Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1883-09-19
An Earthquake Experience.

1
the name of her husband is changed TO
John. Her letter bears date of August
18th, and the earthquake was on the
evening of July 2Sth. Parts of the epistle
are as follows:
1t is more than week since wrote my
last letter, which has, without doubt, filled
you with sad apprehensions, and l feel
that ought not to leave you longer with
out news of me. Sill, hardly feel able
TO write, for feel stupcfed by this dread.
full event. have hardly the courage to
revive IN my mind its horrors by repeating
them. doubt if l ever shall be able to
make you understand how terrible it was
till ! have seen you. and perhaps not then,
for an earthquake is one of the things that
battle description.
We had been in Casamiccola six days,
arriving there GU Mon day. and on Satur.
day evening, the 28lh of July. a half past
9, was the catastrophe. On Saturday
morning, when l awoke, did not feel
quite we'll. l had nervous headache.
The weather was beautiful, so beautiful
that every one remarked it. The air was
so clear and transparent and so light that
all sounds that came up to us from the
valley below seemed changed into notes of
mnsic. Many times that morning went
to the balcony and looked around on that
lovely scene and wished you could see
this place. My head continued to ache,
and after breakfast. at IL o'clock, had 10
give up and 60 to bed.
remained there till 3 Then got up,
but did not dress myself, saying that did
not feel able to 60 TO dinner. 1t was this
| indisposition oi mine which saved our
lives. John, who was suffering wi h
toolhachc, was glad enough to join me in
our little parlor, that looked out over the
beautiful valley toward the mountains.
We dned at half past 6. Then walked
up and down the piazza in front of our
windows, John reading his papers Every
body was in the dining room, dining The
dinner was at half-past z. Thera was to
be music in the parlors, and everyone was
gay and gaily dressed. When the first
sounds of music came up felt lonely and
wished that l had gone down, notwith
standing my headache. IT | had, l should
not be writing you this sad story, for all
that gay company were killed.
When the night came on John called me
to come in, fearing the evening air. 1t
was then almost 8. said that felt so i'll
that should 60 to bed. He begged me
not to 90 SO early, saying the night would
be so long and tedious. He said he would
play few games of tricks first. We
accordingly sat down on the sofa in front
of the chimney, taking the board on our
knees, and began our game. We played
through the half hour that brought us to
| the terrible moment, little thinking that
death was so near to us, reaching out with
his terrible arms toward us and preparing
to fold in his cold embrace almost every
body about US. can never tell you what
followed.
1t commenced like the most terrible
thunder. Then everything swayed back
wind. Walls fell in with crash like ten
thousandthunders The mountains opened,
sending forth flames of fire, rolling down
with the tumblng houses toward the val.
ley, while the valley, in Its turn, exploded,
sending everything into chaos. Not one
house was left standing. In The midst of
this dreadful noise, wild shrieks, then
came darkness and the silence of the
grave. The noise lasted only few Sec
onds and the silence few more, which
seemed an eternity. Then the smoke
began to clear away, and the terrible cries
of the wounded and dying filled the air as
truly coming from the bowels ofth earth.
Oh, how little this gives you an idea OF
what passed. When the sound first began
John knew what it was, and said, "Great
God, an earthquake!' With one bound
we reached the window way it being
considered the safest place, which proved
true. Had we remained sitting, we should
have been instantly killed. A falling wall
enveloped the sofa where we sat. The
whole world seemed dissolving around me
| had no hope of life from the first sound
and turned my thoughts heavenward
1t was not till heard the dreadful cries o.
the wounded and dying that l trembled
with fear, thinking of the suffering which
nv poor body might endure before
should reach the other side. But did
not lose courage, and prayed for strength
to help me through, Heaven did no
seem very far off. =,
After the shock John said; I'VE will
try and save ourselves out of this ruin
before the repetition shall come" (Thert
are always three shocks in an earthquake. }
The darkness was still so great that We
could not see whether the floor had beer
carried away, or whether tho wall where
we we're standing alone remained. W.
must find light. John remembered thai
there were matches on a little table near
and so, feeling with his feet, he took Il
few steps into the room and found them
and with its fiickering light we looked
about u.s. The parlor where he had been
was mostly destroyed. The bed room
was still standing, although torn and sep
arated into thousand pieces. The floor
was apparently good. We entered eau
tiously, took a shawl for me and coat
for him, and package of candles to give
us the light necessary lor finding our way
out of this destruction. We went by the
window where we had stood on to the
piazza, which was also partially destroyed
The piazza was on the second story
with fight of stairs on each end leading
to the piazza below. We turned to the
left, it being little nearer that way, bu
soon found our way cut off. All was il
ruin, and from that ruin came voice
calling to us in English: "Save me; an
diving" 1t was an American girl, Mis-:
Van Allen, who was there for treatmen
of the rheumatism. l had to answer he
back over that terrible gulf: 1--WE canno
reach you now" She died. We turned
back, passing our windows, then on 10 the
other END OF tne plaZlh' 1uele aiSo wa
ruin, only portion ofthe stairs remaining
standing, and that portion ready 10 fall
} But it was our only way out. We passed
how, cannot tell. Hanging on the broker
fragments and clinging to each other, W.
at last reached the floor below, where WI
found, after much difficulty. the doo
leading to the road. Feeling that herr
we should be safe, we hurried on, climbing
over mountains of stone, and arrived a
last outside the door where the space wa
Just large enough for a small carriage t.
turn around in. We could 60 no further
The narrow little road leading around tn,
mountain side to small opening calleC
Calvary had been carried away, with al
the houses on the side of the mountain
higher up, down into the valley below.
In the darkness, lighted only by tn
feeble light of the candle, we could Sc
nothing but dark gulf filled with fallel
houses, trees and rocks, out of whicl
came cries which broke ones heart. o.
/ the other side of this space where w
uare was a hiph wall twenty feet from