St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-08-11
AN EARTHQUAKE.
Wild Scenes Caused by an Earth
quake in New York and Other
Eastern Cities.
Women Shrieking, Children Bawling
and Men Both Praying and
Swearing.
No Casualties, but the Greatest Scare and
Scenes of Confusion Witnessed for
Many Days.

NEW YORK, August 1O.-ADOuC 2:U0
o'clock this afternoon residents of this vi
cinity were startled by a severe shock of
earthquake lasting about ten seconds. At
this hour (6 p. NJ the particulars received
at the Wester Union Office here show the
shock was widespread. The first reports
were received from the following points:
The Atlantic Highlands, near Sandy Hook,
Long Branch, Philadelphia, New Haven,
Boston, Elizabeth, Plainf1eld, Spring Lake,
Cottage City, Marthas Vineyard, and Port
land, Maine. At the last point it was slight.
Reports were also received from many of the
sub-ottices about New York.
Reports as to its duration are diverse, but
the average seems to be about ten seconds.
The operator at Providence was vaguely
questioned as to whether he had heard or
seen anything unusual, and he promptly re-
piled he had had his hand on the steam pipe
and that it had trembled violently He had
been looking up and down the street to dis
cover the heavy team, which up to the time
of inquiry he supposed was passing. The
question made him suspicious of an earth
quake. This suspicion was promptly confirmed
by various people rushing into the street and
DSfce, asking for an explanation. At 2:15
O'Clock the Atlantic Highlands experienced
second shock but less violent than the
irst.
AT PHILADELPHIA,
The scaffolding OF some new buildings
going up on the corner of Sixth and Reed
streets, was shaken violently, and some
bricks on the boards were shaken off and
fell to the street below. The severest shock
was reported from Seabright N. Y, where
the depot was shifted to one side, shaking up
the contents and alarming the sole inmate.
At 2:30 p. IN. an Intellectual effort was
made to raise the Long Branch Office, which
had been in communication with the local
Office up 10 the time Of the shock. The oper-
ator just had time to report the shock, to-
gcther with the fact that the jars of his bat
terry had been overturned, when the wire
gave out.
AT HARTFORD.
A bareheaded man rushed frantically to
the telegraph office, holding in his hands
newspaper which he had been reading He
said hc had been racllcd violently, and that
plastering on the ceiling above him had been
cracked and in some places had dropped to
the floor.
IN BROOKLYN.
The streets were alive with people who had
come out to ascertain the cause of the rack
ing, and to gossip about it, One cool headed
observer upon the first preceptible motion,
took out his stop watch and timed the vibra-
tions. He reported that the shock began,
as nearly as could be determined, at 06. so,
That the first shock lasted just ten
seconds, and that ''quieting down. as he
described it, took nearly fifty seconds more
oil hand guesses as to the duration varied
from five seconds to two minutes, according
to the amount of the Observers fright and
his judgment of the flight of time.
AT MEMO PARK
and Trenton the shock was timed at :05, while
at the more southerly points of its orbit it was
felt at 2:10. Exaggerated reports come in
from various points
From Trenton it was reported the water
in the river was lashed into foam. A pass
enger arriving from Trenton soon after,
however, said the story was absurd and that
the water was as placid and mu1dy as usual.
AT CoNEY ISLAND.
The telegraph manager at Coney Island
promptly asked for particulars of the ex-
pIosion supposing some oil refinery, powder
mill or dynamite factory had blown up. A
few minutes later however, the fact became
known there that the whole island had been
thoroughly shaken by vibration and that the
guest and visitors were very greatly alarmed,
the fright in some cases amounting to
panic.
Neither Cape May nor Atlantic City
noticed and unusual motion, and so far as
the early reports indicate Philadelphia was
the southern limit of the shock.
AT CLEVELAND
the shock was plainly but slightly felt. In
the main local telegraph Office the hundred
people present felt n serious movement of
their floor in the seventh story but there was
no electrical phenomenon with it, and no
electrical disturbance.
The first impression which seemed to take
possession of the inmates of the houses in
New York, was that the building was about to
fall, and the people ran into the
streets only to discover their neighbors rush
ing out, amazed like themselves. Then as
there were no evidences of a catastrophe the
people returned to their homes, realizing
there had been an earthquake. As a rule
the people remained in front of their houses
few minutes, apparently trying to get at
some solution of their fears, and watching
the faces and manner of others. The women
and children, as they regained some degree
ot confidence, returned to the houses. The
men renamed in groups on the streets dis
cussing the occurrence so unexpected and so
startling. An earthquake is thing so uu-
looked for in this part of the world that the
cause and history of the most terrible ones
became . topic of paramount interest.
Above all the people were concerned in try
ing 10 find out from those they talked with,
whether second and perhaps subsequent
shockswere likely to follow. At the observ-
atory of the United Stakes signal service, the
time of the earthquake and its duration were
noted. Assistant Observers K. f. Hilmau
and Morning were ut the time in the Office
about 200 feet above the line of the street
The first imitation of the earthquake was a
slow rumbGng sound, like the mutterings of
distant thunder, and was immediately fol-
lowed by q shock like that of violent ex-
ploSion which caused the buildings
Quiver, although 1t did not shake percepti-
bly,. The rafting continued about eight
seconds, accompanied by rumbling sound
which gradually died away. The first shock
was felt about eleven minutes past two. The
effect of the jar was much more perceptible
in houses of light structure, in many iu-
stances il being reported that 4 clearly de-
fined rocking movement was felt, and dishes
In the pantry were shaken from the shelves.
Thus far, however, no damage of any kind is
reported.
While the shock was felt strongly in
dwellings, persons travelling on the elevated
roads did not know of the occurrence
until they were told of it by
people getting in at the stations