The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-09-26

Successive Shocks in Central and South
America-DamaRe to Property-Four
Lives Lost.
The State of Panama and adjoining States
in Colombia and the Republics of Costa Rica
and Nicaragua, as far as heard from by the
new cable in the Pacific, have been subjected.
since the 7th inst, to a series of earthquakes
which have differed as widely in intensity as
they have in locality. In the city of Panama
the first one was felt at about 800 a. m. on the
7th, and was followed about half an hour after
ward by second one. Both these shocks were
felt in Colon, and generally throughout the
State, also in Carthagena, in the State of Boli-
var; In klvas, Nicaragua, which is situated
within eighteen miles of the Pacific, and in
Greytown, the Atlantic port of the San Juan
River, In the same republic, and good hun
dred and fifty miles from the before mention
ed town. The absolute lack of any regularity
In the time kept in these different countries
prevents calculation OF the earth's motion by
this means, but all indications so far received
tend to prove that in the more northern lati-
tudes the shocks we're felt subsequent to their
occurrence here, although the most expert
enced in such events and the general line OF
damage indicate that the impulse reached there
from the north or northeast. The alarm in
the city was great and the cracks in the old
fashioned rock and cement houses afforded
sufficient evidence that there was warrant for
it The walls of more than sixty houses were
more or less injured, bui none fell, and conse-
quently no one was injured. Public buildings
were less fortunate. The high crown or the
pediment of the Cathedral fell, as it had moth
ing to support it, and hurled about couple of
hundred tons OF masonry work, decorative
architecture, and few statues down through
the roof of the nave into the central square,
The wide balcony of the Legislative Assem-
bly, also came down with a crash and filled the
square in front of it with blocks of stone frag-
ments OF cement, columns, and large quanti-
ty OF miscellaneous lumber. The offices of the
Interoceanic Canal Company, formerly the
Grand Hotel, were also severely damaged and
the edifice, which cost the company few
months ago S250,0 O. will require at least $50
600 to put 1t in order Many of the employees
are afraid to enter it. The city of Aspinwall
suffe' ed In a similar manner, but being so
much smaller, and the.houses being construct
ed generally of the most fragile materials, the
harm done is not so great. 1t is probable that
S250,OOO will repair all the damage done in
this city, and third of thai sum will cover all
the losses experienced in tue rest o. the 18TH
mus. Not single house has fallen in Pana-
ma, although many of the people, fearing lhe
successive shocks might bring them down,
have preferred to go to the plains outside the
city and reside in the cane and palm-eaf hous-
es, rather than expose themselves to the risk
OF being crushed by the falling masonry and
uiAOh-Woth VI Ou0 luOro SOilu1y COlSttuCbeQ
houses in the better part of the city A few
standing walls fell down. These walls, which
give the city such ruined appearance, IRE the
relics of fires which lave swept, almost unop-
posed, through the city within the last twenty
or thirty years, and which many casual pass
er-by considers worthy to be transferred to the
sketch book as examples of ancient Spanish ar
chitecture.
Quite a number of shocks have been ex-
perienced since the 9th, but no further dam
hnd h1A..
trifing; only one death occurring in Aspin wall
and another in Gatun can be directly traced to
falling houses. Two others have also taken
place, and both were doctors and victims of
their own imprudence. One happened here,
and the other in Colon, and by a remarkable
coincidence, both resulted from jumping from
windows when the first and most severe shake
occurred. A third doctor is said to have gone
out OF his mind through the strain of the sue
cession OF shocks. 1t is a remarkable fact that
since the shocks commenced sickness has not
been spoken Of, although undoubtedly many
people will suffer from having deserted COM
Portable homes to sleep and live in the miser-
able ranches occupied by the poorer classes of
natives.
It is now the 14th and since the 8th people
have suffered great terror. In earthquake
ccaatries, more particularly in Ecuador, Peru,
and some parts of Chilli none of the shakes so
far experienced would have created the least
alarm; but here, where they have been hither-
more severe than was justified. The widest
rum )rs as to the existence OF volcanoes in diff
ferent parts of the isthmus have been set a1oat.
A committee of canal engineers has visited
several localities indicated by the natives, but
no such rare, though possible, proof of the
power of subterranean forces has been dis
covered. In a few places alluvial soil shows
signs of the shakes, and cracks from
one to six inches in diameter are visible.
In every case they commence from the top
but do not continue to any depth, in-
dicatiDg that their formation is due to SUBJ
sidence and not to the direct upward agency
which creates the deep riffs and assures to be
noticed in the countries which have suffered
the severe effects of direct volcanic action.
Several OF the emban kments of the Panama
Railroad, on both sides of which tropical
swamps exist, and the high masonry abutments
OF six or seven OF the bridges were severely
damaged by the earthquakes. The Superin-
tendent of the line, Mr.. Woods, however, was
equal to the emergency, and by working day
and night, in most critical season and at
most critical time, with laborers scared out of
their lives at the occasional earthquakes sue
ceeded in re-establishing traffic within one day
and sending freight and passengers through as
usual within two days after the first breach in
tn } line.
The cable from Aspinwall to Jamaica was
broken by the first shock at point 90 miles
from the isthmus. The Central American ca
bles, however, continued to work all right,
and, although they are not yet open to bus-
ness, the courtesy of the officials connected
with them enabled the public to learn
that damage had not been done in the Antilles.
So many residents here are natives of the ISL
ands and the Spanish M sin and business rela-
tions are so closely connected, that the fear of
a catastrophe on the Atlantic added much to
the panic experienced here.
The Central and South American Company's
cables are now all laid and will be open to the
public shortly The Silvertown, which has
laid tne greater part of them, sailed yesterday
for San Francisco to load cargo of wheat for
England.