National opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1865-1874, 1873-05-02
After the Earthquake.
a Correspondent Looks Al nam salvador
Amer Its estruc tiOln.

=
! As wo approached the town Of Sal
; Salvador, says letter writer, the sign
! Of destruction became apparent. Al
aqueduct which spans the road, AM
from which the citywas mainly supplied
lay bioken down, its massive archie
> blocking the road, and the remnant
, threatening to fall at any moment. Tn
bullock-drivers were doing splendi'
, business, the whole route being throng
ed with their wagons going to and fro
On arriving ut the suburbs OF the un
fortunate city, our driver, m impuden
, vagabond, stopped, and refused to g
any further. We persuaded him, how
ever, to drive to the plaza, where W.
found the President, and most OF the in
habitants that remained, encamped
The English Vice. Consul could not be
found Immediately, so we waited on His
Excellency tho President, and made
known the object of our mission, placing
our services mt his disposal, and assur'
ing him of the sympathy of Her Britain
mic Majesty's Government. We soon
afterward found Mr.. Blair, acting Vice
Consul, who in company with some
other English gentlemen, was working
hard to save what he could from the
ruins of the British Consulate.
In company with one of these gentle
men, n Mr.. Moilat, made an inspection
of the city, taking sketches of some
most striking ruins. Such q scene of
desolation have never before Witness
ed, ueless it be Africa. The whole
town was down, with the exception of
one or two wooden houses. All the
churches, including the cathedral, were
a heap of ruins the spire of the latter
had been arrested in its fall, and re-
manned in n slanting position, like the
leaning tower of Pisa, but at a mnch
greater angle. One of the bells must
have been swung completely round, as
it remained mouth up. The United
States Consulate was q mass of ruins
inside, though the outer walls were
standing. Mr.. Biddle, the Resident
Minister of the United States, with his
five little children, had very narrow
escape.
The Palace, being built of wood, re-
manned standing except where stone
had been used, in which places the
sides had fallen, leaving great gaps
in the building. There was not single
house left in habitable condition; the
stronger the walls the greater was the
ruin, and the streets were one mass of
debris. Mr.. Blair and his friends were
living in the patio under rude sort OF
tent, surrounded by the ruins of the
consulate. They were all wonderfully
CHEEKY under the circumstances, and as
kind and hospitable rs if nothing had
happened. Mrs. Keogh's escape was
miraculous the room in which she
was sleeping was completely wrecked,
and must have been killed but for some
beams which prevented the walls from
crushing her. Accounts differ as to the
number of lives lost-some sayas many
as fifty killed and 500 wounded: others
not SO much; but all agree that the
number is wonderfully small consider
ing the damage done. Indeed, looking
at the ruins it seems extraordinary how
any escaped, especially as the catastro-
phe happened in the night. Most
providentially the final shock, which
brought down the town, was preceded by
two others of sufficient force to awaken
and alarm the inhabitants, who had
time to rush out, and so save their
lives
The President behaved most nobly,
and by his admirable regulations and
the discipline which he enforced, pre-
vented any riots or robberies. The city
was placed under martial law; citizens
were authorized to shoot any one inter-
fering with their property, and sentries
were posted at the corners of the streets,
with orders to fire at any one lurking
about after dark. Jhdging by the way
the rihe-balls were flying about during
the night, they must have kept a sharp
lookout. Mr.. Taylor, an American
gentleman, who has been superintend-
ing the laying down of telegraphsi in the
country, extended his hospitality to all
indeed, / do not know what we should
have done without his assistance. He
contrived to have good breakfast and
dinner prepared for all who chose to
avail themselves of it, although his |
house was ruined like the rest. During
our stay in the city-some forty-eight |
hours-we experienced seven or eight |
shocks of earthquake of more or less
violence. No further damage was done
by them, simply because nothing more
could be done, unless the earth opened
and swallowed up the ruins. In some
places it already opened, some of the
cracks being upward of foot wide and
of considerable depth. Mr.. Biddle, who
had taken his family ont to a hacienda
some three or four leagues off, rode in
to see us. We went together over the
ruins of his house-a most melancholy
sight. Many horses and mules were
killed by the falling walls, and those
that remained seemed to have their
nerves quite shattered. Mr.. Blair told
me that one of his mules, valuable
animal, was now quite worthless from
the fright she had received she would
stop and tremble at the slightest sound.
Birds also seemed in an excited state
at every shock all the cocks began to
crow, and pigeons wheeled wildly in the
air.
The President issued decree the day
following the disaster, saying that the
town would be rebuilt on its old site.
One cannot help admiring the pluck of
.he gallant old man, but it is nothing ,
more nor less than tempting Providence
TO do such thing. The city has been
destroyed already six or sew !
IN times, at intervals of about twenty !
years the last time was in 1854. The {
ground on which it is built is mere I
'hell. By placing ones ear to the earth {
'unning water may be distinctly heard, '
md if struck by any heavy object hol- I
ow sound is produced. The Indians l
would never build on that site, and it is
heer folly to do so now. Before we o
eft San Salvador carpenters were hard a
It work erecting temporary wooden 9
louses in the plaza, and military band 7
played there in the evenings. The sick D
md wounded having been already re- a