Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1884-06-19
THE ENGLISH EARTHQUAKE.
Some Interesting Features of the Re-
cent UpheayaI

From recent observation [ have
concluded that the seismic vertical was
at or near DR.. Green's house. close TO
the stroOd or causeway which con
meets the mainland Of Essex with
Mersea island. The house was built
in 1860, and is therefore new. [ NAV
here observe that the modern, cheap
ly-built cottages were not so much
affected as the more ancient ones.
The chimneys, walls, etc, of the lat
ter were invariably DESTROYED
damaged, or cracked-the former
seldom SO. | was much surprised at
this. The first thought naturally was
that these Jerry built" houses would
be shaken down like a pack of cards.
Is 1t that their very loOseness of struc-
ture is In their favor, as compared
with the strongly-built cottages of two
hundred and three hundred years
ago? L have somewhere seen that in
earthquakes-vlsited centers the houses
most secure from destruction are the
loosely built, low edifces. One can
speak plainly on this matter, as no
premium IS required to encourage the
development Of Jerry building
DIR. Green's house is literally split and
cracked in all directions, ald the
splits and cracks are the most vertical
of any to be seen. The entire build
ing was twisted on It's foundation.
At the southwest corner this is visible
to the amount of about one inch anda
half. DR. Green informed me he was
lifted up, as If from behind, and shot
violently forward A friend Of mine
remarked that the railway cutting at
Wivenhoe appeared to have broken
the continuity of the undulatiOns, for
the houses contiguous to it are com
paratiyely uninjured A noteworthy
fact in connection with the recent
earthquake, to which [ can personally
testify, and which appears to be the
general experience of all the most
trustworthy observers / have come
across, is that the sounds of noises
preceded the oscillations for an APP
preciable period of time. Maliot's
experiments showed that the shock of
an explosion travelled through wet
sand at the rate of 951 feet per second.
In Ipiwich we are situated chiefly on
drift sands and London clay, and al
lowing that the earthquake shock
travelled through these strata at a
more rapid rate it is not likely to have
been much more rapid. AS sound
travels at the rate of 1, 118 feet per
second, it is very probable that the
noise accompanying the earth move
ments preceded the oscillations. Mr..
Wilkins, the well-known yacht build
er at Wivenhoe, tells me he was
standing at the time the earthquake
occurred in the yard, and his first i'm
preston was that new yacht he was
looking al was keeling over, and he
called out to his workmen in the shop
close by. Then followed the crash of
the tall chimney and the rending Of
the walls. The workshop was an up
per floor, with windows on each side,
and as he stood in the yard Mr..
Wilkins says the ,oscillasory waves
were such that he was unable TO look
right through these windows, so as to
see the falling chimneys Of the build
lngs on the other side. He calculates
that there must have been a rise and
fall of the ground Of two feet nine
inches to have enabled him to do
this