The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1884-08-23

The Most Severe Shock Ever Felt In That
City-Buildinss Cracked and Pedestri-
Thrown to the Ground-Panic-
Stricken People Rush from Their
Homes in OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES strange
Scenes
About 2 :05 O'Clock on the afternoon
of the 10Th, the residents of New York
were startled by severe shock of earth
quake, lasting about ten seconds. The
course OF the disturbance was flom east
to west. There was sudden shaking
of buildings. Windows ratified, build
ings trembled, as if being agitated by
powerful machinery, and IN some quar-
tiers people were thrown from lounges
to the floor, and persons standing on
the sidewalk were made to dance
around. From stoops people were pre-
cipitated to the ground. Crockery was
upset, and in some parts of the city din
ing rooms were shaken, and the persons
who were seated around them expe-
rlenced such feeling as is felt on the
ocean during a gale. The sun
was obscured behind leaaen clouds
and the sky was dark and gloomy.
Church bells were ruDg by the shock
III many sections of the city, while
other church bells in the same block
remained silent. The clock at police
headquarters stopped at2 :O7. In many
large restaurants and hotels the gas
globes and chandeliers were shaken off
and smashed, while guests ran out III
alarm. One popularity is the fact that
the very largest and most solid build
ings in the city were most shocked,
while light, himsy buildings were hardly
damaged at all. The shock struck the
Chinese of Mott Street, but they paid
no attention to it whatever. The post
office and city hall each felt the shock.
At the former the watchman said 1T
shook the place like leaf, lasting four
or five seconds, and felt like the rum
bling of very huge wagon passing by.
The lock-boxes ratified violently. The
persons on the second floor of
the building were convinced that
an explosion had occurred close by"
The Jewish quarters on the east side of
the city bounded by Chatham Square,
Houston Street, the Bowery and East
River, were in state of tumult. The
panic began in the Jewish synagogue
on Hill Street, where 500 people were
assembled. With one accord they
yelled the Savior had come at last.
Then followed a scene which is indie
scribable. Men jumped and ran about,
dragged out their furniture and threw
it from the windows, while women
cried and children almost went crazy
The Jews considered that the shock
was summons for the faithful to pre-
pare for the end of the world. Tile
police hurried from the station houses,
at first expecting to find a
great explosion, and then they turned
their attention to the stricken people.
At the corner of Rutgers Street and
Broadway the spectators witnessed
pathetic scene. Jacob Kohn and his
wife and seven children were assembled
about him. All were on their knees and
the old man was praying in Hebrew.
Now soft and tremulous, now loud and
full, his voice in anguish assembled to
heaven.
"What is he saying?" asked the re-
porter.
He is a Polish Jew. He is telling
God that his wife has been virtuous and
economical. But he asks for his chill
dren that their sins be forgiven and that
the punishment be put on him."
No lives were lost in New York At
Brooklyn the symptoms were precisely
the same. Along the coast, at Staten
and Coney Islands, and along the New
JERSEY coast the shock was also felt, but
no lives were lost.
At P. NJ. particulars began to be re-
ceived at the Western Union office
showing that the shock was widespread.
The first reports were received from the
following points The Atlantic High
lands near Sandy Hook, Long Branch,
Philadelphia, New Haven, Boston,
Elizabeth, Plainfeld, Spring Lake, Cot
tage City, Martha's Vineyard and Port
land, Me. At the last point It was
slight Reports were also received from
many sub-offices about New York. At
Philadelphia the scaffolding on some
new buildings going up at the corner of
Sixth and Read Streets was shaken vio-
lently and some bricks on the boards were
shaken off and fell to the street below.
The strongest buildings in the city
were shaken, rickety chimneys toppled
over on roofs and bricks tumbled down
upon the pavements in all parts of the
city. Plaster fell from the ceilings of
houses, chinaware ratified i'll the closets,
door bells began ringing, glasses clinked
lively tune upon the sideboards and
clocks were set to running down. In
some instances people were prostrated
upon the floors of their dwellings, and
nervous people were frightened to such
an extent that many thought the de-
struction of the world was at hand.
Everywhere the populace became ex-
cited. Every house in the city was
affected more or less