grey, aged AZ, a native of Texas The remain
der were all Spanish Americans The first
shock is described as resembling park of ar
tillery fired directly beneath the town. Col.
Whipple who was in the second story of the
Adobe House, states that he was Just in time to
jump from bed and get to the doorway when
the house appeared to crumble to pieces be-
meath him. He was buried among the ruins
but succeeded in extricating himself from the
debris having received several severe but not
dangerous wOunds-the scene beggars descrip-
meath the ruins. Cries for help and screams of
pain from the wounded from beneath the ru-
ins filed the air, while those who escaped were
calling for aid to rescue fathers, mothers, wives
and children. The first shock was followed in
quick succession by three others. Over 800 dis
tinct shocks were felt between half past two
and sunrise. In fact the earth was in con-
stant tremble over three hours. A chasm was
opened extending 30 miles down the valley
ranging from three inches to forty feet in
width. Rocks were torn from their places and
rolled nown into the valley. At Swansea Cal.
Fregallos of the smelling works was killed and
great desolation prevails among the inhabitants
of Lane Pine. Dispatches to-day from Visalia
says several shocks were felt in that city last
night and were still coming from the southeast.
Persons anticipate finding immense chasms in
the mountains east of us soon as the snow dis
appears enough to permit an investigation
There are rumOrs of volcano in active opera
ton seen from the summit of Green Hood
mountain, 60 miles south of Visalia The ru-
NOR is considered at least dubious.
The Indians in that vicinity have all left fear
ing recurrence of the general convulsion of
nature, which according to traditions occurred
in that region some hundred years ago and
created what is known as Owens River Valley,
but which was before chain of mountains.
The section affected by the earthquake was
spareW inhabitanted, mainly by people en-
gagged in working silver bearing lead
Additional advices from InyO county place
the number killed by the earthquake Tuesday
at 3d. besides 100 wounded. In the desert coun-
try, stretching from Owens Lake to the Mexi-
can line, are innumerable craters, not long ex-
tlnct, besides several mud volcanoes, and it is
supposed some of the old VOLCANOES may be in
eruption again. A gentleman from Independ-
ence asserts that smoke and ashes from the vol
canO were distinctly seen southwark from that
place, and word had been brought from there
that lava was seen flowing down the mountain,
but the report was not authenticated. The
shocks continued decreasing in force up to
Thursday morning. when over thousand had
been counted. At Tibbetts Rancho, Is miles
above Independence, forty acres of ground sunk
seven feet below the surface of the surrounding
country. Big Owens Lake has risen four feet
since the first shocks, and Owens river ran over
its bank, deposting schools of fish ON the shore.
1t afterwards receded.
For three or four miles through Lone Pine
the earth cracked and one side remained sta
tionary while the other sank seven or eight feet,
leaving wall of earth extending over three
plain. Innumerable cracks were made through
out the valley. Kern and Owens rivers turned
and ran up stream several minutes leaving their
beds dry and finally returned with largely in
creased volume. There has been no parallel
to this earthquake since 1919, when the miss
ions of San Juan, CopiStravo and La Purissima,
in Southern California, were destroyed.