Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-10-15
A GENTLEMAN's EXPERIENCE.
His Impressions During the Evening Pre-
coding the Great Quake-A Feeling of
Dread md Forebodipss.

His Impressions During the Evening Pre-
coding the Great Quake--A Feeling of
Dread and ForebodiDgs.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 4.--The Critic this
evening prints most graphic and thrill
ing account of gentleman's experience
in Charleston last Tuesday night. This
gentleman arrived in Washington to-day
and thus relates his story;
/ had been conscious all the evening of
a strange feeling of dread, premonition
OF an impending catastrophe. There was
q subtle influence in the air, mysterious
something that filled the mind with
feeling Of gloom aud nervous expectancy.
But, seeing no apparent cause for giving
way to this weak dread, tried to throw
it off, but could not. l went to my room
about 10 O'Clock to retire. Just as was
about TO undress there was
HEAVY TREMBLING
OF the house. l stopped short on my
preparations, and stood In the middle OF
the floor half psralyzed with fright. l
realized that 1t WAS an earthquake, and
something seemed to warn me that the
worst had not yet come. Before / could
move from my place the shock came, with
horrible sound Of cracking timbers and
falling ceilings, the house rocked to and
fro, throwing me of my feet. l picked
myself up and found l was in utter dark
ness, the light having gone out. The
house was still trembling and the plaster
falling, and the air was filed with
choking dust. have faced death many
times in my life, but never have | had
such an experience as that was,
CROPPING IN THE DARKNESS
for the door that could not find, and the
floor rolling and tremb ing beneath me,
expecting every second to go down with
the building into crushed, snapeless
mass under the timbers.
At last reached the street. strange
silence was all around, the first crash of
falling walls was over, and the people
had not recovered their frightened wits
Through binding, sitting haze of NOR
tar dust shone the glare of the street
lamps. Suddenly there was scream,
and then all around me heard the cries
of terror, the groans of anguish and pain
aud undesirable uproar. People knelt
| down right in the middle of the
streets and prayed aloud to
forward with each successive
shock. while brick and tiles fell all
around them. l knew that a tidal wave
usually followed an earthquake, so | Sc
lected a tall tree and stood by, ready to
climb on the slightest warning. After a
while, seeing the danger of "a tidal wave
was past, | walked around to see
THE RUINS.
None felt like standing still at any
place, and all night the streets were lined
with people walking hither and thither,
some crying, some praying, others ours.
ing, but all wearing the same air of merry
Gus expectancy, like person being
hunted down by foe, relentless and
quiet, that was likely to spring upon
them any moment At every frequent
shock the people would stop, and with
bated breath and blanched faces anxiously
await the passage OF the quake, not know.
Ing what moment the earth would open
and swallow them. In the
middle of the street little assures would
open in the pavement, from
which issued small streams OF boiling
water and blush mud. These would be
followed by an emission OF warm sub
stance resembling heavy paint. subse-
quentiy saw traces of the same phenome
non In the surrounding country, the holes
or springs in some places being two feet
In circumference. The next day spent
: In iruitless endeavor to get out Of
} town. No trains, because there are nc
) railroads. The very road-beds were de-
: stroyed, and In places the rails wer,
twisted up. The day following the nigh
; OF the quake was a fearful one. AS PEG
, pie began to realize the deplorable dam
. age done and the terrific force OF thu
quake, they became more alarmed
saw tgo-story frame houses the seconC
stories OF which were twisted completed,
around, and lay crossways of the lowe
stories. Some houses were tilted RICH
] up on end, the walls bullying out al
e around.
HKAvY IRON COLUMNS RENT
1 outward. No one can form an idea O
1 the scene unless IL was witnessed. NJ