Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1886-09-10

her with intense anxiety. suddenly she burst
out with the hymn, ooh, wrastlin' Jacob, let
me CO." and the crowd joined in the mighty
refrain. They swayed their bodies forward
to the right and to the left alternately, just
like sacred dance, capping their hands in
an ecstacy OF emotion. Finally one man
dropped TO the ground converted. The lamp
was hastily brought from the tent, and he was
surrounded by a crowd Of women who held
his hands. lie cried aloud for mercy and
eventually swooned away and was almost as
rigid az a corpse. The work OF conversion
then went on, and in less than half an hour
dozen men and women suocumbed to the
emotional sensations of the occasion. SINH
lar scenes we're being enacted all over the
square.
A correspondent describes this scene wit
messed at a little station on the way to Charles
ton. At Jedburg we saw a pititul sight
Hundreds OF negroes aud whites were gath
cred at the depot on the platform singing and
praying They took no notice Of our arrival,
but their weird, strong singing went on such
terror l never saw on 10 many faces. women
were crying and children's f. atures were tense
with fear. Some had tainted and others were
Frustrated. It was rapidly growing dark, and
M night gathered the terror seemed to grow.
At the word Of prayer every soul went down
in abatement. The prayers, intoned 40 that
they were almost songs and interrupted by
shouts and screams, were pathetic aud exct-
ing beyond description. The prayers were
directed squarely against the earthquake.
Whites aud blacks joined in even the travel
ers lifted their hats and bowed their heads.
II was n ecene never to be forgotten these
stretched aud pitiiul people turned out of
their homes, huddled under quilts or on the
bare ground, and showing paroxysms OF fear
ignorant superstitlons aud weeping. There
were no signs OF food or supper-gettinR. The
praying and shouting had increased, and the
songs, shouts aud the walls Of the children
followed us down the track.
The General Effect OF the Disaster.
A despatch from Charleston describing the
general effect Of the earthquake says The
general devastation is not ut once apparent
TO a stranger in this city. On approaching
the city from the north one sees many spires
standing, and the impression is at once OBJ
tanned that the accounts of the disaster have
been exaggerated. In some respects they
have. There are very few buildings entirely
thrown down. Looking along the streets
one secs that the houses are almost all rob
| bed of their chimneys, aud that the side
walks, and in some places the roadways, are
filled with heaps Of bricks, stucco, twisted
ratings, and broken glass. Here and there
| You come across buildings Of which the front
| or rear walls have been thrown down, and
more frequently the bricks under the gables
| down to the cornces upon the ground.
| The strange freaks Of the terrible force that
was at work, the squeezing out OF windows,
| the partial destruction Of chimneys, the tear
| ing away OF dormers and porches, and the
canting Of heavy monuments arrest the at
| tention on every side. When the first terri
BILE shock came it wrenched and twisted all
brick buildings from top to bottom, and each
one in a way to indicate that the force exert
! ed passed generally from south to north.
| The commonest sight is that OF walls thrown
| out from directly under the roof down two
or throe feet. but added to this are entire
fronts aud sides of buildings bulged cracked
and tottering piazzls Of one, two, and three
stories broken away and piled in ruined
MASSES window cornices crushed out of
shape aud use, seams opening through heavy
brick walls, aud thick paving stones beaten
to fragments by the terrible rain OF brick
that for a few moments fell upon them.
One OF the Curious Results.
One of the results Of the greatest shake Of
Tuesday was the appearance all over the face
of the country to the north far as Sum
merville of mysterious stretches of sand. A
drive out on the King street road few miles
enables one to see great many OF these
strange freaks. They have sprung into sight
in open fields, in the roads along the railroad,
and in door yards, but most Of them are
seen in titled fields. The patches vary in
size and appearance Some arc 20 feet long
and 10 feet across, others are much smaller,
aud few are larger. They are also Of diff
ferent colors-white, gray, yellow aud blue.
Through the slightly elevated centre Of each
one is line Of depressions resembling brok-
en- bubbles. The broken sand bubbles are
all above fssures some of which are wide
enough to admit thick cane. The assures
run in about the same general direction. II
is evident that the earth has yawned in these
places, aud that large quantities of sand and
water have been thrown up with considers
BILE force The sand has spread out while
wet, and then become dry in the sun. The
ground about the patches is saturated will
the water expelled to n distance of 80 or Ct
feet all around. The sand is very fine and
clean and is devoid Of smell.
BIg Cracks In Ihe Earth.
Near Coosaw mines in South Carolina there
is crack in the earth POO feet long and siI
inches wide at the top. On 81. Helena island
of Beaufort coast several large openings
were made, and piles of mud and sand wer,
forced up. Passengers on the first traiI
through from Charleston to Savannah since
the earthquake last week Thursday say tina
holes resembling artesan wells have opened
in the neighborhood Of Charleston and TO
miles along the coast. They vary iu diane
ter, but average two feet and are APPARENT!
bottomless. Mica and other minerals no
known in that section before are found il
their mouths. Mud OF a blush color issue
from assures in the ground surrounding them
and the water savors OF soda. People livin
near them report that when the water frs
/ burst forth from the ground it was steamin
hot and shot 80 feet into the air On Pa
island, near Beaufort, assure in the cart
! II feet wide and 400 feet long still remains
, All the islands in that vicinity report simia
fissures with mud and water issuing froI
them. Predictions that another shock ma
be expected are keeping the people of Charles
ton in state OF terror.
The Strange EXPerience Of a RaIIrOa
Train.
The passenger train from Columbia, S. q
3 to Charleston, by way of Summerville as
approached the last-named town on the fat'
% full night, was caught by the earthquake, ra
l. along for some distance, and then jumpe
the track, badly injuring both fireman an
Q engineer. But that ride of some distance o
/. top OF the earthquake gave the passengers a
. experience they will not soon forget Th
train mounted the first undulatiOn and the
plunged down the temporary declivity, gail
a ering momentum every second. The eartl
quake heaved up the earth and track inI
great MhNth, anu tnb tram uhhu6u up AL
. down these temporary hills in a way to Great
. panic among the hundreds of excursions
, on board. One of the passengers thus d.
|, scribes the experience ave were all laugl
: ing and talking when all of a sudden Il
y train appeared to have left the track and
= be going up, up, up, into the air. This vi
: the rising wave. Suddenly it descended, oil
- as it rapidly fell it was flung first violently
a the east the side of the car apparently lea
g ing over at less than an angle OF 40 degree
" Then there was a II tiex action, and the ira
- righted and was hurled, with roar as of
!, discharge of artillery, over to the west, HI
- finally subsidized on the track and took plum
, downward, evidently the descending wav
: The engineer put down the brakes tight, b.
= so great was the original and added nome
= tum that the train kept right ahead. 1t a
y. peared to be galloping along the track, 4
4 front and rear trucks of the coaches Tisir
:, aud falling alternately. The utmost conf
|, sion prevailed women and children shrek
:, with dismay, and the bravest heart quail
y in momentary expectation of more terrib
|, koatastrophe. After the engine had been ditC
y ed, it was found that the track had be
40 twisted into serpentine curves and kinked
- miles along.
The Earthquake at Sea.
t. Capt. Leo Yoegel OF the steamer City
IL Palatka reports to the photographic office
le Washington that he had Just left Oharlest