The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1874-09-25
A PERUVIAN SHAKE.
The TerrOrs OF :. EI TembIOr''-EIOVv the
People Act.

|
People Act.
Lima Cor. Chicago Tribune.
Since I wrote you my lAst letter We
have had some of our customary earth
quake shocks, passing over Lima in the
direction of Arequipa, and not felt a
all, or very little, in the western part OF
the city. Nor did the shock reach Cal
lao, although it was felt among tbe
shipping in the harbor, and the wave
were agitated for few seconds, as if q
| whirlpool were about to form in the bay.
The morning came damp, lowering and
| cloudy; so that Our trends, as we met
them in the streets, said, with shrug
of the shoulders Regular earthquake
weather this p Exactly as we would
say to bur friend in the United Sta.es,
on meeting him, eve shall have a storm
by and by." At about D. m, low, sui
len clouds settle lower ard darker,
birds wheel wildly in frightened cir
cles, chickens and turkey-b Izzards fly
| in haste to some shelter, and the river
Rimac moans noisily as it rushes over
street bray with tremeT oous frequency,
and cloud of dust, through the feot-
| deserted streets, warns all pedestrians
that some e1lami:y is at hand. Shut
! ters flap ard creak the distant blUe
| seem lost in gloon my horse, standing
at my paved courtyard gate, unhitched
ard free to wander at will up and down
| the paths, as is the custom, suddenly
! begins to tremble, giving shrill neighs,
and a cold sweat runs down his shapely
neck and legs, as he shudders and grows
II ore and more uneasy. Now my dog
begins to howl, and crouches with
trembling limbs, and mute, imploring
eyes, at my feet. The wipd wFlls, the
sky darBens, and a hoarse mutteTed
murniur comes on the air, near and more
near, low and ominous. Now the doors
begin to quiver, the windows jar and
rattle. My bird-cage, with its fright
ened occupants, sways aud falls; the
parrot shrieks, "El teiAlor El tenn
blor = (the earthquake the eartl-
quake , and buried his head under his
wing. Now the very house -timbeIs and
joists crack and strain. Chimneys fall,
with adobe plastering flying; ard all
the frightened inhabita.ts. Peruvian
and foreign, rush madly, Pell-mell, into
the s. eet. Many run to the open plaza,
or square, to escape the falling build
ings, should any fall.
A sudden lull, a hush of wind and
moaning sound, and again, louder and
nearer, the dread earthquake comes
again. Here are frightened women,
with disheveled hair and tens o. peli-
tence here are wealthy senoras, half
clad, and Just from their toilettes,
kpeeling in common fright and suspense
most trying, side by side with the Chi
nese beggar, sore and loathsome, or be-
side negro CholO, fairly pale with ap-
prehension. There are cries aud nay
ers, clasped hands and kneeling figNtes,
in long, black mantas, looking more
CHASTITY from the funeral aspect.
'' Where may we go ?" c-y one and all
as the ground rises and islls in billowy
undulations and children mingle their |
screams with the general uproar. Yet |
all of it passes over in less than n sec
ond of time, less than l have taken /
to describe it; and whenagain the sun,
bursts forth, the clouds dispense, and /
all fears are allayed thai the earthquake |
viii come again this day, then the kneel- /
ing figures jump up as lively as they |
knelt down, and the laughter and the |
gossip1ng eeefn festde the PUBIC 7
fountains, the dark-eyed senorita, with |
the powder on half OF her face, gathers |
and rolls mp her masses of feavy hair,
and, smiling, fits into the house to
her toilette and the vocifer-
ous cries of the water-men, the calls of
the cake and dulce vendefs, and the
hustle of busy city life commence ex-
actly where they were interrupted an
hour before
Such is the levity of these people, so
accustomed heve they become 10 these
shocks that they viii dance,
and firt, and sing go through al ehe
different gradations of horror, terror,
abiect despair, faintings, pravings,
kneelings, mea-culpa cries and shrek
ings, during the few short seconds of an
earthquake vibration; and forget It's
terrors as soon as it has passed quiver-
ingly by.
But with foreigner the case is very
different. He may have been through
fire and flood, through the dangers of
shipwreck and through hairbreadth es-
capes ON land and sea but the longer
he lives in this volcanic country, the
more he treads its thin, lava-crusted
soil and studies the inner volcanic forces
of its strata. the oftener he,experiences
an ever-so-slight vibration OF an earth
quake, the more he breads and fears If,
the more solemn are his reflections as
the earth and sea rock and jar and, as
TO becoming used to it, only a native
born Peruvian can say that with any
shadow of truth.
OF all the horrors of an earthquake,
those shocks which occur at night are
the most terrible. Your bed rocks you
like very cradle; and, throwing on
the first clothing that lies handy, you
to draw with trembling hands
the bolts of the doors of your hours
that meanwhile are iarring and crashing
so that you seem every moment in dan
ger of being buried in living tomb by
the falling timbers-and then, when
desperate fear has given you superhu-
man strength to pull the displaced bolts
from their fastenings, you rush head
long. impelled by the oscillating lateral
motion, into the dismal streets, with
darkness that can be felt all around
you-your knees quaking, and the cries
of kneeling, awe-stricken wretches sing
ing in your ears.
Such a feeling of insecurity comes
over you, such a sense of your own lit
tleness, when the solid ground rolls and
quivels under your feet Such a feel
ing OF awe, and shrinking of very soul,
after the shock has passed on and over,
and you are left pallid and dazed, to