The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1886-09-09

A Partial List of the Killed and
Wounded at Charleston.
New Shocks Occur at Intervals Of
Five and Six Hours.
Large Fissures in the Earth Caused
by the Shocks.
From Which Cold Water and Mud
is Exuded.
Latest Details From the Scene Of the
Frightfu.. Disaster.
Wrecked City.


open squares aid public parks. There Ii
great rush to the railroad depotE
the earthquakes no trains havs
been able to be dispatched from
the city. Telegraphic communication
ia also cut OF, save one
wire of the Southern Telegraph company
which is crowded with anxious private
messages. IL Ia impossible TO depict the
ruin and desolAtion that prevails here.
Not single place of business in the city
is open, except one drug store, which
is busy preparing prescriptions for the
wounded. II is impossible also to give
| any correct estimate Of the killed and
wounded, as the bodies are constantly
being disinterred from the debsis OF
wrecked houses. OGe undertaken who was
interviewed stated that he had furnished
eight collins up to noon to-day. Many
of the dead are unburied, these being OF
the poorer classes of colored people, who
await burial by the county. There are
not half dozen tents In the city, and
women and children are experiencing
great privation in consequence, and az
night approaches most of the heads Of
families are trying TO construct tents OF
bed sheets and any other material thai
comes in their hands. The sun is about
| to set on another night of horror fOI
poor Charleston. Heaven only knows
what il may bring forth. Without any
| further violent shock of earthquake it e
| calculated that at least three-fnurths Of
the city will have Id be re-
built entirely, if the houses are to be in
| hAbited.
The compositors of the News and Cou-
rier decline to work tonight, expecting
fresh shocks OF earthquake, and The paper
cannot therefore issue Tomorrow. The
following article was prepared for pub
LEGATION in the News and Courier and ii
telegraphed almost in the writer's OWL
words: Necessarily the description thai
can be given Of the disaster which has
befallen our city consists in the narration
of the experience and observations OF an
individual, and the subject being the
same and the experience Of all being
nearly alike, the story told By one care
full observer may well stand for one
| hundred others, with slight variations.
While engaged in his usual duties in the
| second-story room of the News and
Courier office at the time OF the first
shock, the writer's attention WAS vaguely
attracted by a sound which seemed tC
be caused by the rapid rolling
| of heavy body, as an iron safe or 8
heavily ladened truck, over the floor
| Accompanying the sound there was q
perceptible tremor Of the building, fol
| perhaps two to three seconds. The oc-
currence excited no surprise or comment
Then, by swift degrees, or perhaps all al
once, it is difficult to say which, the
sound deepened in volume, the tremol
became more decided, the eal
caught the rattle of window sAshes,
gas fixtures and other loose objects
| The men in the Office, with perhaps Q
simultaneous dash of recollecti0ns OF the
disturbance of the Friday before, glanced
hurriedly at each other and sprang to
their feet with startled question and an.
swer, what Is it,-earthQuAke? and theL
all was bewilderment and confusion. The
long roll deepened and spread into al
awful roar that seemed to per
wade at once the troubled earth
tremor was a rude, rapid culver thai
agitated the whole lofty, strong aleC
building as though it were being shaker
| by the hand OF an immeAsurable power
with an intent to tear Its joists asundel
and scatter its stones and bricks abroad
There was no intermission in the Vibra-
tons Of the mighty subterranean engine
From the frat to the last 1t was q con-
tinuous jar, only adding force al
every moment as it approached and
reached the climax of its manifestations
1t seemed for few terrible seconds thai
| no work OF human hands could possibly
| survive the shocks. The floors were
heAVing under foot, the surrounding walls
and partitions visibly swayed to and fro
the crash of falling masses OF
stone and brick and mortar wal
terrible roar filed the ears and seemed to
I'LL the mind and heart, dAzing percep-
ton, bewildering thought and for q few
painting breaths, or while you held YOU
breath in dreadful anticipation Of imme-
date and cruel death, you felt that life
was nearing its end, that il was only q
question Of death within the building OF
TO be buried by the sinking room OF
crushed by the topping walls. The up
roar slowly edied Sawsy in seeming dis
tanoe, the earth was still, and, oh, the
| blessed relief of that stiffness. How
| suddenly the silence was broken. AS
we dashed down the stairway and out
into the street, already on every side
arose the shrieks, the cries of pain and
fear, the prayers and wAilings Of terrified
women and children, connected With the
hoarse shouts of excited men. Out in
the street the the air was filed to the
height Of the houses with q white cloud
of dry, sitting dust. from the lime and
mortar and shattered masonry which
falling upon the pavement and
stone roadway. had been reduced
to powder. Through this cloud
dense as . fog, the gaslighta
HlCAoIou u1mlys Suc0OIDk Dui
little light, so that you stumble 8t every
step over the piles OF brick, or become
entangled in the lines of telegraph wires
that depended in every direction from
their broken supports. On either side
were formed huge rings Of men and
women, bAreheSded, partially dressed,
some almost nude, and many OF whom
were craZed with fear. Here {
woman is supported, half fsinting In
N1,n NJ frT TtSrs
vainly tries to soothe hen, while he carries
her into the open space 1T the street cor
ner, where apparent safety IL assured
there q woman lies on the pavement with
uptufned face and outstretched hands
and the crowd passes her by for the time,
not pAusing 70 see whether she be alive
or dead. A sudden light flares throughh
window overlooking the street.
1t becomes for Q moment bright and the
cry Of fire resounds from the multitude.
A rush is made toward the spot. A man
is seen doubled up and helpless against
the wall, but At this moment somewhere,
at sea, overhead, deep in the ground, fG
heard again the LOG ominous roll
which Is already too well known to be
mistaken, louder and near, like the growl
Of g wild beast swift ly approaching his
prey, ana is forgotten again In the fren-
zied rush for the open square, where
though Il be. The tall buildings on
either hand overhang every foot of
ground between them. It seems
that = touch would now send the
shattered masses left standing down upon
the people below who look upon them
and shrink together a. the tremor Of the
earthquake again passes under them and
again is experienced the blessed feeling
Of deliVerance from impending calamity.
Again far along the street and up from
the alleys that lead into it from every
side is heard that chorus Of wsilinS and
lsmentAtion of helpless, horror-sticken
humanity. II Is not q scene to
be described by any mortal tongue
or pen. The first shock occurred at
seven minutes of ten, 81 was indicated
this morning by the public clock, the
hands on ell Of which had stopped az
that fateful hour. The second shock,
which was. but 3 faint and crisp echo Of
the first, was felt eighteen minutes
later. As it passed away the writer