American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1876-10-21
on the American
Continent.


Earthquakes on the American
Continent.
One of the first earth guakes recorded
in The western hemisphere was in Veae-
zuela, along the coast of Cumana and
in the Gulf of Paria; it took place in
1880, and was accompanied by great
sea-wave of "a feet in height. The earth
opened with large assures, discharging
fetid black saltwater, while mountain
near the Gulf of Caracas was split in
twain, and is still in that condition. In
1886 there were two earthquakes, one
on the coast of Peru, with q sea-wave
81 feet high, inundating the coast for
10 miles inland; and a second over
threw the city of Guatemala in Central
America. In 1857 the coast of Peru
had another visit, while great sea-
wave destroyed the town and harbor of
Callao. In 1858 the island of Jamaica
was shaken, and in 1892 there was a
more violent shake, the ground rising
and sinking in waves like the sea,
while the city of Port Royal was de-
stroyed, and lot of 1000 acres
sank into the sea; earth and rocks, and
even forests with timber were torn from
the mountains and hurled into the sea,
also storehouses and ships along the
coast were destroyed and wrecked;
plantations were overwhelmed by land
slides or engulfed in chasms that sud-
denly opened and became lakes. In
1898 Quito was violently shaken at the
time when the cone and crater of the
volcano Carguairazo fell in. while
streams of water and mud issued from
its sides. Another very dreadful con-
vulsion took place in Peru in 1746,
when, by alternate upheavals and sink
ings of the coast, the sea twice retreat
ed and dashed in again with wave of
100 feet high, overwhelming Lima and
four other ports. The coast kept at
last its lowest level, and formed new
bay at Callao.
In May, 1851, the city of Conception,
in Chill, was entirely swallowed up,
and the sea rolled over its site. Being
utterly gone and buried beneath the
sea, the new city was built ten miles
inland. The sea-wave which rolled up
on this occasion overwhelmed colony
on the island of Juan Fernandez, while
the coast near the old port of Concep-
ton was raised "a feet. That this had
repeatedly happened there is proved by
the abundance of recent shells found
several hundred feet high on the tops
of the hills along the coast. In the
same year St. Domingo suffered, and
the greater part of the capital, Port au
Prince, was overthrown, a tract of land
sinking in the sea and forming an ex-
tensive bay.
On November LIST, 1855, the earth
quake of Lisbon was felt in the English
colonies, while on the 18th New England
was violently shaken, land underground
were heard the sea was much
agitated in the harbors along the coast,
and many dead fish were thrown up.
This agitation was felt in Long Island,
New Jersey, Virginia, and as far south
as Florida and the West Indies. Ships
in the Atlantic Ocean, 800 miles east of
Cape Ann, felt the shock, which was
also felt in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Eng
land, and even inland along the Ger
man Rhine. In 1866, the whole city of
Cumana was ruined, while the entire
coast of Caracas and the island of
Trinidad was violently shaken; the
shocks were almost hourly, and con-
tinued for upward of year, while at
last the island of Orinoca disappeared.
In ITO, St. Domingo had another turn,
and the city of Portau Prince was near
lydestroyed; clefts in the earth, poison
Gus vapors arising, epidemic diseases,
and sea-waves, sweeping for six miles
inland, were among the smaller items.
In 1878 and 1875, Guatemala was visit
ed by successive shocks, induced by
volcanic eruptions in the neighborhood,
and the city of St. Iago, with all its in
was engulfed in huge chasms
which opened in the earth.
In 1897, the lesser Antilles were
shaken from Februaryuntil September,
when the eruption of the volcano in
appears to have brought
relief, as then it ceased. The coast of
Caracas was also visited, and those
portions of Cumana which had been re-
built during the previous so years, were
again ruined. On the shore of the bay
Of Cariaco, Immediately before the
shocks, flames issued from assures in
The earth.-ManatactNrer and BMttder. !