The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1884-08-15
AN EARTHQUAKE.
Cities and Towns on the Atlantic
Coast Shaken.
A Rambling Roar, Rocking Build
ings and Terrified People.

suCn as was never experienced before in the
section Of the country, in which the convul-
sion of nature occurred. From Wash.
ington in the South it was felt through
Delaware Eastern Pennsylvania. New
Jersey, Eastern New York and New
England. 1t was felt in its greatest strength,
probably, along the New Jersey and Long
Island coast but nowhere was any serious
damage reported. From many places two
shocks were reported, the first
being generally reported at a few
minutes after o'clock p NJ, followed by the
other, with an ntermission of only few sec
onds. A Tumbling sound accompanied the
shaking of the earth. The ire,tion of the
disturbance was given differently by the va
rlOuS observers
CONSERVATION was created throughout New
\ ork city 10y the visitation of the earthquake
| The shock was the SevereSt one ever known
there. Buildings of every description were
| shaken on their foundations and in many
| quarters intense excitement prevailed Tho
shock was accompanied by low rumbling
sound, and commenced at 2:11 o'clock. lasting
ten seconds. People who were taking their after.
noon nap were startled from their slum-
| bers. From tn Battery to High Bridge the
| alarm was general The occupants of bul-
| lngS rushed paniC-striCken into the streets
and everyone was asking everybody else what
| 1t was. Many women tainted from fright.
| while Others who were more collected turned
| pale in the anticipation that the worst was still
| to come. Many remained in the str ets some
| time, fearing to go back into Their houses
! People on the streets felt the vibrations. but
| did not hear the rumbling. Even some who
were in their carriages say they noticed the
shock. In the lower and more lightly con
| structel dwellings. the rocking motion was
distinctly felt, but was not sufficient to move
large articles of furniture In residences,
crOckery and glassware were thrown from
their shelves and broken.
In Printing House square, New York city,
! the shock was pronounced Persons who
| have had similar experiences remarked that
they had never known SO distinct a vibration.
On Sunday afternoons Park Row is always
crowded with people passing to aud fro over
the bridge and 10y street cars from all parts of
| the city. Men and women st)pIe sud
denly at the strange sensation and looked
| at one another in amIZcment. The first
| instant the jar was faint AMI distant, but as
| it increased INTO heavy rumble and tremor
pedestrians rushed from tn, sidewalks into
| the middle of tn. street and galel with ex-
pressions Of fear and wonder at the tall build
ingS The real nature of the shock did not
at first appear to Toe realized, but as it came
with atterthought some of the more
cautious ones hurried into the City
Hall park until IA considerable
crowd gathered there discussing the cause Of
the phenomenon. Janitors and families oc-
cupying the office buildings presently made
their appearance ut the windows, and alarmed
by the shock and the looks of the crowd,
rushed into the streets. The general impress
sion prevailed at first that there had been an
explosion in the neighbOrhood. and it was at
tributed to some of the boilers in the large
printing establishments. As the real cause be
came known the excitement seemed to spread
The shock was also experienced in many
villages, towns and cities of New England
Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware. Ia
some places it is reported rs having been very
severe, although it was not accompanied by any
serious damage to property, or injury to life
or limb. At several points two shocks, one
quickly succeeding the other, We're eX-
pelienced, causing great conservation and
driving the people into the streets. Some re-
markablc phenomena were observed in the
Housatonic river, which rose in the form of
two waves which started from the shores. met
in the center of the stream and fell to de al
level with the roar like that of an explosion
From almost every city and town on the At
lantic coast and the States as far west aS Ohio
came reports of the earthquakes visitation.
Reports varied as to the extent of the EARTH
quake, but in many places it was sufficiently
strong to set houses rocking, and it was
accompanied by rumbling sound that lasted
for ut least ten seconds.
The great dining room of the Long Beach
hotel, near New York, was cleared of its
three hundred occupants in less than two
minutes by thu earthquake Sunday.
The guests We're first startled by pro
longed rumblng sound, as if some heavy OBJ
ject was being dragged along the floor over
head. Then the building began to rock. and
the floor seemed to unduate Some of the
walters dropped their trays and stood open
mouthed with fright Several ladies uttered
low screams apd "Oh, mys!" and started to-
ward the main door of the dining room A
few men lost their heads, pushed their
chairs over on the floor, and dashed
toward the partially barred doorways leading
out upon the veranda. a general panic fol-
lowed, and during the next two minutes indie
scribabe confusion reigned Guests and
waters joined in frantic rush for doors and
windows. The stout bars across the veranla
doorways We're broken down, and the bewil-
dered crowd poured out upon the veranda and
down the broad steps toward the beach.
Some of the people thought that the building
was coming down, and others believed there
had been boiler explosion.
, Similar experiences to the foregoing
were reported from Coney Island Ions
Branch and other seaside resorts The ares
subjected to seismic influence seems to hav,
extended as far west as the Aleghanies, anC
far east as Portland, Maine. The State.
, of New York, New Jersey. Rhode Island
, Connecticut Pennsylvania, Maryland, Della
ware, Massachusetts, part of Main,
and the District of Coum
bia are included in it. y,
serious or extensive damage is reported, how
ever and the earthquake in England last
spring was much more serious and severe
That destroyed many buildings completely
, injured much property and caused some los
, of life, The earthquake of 1865 in Califoni;
. was again much more severe than that in tn,
East. 1t destroyed many buildings, c;.uS ii los
of life, did great deal of DANA &c to interiors
, cracked many buildings it did not throw down
, threw some of the streets of San FranciSc,
: into ridges resembling sea waves soliditied
and i'll Contra Costa and Alameda counties
in the latter of which it appeared to center
produced effects in many respects strkingll
analogous to the work of the electrical storm
or tprnadoeS which have wrought such havoc
in the West. Thesa effects consisted maiul,
in the evidence of "A gyratory motion, show
III the twisting of trees, houses and Chimuics
New York paper concludes its editoria
comments ON the earthquake by saying: "Th
public of the States affected hv the late shock
may console themselves with the rcacc
ton that no really severe carthquai
3 has occurred IN this part of the world dur
ing the historical period and that such shock
as that OF yesterday are incapable of doini
any damage, however alarming they ma,
I seem TO nervous persons One Western tor
nado i indeed more T. lie feared than yer,
| supl ruDIhliu#rS nj Of