The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-04-08
trace Greenwood Graphically De-
seribes her Experience in ain Earth.
Correspondence Of; the New York Times

quake.
Correspondence Of the New York Times. {
SACRAMENTO, March %, 1872. IL flaye a new
sensation to chronicle to-day-an event which
hope win remain among the experiences Of
my life, alone, apart, unique. One Of the
kind will do. Early this Tuesday morning
we Ind an earthquake-the most severe
earthquake ever known In Sacramento
which, indeed, has hitherto been singularIy
exempt from such unwelcome visitations. II
occurred-that is, the great shock-at 30
O'Clock, and then the clock stopped. 1t was
late when | went to bed last night. I was
tired and weak from recent illness, yet
could not sleep for a long time. Ifancied the
air was heavy and sultry. With window
wide open in my large chamber. still had a
strange feeling of oppression and apprehen-
sion, though all without was profoundly
quiet-adead stiffness. Afterlong tossingan
weary waiting slept; it seemed but q little
while. dreamed was at sea, and that the
ship suddenly struck upon rock, and shud-
dered, and shiyered, and creaked fearfully.
woke to feel the rocking, straining motion of
the ship, and tile roar of the winds and
waves. had actually some moments of
vague distress and terror before | realized
where l was, and what was the strange tu-
multi and shock, and knew that the fearful
power that was shaking the great, solid house,
and rafting the windows and swinging the
chandeliers about me, was neither Of the air
or sea; that the dull, appalling roar was
neither the sound Of "mishty rush
ing wind" nor the "voicc of many
waters Though it was like TO them
both--nor could it be taken for thunder, or
| tho RIM h1o Nf pnI nr tia ftt1, IF hoftIa
1t was something peculiar, strange, terribly
unfamiliar, yet impossible to be lnistakcn--a
nameless horror Of so,iiid, niuffied, Ioyten-
tous, and al-pervading. 1t did not seem to
me to belong to the earthquake It seemed
in the air, not under the ground. 1t was not
the growl Of imprisoned thunder, but the
ominous, defiant roar of some unknown elc-
ment of death and destruction "f1ying all
abroad" It was more terrible to me than
the rocking and trembling all about me.
What moments were those for swift,
solemn, yearning thoughts! Before l rose
from the bed, which shook and seemed to
surge under me, ! seemed to pass in spirit
over thousands of miles, aid to stand BY the
bedside of my dear ones, sleeping in peace, in
security. Something gave me strength, and
rose quietly. went TO window and looked
out, expecting to see the ground heaving like
the waves Of the sea, and people running
fiantically from falling houses. But pll SEEM
ed strangely still except the swaying trees.
| Nothing was disturbed, and few people were
then IN the streets. It almost looked as
though the earthquake was confined to this
house, contracted for by the rampant enemies
of the Central Pacific: The moon shone
through mist, with peculiarly cold, almost
| CHASTITY light. This effect; l1eardafterward,
was noticed 10y others. l suppose it had
| no connection with the earthquake, yet it
| increased the "fantastic terror" of the
scene. My dear hostess came to me to
| try to give me aid, or rather comfort. but as
| the shocks came in quick succession, running
into each other, she was herself almost over
| Whelilied with terror and apprehension. Yet
after her tender, unseltish way, she seemed
to suffer most from fear for the tute of friends
must be terrible there" she aid, and nv own
distress was very great for many dear friends
pictured flying from their falling houses and
wandering through the streets. But, thank
heaven. they escaped the awful visitation this
time almost entirely: We seem to have taken
the full btlli!t Of it; We hear to-day that
many people rushed from their beds into
tue streets and remained till the shocks
were all past. My host, Governor Stan
ford, was perfectly calm, and his cour
age proved contagious. When he tod
me that it was not after all trSt-class
earthquake, ] believed and trembled, re-
spccting his long Pacific coast experience and
not being Judge of earthquakes myself
When lie assured ric flat the worst was
over. / went quietly to bed and there re-
manned as quiet As my bed would allow mC
| r., Ia, rbn Sbno1yc Ennap,n ,,1,.h
lent and frequent. and at lust were 50 gentle
that. worn out by strange emotions. sand tC
the dear old earth / never had feared before,
Crock me to sleep, Motllel';7-and she did it
At abol,! i O'clock was awakened bya smart
shock, the last severe orc we have had
During the day we have had several starts
and tremblementS. so slight that il
is probable we should not have noticed
them had VIC rot been on tile qu ,pre
We are beginning to take some credit tc
ourselves for good behavior as VIC
hear of many in all parts of the city who were
utterly panic.Strickcn. rushing into the streets
in their night-clothes, shrieking and sobbine
and PRAYING, and doing other strange ant
unusual things. One frantic young man
very airily clad leaped out of a third-stor,
back window Of Il hotel. lie alighted OIL thu
roof of an old shed; which gave way, and LEI
him gently down into a spring wagon. S.
he escaped with his life, but has, they say
gone into retirement and Il course of vinegar
and brown paper. We felt assured that W,
were as safe where we were as we could b,
J outside. and not a soul left the house.
Buckle, believe, says that there is nothing
that so takes hold OIL the imagination as al
earthquake, and very likely my imagination
exaggerated the peril, the heaving. the roar
ing, us I afterwari found it did the duration
of the shocks. All the accounts had eve
heard or read Of earthquakes came back *
mc-the dreadful stories of the destruction
of Catania and Lisbon in the old school
books, with their more dreadful pictures, ant
, the later horrors of South American conyul
) sions There is in an earthquake all the ele
ments of panic, Of wild, mad terror, espe
cially in its utter uneXpectedness and TN
certainty. Nothing in nature gives vol
warning that it is coming, nothing assurance
!; that it is past. You cannot know during
, the first great shock whether 1t is subsidins
or eliminating. Still, we were mere solemn
lied than terrified, ut least after the Devil
dered waking out Of sleep, and the first sur
prise and alarm. There was something 81
mysterious, so stupendous, so almost CRANE
in that shudder of the solid globe, that night
mare Of the sleeping earth, moaning ant
tossing under the still bright heavens. w
were hushed and humbled. With sense O
the most utter helplessness we could but Try
to look beyond nature to natures God
silently to appeal from her pitiessness to Hi!
pity, from her reStlessness to His rests
Now, in the brave light of day, we fee
brave, and wonder we We're so awed ant
agitated. and laugh at stories of wild excite
ment and generalization in the hotels dow
town; yet it is strange how every little new
| fno,nnr Of tho S,n1ilin6r nafth niynS one a Snr