Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1886-09-16
NOT ExAGGERATED.
Previous Reports Of the Damage
at Charleston Are Fully
Confirmed.
The Force of the Great Up
heaval Apparent Upon
Every Side.
A Description Of Some of the
Scenes Witnessed in the
Stricken City.
Fissures in the Earth's Surface Vomit
Forth Mud and Other
Substances.
People Driven from Their Homes to
Vacant LOts-MilliOns OF
Dollars Lost.
Extraordinary Phenomena Pro-
duced by the Earth
quake at Sea.
Effect of the Unusual Disturbance Upon
the Colored Populacs of
Charleston.
Origin of the Great Shake-Previous Sub
terranean Disturbances in the
United States.
Extraordinary Phenomena Pro-
duced by the Earth
quake at Sea.
Effect Of the Unusual Disturbance Upon
the Colored Populacs of
Charleston.
Origin of the Great Shake-Previous Sub.
terranean Disturbances in the
United States.
TAKING ACCOUNT.
A Glance At the Ruin Wrougt by the Great
IDheaVal.

"A Glance at the Ruin Wrougt by the Great
Upheaval.
The people are gradually taking account Of
the details Of the injury worked by the earth
quake, and the list OF damage to property is
startling, says a Charleston telegram. A limit
ed section in the south Of the city is q sample OF
the whole. Standing at the Postofice and look
ing west an almost impossible roadway OF
debris meets the eye. The building Of the
Chamber Of Commerce is badly damaged, por-
tion Of the south and east walls having been
thrown down by the violence of the shock, and
the buildings of Walker, Evans & Bogswell
have also suffered, while the heavy granite
slabs which formed the parapet Of the Netcs
and Courier building lie upon the sidewalk,
leaving the slate roof and portion OF the attic
floor exposed. Almost the entire front OF the
building occupied by Myers cigar store and
Smiths stencil establishment is torn out, leav-
ing the upper floors exposed. The Pleng build
ing, at the corner of Church street, was badly
damaged. Most of the buildings on the street
are more or less damaged, but the violence of
toric intersection Of Broad and Meeting streets.
The police station is almost a complete wreck.
The upper edge of the wall has been torn down,
and that OF the north wall has fallen on tho roof
of the porch, carrying it away and leaving only
the large huted pillars standing.
The City Hall apparently escaped serious
damage, but is badly cracked on the east wall.
and the Court House building is badly damaged,
the walls being cracked in several places, and
portions of the roof and gables being thrown
down. The fire-proof building seems to stand
as a rock. The gables of the north and south
Porches, however, made OF solid brown stone,
have been thrown to the pavement below This
appears to be the only damage done to the
building.
The worst wreck in the locality, however, is
st. Michaels Church, which seems to be doomed
to destruction. The steeple, the repairs on
which had just boon completed seems to be in
tact. but it is out OF plumb, and is in momentary
hanOar massive DOrch has
wrenched from the body Of the church, and the
building has been cracked in four places.
The buildings between Meeting and King
streets are all more or less damaged, the effects
OF the earthquake being the same in nearly eV-
cry instance.
What a scene of desolation the fashionable
boulevard OF Charleston presents. Commenc-
ing at Broad street one passes through block
of burned houses. The fire, starting at lis, the
third bnilding from the corner OF Broad street,
the saSt aide, consumed tho ontiro row of
buildings as far north as the Quaker graveyard.
The few houses left on that side Of the street
are more or less shattered and gutted The
few houses on the west side of tho street, north
OF Broad street. have not escaped the general
fate, although the damage Is not as great as in
other portions of the street. From Queen street
TO Horbacks alley almost every house is shat
tered, the tops Of the walls near the roof being
All over the city the injury is OF the same
character. Near Shell street there is q cabin,
occupied by colored man, that is completely
surrounded by yawning chasms extending
through the earth's surface for ten feet and
over. All around this there are sinks of fresh
water and masses of mud, with queer-looking
soft substances that have never been seen be-
fore. It Is contended by many that the mud
and other substances found around the village
are volcanic matter
just after the first great shock there was a
decided and distinct smell OF escaping sui
phurie acid gas over the entire village. The
smell lasted throughout the night, and was
distinct In those localities where the cavities in
the earth were most numerous. Some say that
portions OF the mud were thrown up by the
waterspouts are strongly impregnated with
sulphur, and that small portions of sulphur
can be found in tho mud.
Not far from Charleston on the road to Sum-
merville extensive mounds OF clay were thrown
up and hillocks of sand, in most cases in the
shape OF inverted cones, the hollow part Of
which had evidently been formed by the action
Of the water returning into the depths from
which it had been raised. In many cases the
erupted matter had streamed away from the
breaks in the surface , OF the earth to distance
there were fissures almost invariably extend
ing from north to south. These cracks were
not wide and extended downward, always
I'M Al anting direction. The matter that was
thrown up was OF q dull, dark, slaty color
and was mixed with gravel. There was also
a little shale, and in general the mud resem-
bled tlret which is thrown from the bottom OF
the phosphate pits along the river The water
In some places had the taste OF our artesian wa
ter, but in many instances 1t was just as clear
and limpid as from mountain spring. These
evidences OF the great convulsions are not spor-
adic they extend far and near in every direc-
tion from the city limits OF Charleston to Sum-
merville. and at the latter place it found
from trustworthy information, that the cracks
and assures are everywhere visible for miles
and miles around. Strangely enough, some Of
these were In active operation and the constant
shocks that were felt at Summerville sent the
water out of these fssures In jets to the height
OF from fifteen TO twenty feet.
This was evidently the result OF the cracks
being hued with water and then the sides open
ina and closing by each succeeding shock
These appearances were OF course suggestive
OF still more violent erruptions and there was
n constant dread everywhere that there would
be n general inundaton caused by some extra
ordinary force of the earthquake. Not only was
the VIZ ter emitted in the low places where it
might be expected TO exist all the time, but on
tops of the highest slevations the mud could be
seen. This latter fact Indicated that the force
was being exerted at rather more than the
depth that was at first thought TO be the limit
Of the force.
The horror ct the situation in summsrville on
wednesday was much intensified by certain
manifestations THAI were not observed in
Charleston TO any great extent. All during the
day there was a constant series of detonations,
now east nov west, and from ell possible direc-
tions It resembled the discharge of heavy
guns at intervals OF shout ton minutes, apd was
like tho sounds OF q hombRrdment at a great
distance. All OF these explosions we're not sc-
companied by trenors OF Che earth as it was
only occasionally that the earth would quake
from Bubteuanean discharges remarkable
fact was noted in Summervile I'm respect 70 the
hulging Of the water from the interior OF che
earth. Nearly all of the wells had been at low
water There was sudden rise In all OF these