Morning journal and courier., 1880-12-03
Price Four Cents.
The Earthquake at Aeram.
The Disaster that DesoIafed the Han some Capital of Croatia and SIavonia or November 9ths

The Disaster that DesoIated the Hand-
 some Capital Of Croatia and SIavonia on November 9ths
 1 GCorrespondence of the New York worId.l l Of course the telegraph has informed you | of the sudden disaster which befell the city | of Agram, or Zagrab, as it is called in Slavon- l ic, the handsome capital of Croatia and SIa- 1 vonla, 160 miles south-southwest of Vienna | Agram IS the seat of a Catholic Arcbbishop
 and the superior courts of Croatia, Slavonia l and the Banat. It is the center too of | south-slavic learning and had many seminaries
 and gymnaslums and it's manufactures of silk
 and porcelain are highly appreciated in this part of Europe. The earthquake of Novem- Der 9th was felt in Vienna also, but it did no
 harm beyond bringing all the clocks in the 1 city to sudden standstill, and was consid- 1 cred laughing matter in fact because it was 1 believed that our latitude is not exposed to
 such phenomena. But when the evening tel 1 egrams arrived from Agram bringing news of
 the dreadful state. of things there we all felt
 that we had narrowly escaped very great
 danger. The detailed reports of Agram's con l dition present picture of terrible destruc- 1 tlon. The first shock of the earthquake, | which enveloped the city in cloud of dust was felt at 7:3O, and many persons who were | still In bed ran out into the street without | taking time to dress. The three shocks that | followed drove hundreds of terror stricken | families who did not care to remain under e-S-- | fayorlte spot with the idlers of Agram Some of them are now living in the market | stalls, others in omnibuses, and the luckiest of them in railroad cars. During the first night after the earthquake no one dared to | close an eye or think of sleep
 The continuous rain, the cold and damn
 make matters worse, of course, for those who 1 have to spend nights in the open air. The | town is shrouded in darkness directly after sunset, the magistrates having prohibited the
 lighting of gas, as the pipes are broken in
 many places, and an explosion might ensue Carriages are not allowed to drive fast, as there Is danger that the slightest vibration will bring down in the ruins the cracked and shattered edifices that remain. In a maiori- ty of the houses fires cannot be lit because
 the chimneys have all fallen in and in, many cases the staircases have become impossible. Indeed, the city appears as if it had been shelled by a beSieging army. The largest and
 best houses have suffered most, and not a | single one has escaped damages The cathedral IS so damaged that 1t cannot be recognized from the pictures of it. and the Franciscan l Convent, which resembles a fortress, has l been so thoroughly shaken up that it may fall at any moment. The largest tobacco manufactory in Hungary, an imposing build ing, was damaged so badly that it had to be cleared The Marcus church and St. Mary's church, a great building, once a Jesuit convent and now used by the military commander, are now all in ruins The roof of the Jewish synagogue fell in six minutes before the doors were to have been opened to admit a bridal party, and the young couple
 thinking the day of judgment had come and wishing to die as husband and wife, were united in private house.
 The damage done is estimated at three mil lion forins but of course the irreparable ruin wrought in the churches is not compris- ed in this sum. reporter, who, at the ris-
 of his life, explored the cathedral a day or two after the disaster, gave the following dek scription of what he saw 1.-The roof over the sanctuary is entirely gone and the high altar, rare work of art, the Archbishops to pieces and lie buried under heaps of rub
 bish several yards high The beautiful stained
 glass windows have suffered con- paratively little. One of the col 1 umns of a triumphal arch has been
 bent and looks as if it would fall
 Near the organ and choir the roof also fell
 in, and one arch in falling broke through the lids of a tomb. All the supporting arches are loose and seem unable to bear the great roof much longer. One curious effect of the earthq uake is to be seen in one ofthe towers, which was turned almost completely around on it's axis. When the earthquake began the prebendary and two priests were celebrating l masses, but they all managed to escape into 1 the vestry before the roofs fell in. One of the towers with staircase in it was turned | round on it's axis.
 ] TLe country ,aroand Agram iiHs also sui | fered severely. but in ell cases the small houses remained unscathed, while churches, l station houses, belfries and all large build ings fell in or were partially damaged. The l mad house and house of detention not far from Agram also suffered severely and three | castles, Kerestinec, Helena and Pankovic, are mere heaps of ruins. The Governor 1 (Banus he is called in Croatin) informed the Emperor that there were a great lack of l hands where so much work must be done be-
 fore the frost sets in, and begged for a
 company of pioneer soldiers to help the dis l tressed people. The Emperor has given the | necessary orders and, in addition, sent 10000 | florins to be used immediately for the most l urgent cases of need.
 A commission of engineers is busy examin- 1 ing the 2, GOO houses which sheltered the 2O.- 900 citizens of Agram to ascertain how much can be saved from the ruin