The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-10-19
AN AWFUL ERUPTION.
THE ISLAND OF cHlos DEVASTATED
By an Eu,lqu.Lt-gatirs villages Laid Waste aad
Sanbsr Of Li'" Lost-Orsr twenty Thou.
= sand People nAds Homeless By the Dis.
a,t.i-sesls, Of Wrecked Homes.

CossTASrlNoPLr; October lS.-The latest
adyices from Smyrna state that the earth
quake OF Tuesday, which shook the island
|ot Chios severely, and extended along the
entire, coast Of Antolia5 and far into the
interior Of ihe western portion Of Asia
Minor, was much more severe than indi.
Gated in the first adviees received here.
The first shock was felt at Smyrna about
7:2O in the morning. 1t lasted appar.
emily only about the fourth part Of a
minute, and isas followed by three les.
ser shocks in quick succession, which
seemed to be only Of about half the dura.
ton Of the first. With the first shock
many dwelling.houses came down, the
damage being greatest IN the American
quarter, on the lower slopes ot the ancient
Mount Pegasus, where the visitations were
much more severe than along the plain
between the hill and the shore where the
Christians reside. In the djoining villages
OF Burnabad and Budia number OF hand.
some villas were demolished.
LOSS OF LIPE IN sNYRNA.
The loss Of life in the city OF Smyrna
proper was not very large, the wave seem-
ing to have spent its force before it reached
there, but the scenes among the people
were far beyond description. The fear and
CONSERVATION was terrible. The most res
olute person dared not stay to rescue
friends in danger, though many lives
might have been saved by 80 doing. The
first thought OF all seemed to be SELF
preservation. Crowds OF men, women and
children rushed into the open spaces and
the middle Of the streets. The caravan
bridge was crowded with motley
lot Of people, and the camel grounds
adjacent were completely thronged with
human beings. The castle on the summit
of the hill was thrown down with q ire.
mendous crash. The large Roman Cathedral,
a comparatively new building, was dam.
aged considerably, one OF the towers fall
ing and killing some eight or ten persons
who were running wildly from their homes
near by. The railway station was badly
damaged, and the tracks oil the roads are
80 much torn out OF line and torn up that
it will be impossible to run trains fof sew.
eral days to come. About an hour ai.er 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.
Several ships were cast far =up on the,
shore and landed high and dry'in places
from which it will cost hundreds Of dollars
to get them ahoat again. The city Isl a
great state Of confusion and Uncertainty,
and nobody yet ventures to sleep in their
houses. Hundreds Of rude and impromp.
tu tents have been put up in the suburbs,
and large numbers Of people who cannot
be accommodated with even these meager
quarters, are lying upon cots, and
even the hard ground, rather than
return at present to their more dangerous
habitations in town. The tide, which is
ordinarily but twenty-five inches, rose to a
hight Of more than seven feet, sweeping
away much OF the portable property on the
shore, as well ss number Of fshermen's
huts.
The extent Of the field OF action shows
that the forces which produced this great
earthquake were manifested deep down
and not on the surface only. The pecun-
iary loes to the city OF Smyrna will be very
great, but the los Of life will hardly exceed
800 persons.
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