St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1884-08-14
Visited by an Earthquake.
HOW THE SHOCK WAS FELT IN NEW
YORK.

A distinct shock of earthquake was
felt throughout the cities of New York
and Brooklyn at seven minutes past
two Sunday afternoon, lasting ten or
twelve seconds, and accompanied by
subteNanean rumbling which was
clearly audible. The earth motion was
a quick, trembling movement, without
any lateral vibration, though some
people in various localities seem to
think they felt undulatiOns. People
everywhere differ widely as to the
duration of the shock, some estimating
it at ten seconds and others at three
minutes. The most reliable opinions
are doubtless those which place it at
ten to fifteen seconds. Its effects
varied very greatly, every house in the
city trembled. China-ware setting
edgewise on shelves slipped out, chan
deliers and pictures trembled, bells
were rung and glass pendants were
tangled. People started from the chairs
where they were seated and ran eX-
citedly into the streets, and in several
instances walls and ceilings were
cracked. The residents of Harlem
were thrown into a state of intense
excitement in consequence of the shock
and men, women and children rushed
pell nell and screaming from their
homes, cOatless, hatless and shoeless,
fearing that the walls would fall upon
them. All of the streets literally
swarmed with the excited multitude.
Many ran all the way down to the
wide, unOccupied ground along the
North river front, and only ventured
back to their homes, when hours had
passed without any damage being
done.
1t appears that the shock was felt
with about the same intensity all over
the city, although it produced more
alarm in the thickly settled tenement
districts on the east side. The great
est excitement prevailed in the Jewish
and Bohemia quarter on the east side
The houses which are mostly high and
| lightly constructed tenements were
violently shaken and the terrified in
mates rushed out into the streets car
rying with them whatever of their
household effects they could move.
Children screaming with fright were
borne out by their parents who were
no less panic stricken, and the whole
population massed itself in the centre
of the streets.
In Ludlow street between Hester and
Canal streets the panic was at its
height. Streets were swarming with
people. Men, women and children
hTddled together like sheep, many of
them expecting every moment to see
the walls of their dwellings fall upon
them. Women and children were
shrieking and the men either swearing
|
nearly half an hour when the cOmmo-
ton finally subsidized, and the police
persuaded the people to return to their
houses. Similar scenes were witnessed
in Mulberry, Jersey and Mott streets,
where the Italians have their colonies.
In Central park the shock was more
severe, it is said, than in the surround
ing region. The large crowds in the
mall were at once thrown to state
of violent excitement by the shaking
and strange rumbling in the ground
which was distinctly heard. The
animals in the menagerie were greatly
| frightened by the shock and many
trembled as if in fear, while they
remained perfectly still for some time
after it occurred. Operator Hoffman of
the arsenal was thrown from his chair,
the globes of the lamps in his office
were cracked. The ceilings of the
tenth precinct station house were
badly cracked, and frame house on
Lewis street was cracked in several
places and one woman who lived in
| the house became unconscious from
| fright. A street car in Avenue b. was
lifted from the track several times and
several horses We're reported thrown
down. The great towers of the Brook
| Ign bridge Oscillated visibly, while
the bridge rocked as if struck with a
! hurricane.
Dispatches from hundred different
points indicate that the earthquake
extended as far west as the Alleghenies,
and as far east as Portland, Me-, the
states of New York, New Jersey,
Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsyl-
vania, Maryland, Massachusetts, and
part of Maine and the District of
Columbia being included.
IN BOSTON.
No less than six distinct shocks were
| felt in Boston. Prof Pickering of
Harvard's observatory SAYS he first
noticed "A tremulOuS movement of the
earth, followed by the swaying of the
building and creaking of the timbers.
| The shock was first noticed about 2:O7,
continuing about ten seconds. He has
no record of the subsequent shocks.
their duration being so short as to
make it impossible to compute ac
| curately their extent or duration. The
shocks were plainly defined in the
outlying districts, and the occupants
of the second story tenements feeling
tIaa sID t.l,, f,,1 81 Al.
the ground floors. At the Parker
house chandeliers were ratified aad
beds moved and the inmates thorough
ly scared. Many rushed down stairs
half clothed. A chimney on School
street was swayed to and fro and NOR
tar ratified from between the bricks,
but it did not fall.s In a hundred
places in the city, pictures were rat
tied against the walls, gas fixtures
shaken and small articles thrown from
mantels, but no serious damage is
known to have been done. In the
Charleston district a small boy is re-
ported to have been thrown down
stairs 10y the violence of the shock.
The whole movement of the earth
quake lasted perhaps "A minute.
AT PHILADELPHIA.
Large ships loading petroleum in the
Schuylkill river at Philadelphia snap
ped their hawsers and were only pre-
vented from going ashore by the
united efforts of their crews. Several
large steamers were thrown strongly
against the wharves in the lower part
of the city and the crews thrown out
of their hunks. Huge waves backed
by rising tides overfOWed many
wharves and considerable property
was damaged.
AT OTHER POINTS.