Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1877-06-23
THE TIDAL WAVE.
Details OF Its Fearful RaVages on the
South American Coast.
six Hundred Lives and Two Million
Dollars Worth Of Prop
erty Lost.

NEW AOhhs Ii CAAA4
and Herald, of Panama, received
to-day, has the details of the disaster
and destruction caused on the South
Pacific coast by the earthquake and
tidal wave of May 9th. The towns
of Brica and Iquiuqe, Ponta de La
Cos, PabellOn de Plea, Chanayaya,
Huanills, Tocopilla, Cobija, Mejil-
ZONES, De Bolivia, AutafagaSta and
Chanaralal are nearly all destroyed.
About 600 lives were lost. The de
struction of property is estimated at
$1,000, 600, confined mostly to the
coast, although the town of Tarapaca,
% leagues inland, and the villages
of Plea, Matilda and Cauchall, far in
the interior, were more or less
ruined. The shipping of guano
from Southern deposits will be in
definitely suspended, as all facilities
in the way of launches, chutes,
WharVes, water condensers and
buildings of all kinds have been
swept away. The destruction of
and damage to shipping has been
very great, and was attended by
very serious loss of life. At MOlen-
do, the railway was torn up by the
sea three hundred feet, and at Il0
the railway was also injured. AT
africa the people were preparing
temporary Notifications to repel the
threatened assault of the rebel ram
Hauscar at the very moment the
earthquake was heard. The shocks
were very numerous and caused inn
mense danger. The sea was sud-
denly perceived to recede from the
beach, and a wave from ten to fif-
teen feet high rolled upon the shore,
carving all before it. Eight times
was repeated this assault of the
ocean, and four miles of the en-
bankment of the railway melted
away like sand. Locomotives, cars
and rails were hurled about by the
sea like so many play things, and
left in a tumbled mass of rubbish.
The United States steamer "Wa-
teree," stranded by the wave of '68,
was lifted bodily and flOated two
miles north of her old position. The
cable buoy was moved quarter of
a mile nOrthward. The merchan-
disc from the custOm-hOuSe and
stores was carried five miles distant.
The damage done was greater than
that of the calamity of '6S. The
earthquake had leveled the custom
house, railway station, submarine
cable office, hotel, British consulate,
steamship agency and many private
dwellings. The people passed the
night ON the hills. Thieves began
to rob, when the troops fired upon
them, killing several.
Iquique, built of wood and cane,
tumbled down at the first onset.
Lamps were broken, and burning
oil, spreading over the debris, started
n general cOnfiagratiOn. Three
companies of firemen were instantly
at their posts, although it was diff
cult to maintain an upright position,
shock following shock with dread
full regularity. To procure water,
the two best fire engines were sta
toned on the beach. Just then the
cry arose, 1.-THE Seap' "the sea ~
and the waves rushed in. The en-
gines were carried out by the retluX,
and the fire continued unOppOSed.
Three elements Of destruction were
busyat one mOment-tire, water and
the earthquake. The affrighted
people left the city to its fate, flying
to the neighbOring eminences. The
fire destroyed large portion of the
town, the earthquake levelled nearly
all the rest and the water covered
the ruins which it took out in its re-
fluX. The water cOndensers along
the shore are ruined. This is an iT-
reparable loss for Iquique, as no pal
atable water is found. There were
nearly four hundred thousand quin-
tails of nitrate at Iquique. The adj
iacent ports Of MOlle and Pisqua
were destroyed. Small loss of life
took place, probably ten persons in
all. The cOaSting craft and small
boats in the harbOr were broken to
pieces. As in africa, the robbery of
goods lying in the streets was at
tempted, but a guard of citizens took
such severe measures that the rob-
bers were speedily driven away up
on the pampas, eleven miles from
Iquique. The splendid nitrate es-
adjustment, ia NueVa Carolina"
was completely destroyed.
The suffering of the people of
Iquique was intense. The absence
of water and the destruction of the
principal stores added to their hard
ships. 1t is estimated the damage
done in Iquique will amount to
nearly four million SOles. ChanaV-
ava, a little town at guanO loading
deposit, known as PabellOn Depica,
with 400 houses, has only two stand
ing. Here the earthquake was fol-
lowed by fire. There were no fire
engines in the town, and the sea
came in and eXtinguished the flames,
but as it retired, carried off all that
remained of the place. In one of
the guanO cuttings, thirty laborers
were buried by falling earth. HaV-
re, a town of TaTpaca, two or three
leagues inland, and the villages of
Plea, Matilda and CanchOneS, were
more or less ruined. The loss of life
is reported as not being great. The
earthquake was especially severe at
Chanavaya. The earth opened fif-
teen metres in depth, and the whole
surface of the ground was changed.
At least two hundred people were
killed. The bodies were floating in
the bay, and peStilence is feared.
At HuanillaS, another guanO-lOad-
ing station, the damage inflicted was
fearful. All the houses were de
strOyed. The guanO cuts have fallen
in, and, rs at PabelliOn, all loading
must be suspended for at least two
months.
The wave which succeeded the
earthquake, and completed the de-
structiOn, was nearly sixty feet in
height. Many vessels were lost
here, together with several of those
on board. In short, everything ex-
cept a few hutS at the back of the
town has been destroyed.
At MeNillOneS the tidal wave was
siXty-five feet i'm height. Two
thirds of the town was completely
destroyed. The guanO shoots,
whaTveS, launches, boats, water dis
tilleries, railway station, locomO-
motives, ears and furniture We're all
swallowed up. Six persons We're
drowned. At TeOcipilla little or
nothing remains. The Noun mine,
called La Pena Danca, four miles to
the southwark, sank in, smothering
200 wOrkmen, of whom 40 were
Cornish miners. Cobiia, the princi-
pal town on the Bolivian coast, has
lost three-fOurthS of the houses. The
wave, thirty-tiVe feet high, swept
along the main business street, and
left il rs level as 4 desert. The
wharves and launches were all car
,.fa1 ont n ..a.1