Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1883-10-19
THE EARTHQUAKE,
Great Damage in the City Of
Smyrna-The Island of Chios
Disastrously Shaken.
Estimated Loss Of Life Four thousand
Souls.
Coxs1ASrIxorLE, Oct.

| CONsIANTISOPLE, Oct. Is.
| The latest advice from Smyrna state that
the earthquake Of Tuesday, which shook the
| island Of Chios severely. and extended along
the entire coast of Anatolia and far into the
| interior of the western portion of Asia Minor,
was much more severe than indicated in the
| first advices. The first shock was felt At
| SMYRNA about 1.20 in the morning. 1t lasted.
apparently, only about the fourth part of .
minute. and was followed by three lesser
shocks in quick succession. which seemed to
be ONLY of about half the duration of the first.
| With the first shock many dwelling houses
/ came down. the damage being greatest in the
Armenian quarter, on the lower slopes of the
| ancient Mount Pegasus, where the vibrations
| were much more severe than along the plain
between the hill and the shore, where the
| Christians reside. In the adjoining villages
of Burnabad and Budja number of hand
| some villas were demolished.
The loss OF life in the city of Smyrna proper
was not very great, the wave seemed to have
spent its force before il reached there, but the
| scenes among the people were for hey Ond
description. The fear and CONSERVATION was
terrible. The most resolute person dare not
stay TO rescue friends in danger. though many
lives might have been saved by so doing. The
first thought of all seemed to be se.f-preserva-
| ton Crowds of men, women and children
rushed into open spaces and the middle Of the
streets The caravan bridge was crowded
with a motley lot of people, and the camel
grounds adjacent were completely thrOnged
| with human beings. The castle on the sum-
nit of the hill was thrown down with a tre-
mendous crash. The large Roman Catholic
cathedral a comparatively new building, was
damaged considerably, one of the towers fall
ing and killing some eight or ten people who
| were running wildly from their homes near by.
The railway station was badly damaged. and
the track of the roads are SO much out of line
and torn up that it will be impossible to run
trains for several days to come. About an
hour after the first shock several fires broke
out amid the ruins, and added. for the time
being, to the terrors of the situation. but they
| were put out before serious damage had been
| caused.
wave of inky blackness swept from the
! Egean sea though the gulf of Smyrna, bring.
| ing with 1t disaster to number of the many
vessels in the magnificent harbOr. Several
ships were carried up far on the shore and
landed high and dry in places from which il
| will cost hundreds of dollars to get them
afioat again. The city is in great state of
confusion and uncertainty, and nobody yet
| ventures to sleep IN houses. Hundreds OF
rude and impromptu tents have been put up
in the suburbs, and large numbers of people
who cannot he accommodated even in these
megre quarters are lying on cots and ever
the bare ground, rather than return at present
to their more dangerous habtations in town
The tide, which is ordinarily but twenty Fl We
| inches, to hight of more than seven
feet, sweeping away much of the portable
property on the shore, as well as number Of
tishermen's huts. Several thermal springs in
Budja were intercepted for the time, but ap
peared again shortly afterwards of the color Of
blood. The extent of the field of action shows
| that the forces which produced this great
earthquake were manifested deep in the in
| terror of the planet and not on the surface
only. The pecuniary loss to the city Of
Smyrna will be very great, bat the loss of life
will hardly exceed three hundred persons.
In the island of Chios in the archipelago, 9
few miles beyond the promontory, behind
which Smyrna is situated, the shocks were
felt with terrible severity. The first one oc
CURED almost simultaneously with that felt in
Smyrna. The entire 400 miles of territory OF
Chos seemed to be for the time but one un
dulating sea of earth, waves following eacf
other rapidly, like the swell after an Ocear
storm. The subterranean rumble was followe ed
so quickly by the terrible shock that the PEG
pie were neither given time to fly nor to throw
themselves into the arms of loved ones and bic
them an everlasting adeu. Frightful noises
succeeded the shock, terrifying cries, fearful
howlings of human beings and crushed ami
mails, thick dust was difiused in the atmos
phere, and the sky was darkened as in the
darkest nights. The limestone rocks dottine
the Island were rent assunder, the beautiful
valley scanned with enormous assures, ant
the course of the streams which irrigate thu
fertile plains suddenly changed.
Nearly all the extensive wine cellars or
the island were utterly ruined, and the loss t
owners will reach an enormous sum, A
kastro, the capital of the island the castle
built IN front of the city as a means of de
fence in the olden time, was levelled to thu
ground. Three small silk factories we're to-
tally destroyed, and one cotton factory wa
damaged almost beyond repair. OF the pop
ulatlon of the town, few people escaped som,
injury, and a large proportion was seriously
hurt The loss of life at Kastro will aggre
gate fully 900 souls. Most of the dead ar,
Turks. In other parts of the island owe
1900 people are so far reported killed, and i
is feared the number will greatly exceed tn,
present estimates when all the outlying terri
tory is heard from. 1t is, of course, yer,
difficult to get reports from places at a die
lance from kastrO, owing to the difficulties
attending travel and the excited state of tn,
populace.
Along the coast of Western Asia Minor. OF
Anatolia. the shocks were felt with grea
force, and the latest reports indicate that thu
effects of the earthquake was very severel,
felt as far into the interior as Kulah, ovel
ninety miles east of SMYRNA. There is ne
doubt that when the results of the disaste,
are fully known, the loss of life and damap,
to property in the territory west of the Hays
the karajah-Dagh and the continuing range
as far as Lake Iber will be very great All
the villages between Chesmeh and vouri,
are totally wrecked, scarcely a house beina
left standing to mark the sites of the MANI
thriving places which on Monday were scene,
of life and bustling activity, for this is one OF
the busiest seasons with the people of the
peninsula. 1t is estimated that about 3OO
persons lost their lives in this part of the
country. The earthquake waves seem t.
have followed the coast line all the wa,
from Alvah to Malassa, and the whole terri.
tory over which the great shocks extended
was at times heaved simultaneously, and sen.
sstions similar to seasickness were expert
enced by nearly all the inhabitants Those
who watched the sky noticed that the driftink
clouds seemed at times to be arrested in theil