Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1886-09-04
The EARTHQUAKE HORRORS,
Scenes OF Ruin and DesOlatiOn as Pic.
tured by an Eye. Witness...List
Of the Victims.
'the Terror Of the People as they Gath
cred in Places Of Fancied
Security.
An Eruption Of Mud and Water Fill.
ing Wells that had Gone
Dry.

oic e'aoudliy eaklig account OF the detail
OF the injury worked by the earthquake
The list OF damage to property is startlin.
Limited sections in the south OF the city
sample OF the whole. Standing at th
postoffice and looking west an almost i'm
passable roadway OF debris meets the eye
The building OF the Chamber of Commerc
il badly damaged, portion of the soutl
and west walls having been torn down b,
violence. The buildings of Walter Evan
and Bogswell have also suffered while tn
heavy granite slabs which formed the para
pet OF the News e. Courier building are upol
the sidewalk-leaying the slate roof and .
portion OF the attic floor exposed. Almos
the entire roof OF the building occupied b,
Myers cigar store and Smiths stencil es
tablishment is torn out, leaving the uppe,
floors exposed. The Pleng building at the
corner OF Church street was badly damaged.
Most OF the buildings on the street art
more or less damaged, but the violence oi
the earthquake is most perceptible at the
intersection OF Broad and Meeting streets
The police station is almost O complete
wreck. The upper edge OF the wall has been
torn down, and that OF the north wall has
fallen on the roof of the porch, carrying it
away and leaving only large fluted pillars
standing.
Tho 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 to the ground. The fire
proof building seems to stand as a rock,
the gables of the North and South por.hes,
however, maze OF solid brown stone have
been thrown to the pavement. This ap-
pears to lie the only damage done to the
building. The worst wreck in this locality,
is st. MichaePs church which seems to be
doomed to destruction, the steeple repairs
on which had just been completed seems be
intact but it is out OF plumb and is in mo-
danger OF falling. The massive
porch has been wrenched from the body OF
the church and building and is cracked in
Jour places. One crack in the North wall
from the eayes to the lower win
dow. Two on the West face of she church
the entire height Of the building
and one on the South wall also extends
from the caves down almost to tho ground.
The cracks are all Immediately under the
steepie, which, it seems almost impossible
vii stand for any time. The hands or the
i, OF the clock pointed to five minutes of
10. which must have been the hour of the
shock on Tuesday night. The buildings be-
ia cen Meeting and King streets are all
more or less damaged. The front wall OF
Dr.. DeSaussewr's residence has been
thrown dows, leaving the attic flo IT ex-
r'sed. Several ,uildngs on the south side
i t'r street have been similarly treated.
West of King street the most serious
'amage is to the Episcopal : nee.
u ba' 5, enc Of desolation the fas..l, "abIe
boulevard Of Charleston ErseepAs! Com
at Broad street one passes through
!, blnck OF burned houses, the fire starting
starting lit No. 11S. third building from
he corner OF Broad street. On the east
ide is consumed the entire row OF buildings
Is far north as Tully's old stand, next to
he graveyard. The few houses left on that
tide OF the STREET are more or less shat
ered. The few houses on the west side
lOrth OF Broad, have not escaped the gen
raj fate, though the damage is not as gen.
,ral as in other portions of the street. The
immense vac mt lot on the west side OF the
street is occupied by families who lived in
The burnt houses and who are camped on
,he sward with few household effects
aved from the flames. From Queen street
20 Harback's alley almost every house is
the tops OF the walls near the
.oof being thrown down.
SINGULAR PHENOMENON.
CHARLESTON, September "A special re-
port from Mt. Pleasant, opposite, Charles
Jon, says that sink near the German
church, which on Tuesday was perfectly
Try, is now full of fresh water.
In many cases the erupted water has
,trea med away from the breaks in the sur
ace to a distance OF from twenty to fifty
eet. In other places there were fissures
which almost Invariably extended from
lorth to south. These cracks we're not
vide. and extended downward always in a
,lanting direction. The matter that was
thrown up was OF a dull, dark, slaty color
md was mixed with gravel. There was
bling thatwhich is thrown from the bottom
,f phosphate pits along rivers. Tho water
q some places has the taste OF our artesian
water, but in many cases it was just
Is clear and limpid as that from noun
;ain spring. These evidences OF the great
are not sporadic. They eX-
;ended far and near in every direction from
;he city limits of Char lesion to Summer
,ile, and at the latter place it was found
rom trustworthy information that the
cracks and fissures are everywhere visible
or miles and miles around.
Strangely enough these were in active
operation and the constant shocks that
we're felt at Summerville sent the water
,ut OF these issures in jets to the height
II fifteen to twenty feet. This was evil
lently the result OF the cracks being filled
With water and their sides opening and
closing by each shock. These appearances
we're, ofcourse, suggestive OF still more vio-
orl onf
Tread everywhere that there would be a gen.
,ralinundation by some extra ordinary force
Of the earthquake. Not only vas water
emitted in low places where it might be
expected but on the tops Of higher eleva-
lions mud could be seen. This latter TACT
indicated that force was being exerted
at IA ther more than the depth that was
at first thought tu be the limit OF the force.
Near Ten Mile Hill Falls an accident
.,ccurred iuesday night. The down Column
bia train iumpe the track. Engineer Burns
nd fireman (colored) were badly in
i red by the tire re drns Ia which the
train took in the dark, under the lnhu-
enc. oi thu. shock tha d'smantle:i the road
It is said that the earth suddenly gave way
a ID that the engine first plunged down
temporary decHvity. 1t was then RAISED
on the top OF the succeeding terrestrial
unduIati,n and having reached the top OF
th. wave sudden swerving force to the
r;,ht and left hurled the il'-fated train
dawn tire embankment. How it VS. done
W IS pl in. In many places along the track
,f the South Carolina " Northeastern
r ,,lroad, and for spaces OF several hundred
ards in width the dreadful energy OF the
ar;huuake was expended in two part.cu'
lar ways. First, there were inter-
vals Of a hundred yards or more
in which the track ha& the aP-
uearanre OF having been alternately
raised and depressed like ilne OF waves
frozen in their last position. Second wnele
the force had osciilated from east TO west,
bending rails in reverse curves mos' VI
them taking the shapes OF single and others
of a double letter S placed longltudenany
Here the latter accident occurred almos'
;nvariable at trestles and culverte: ihere
wore not | ss than five OF them between
Seven Mile junction and Dedburg' II
other places the tracks had the appear RAM. .has.
~ he;np kinked for miles but always IN tnest
cases in the direction OF the rai's
The The train at sthe time OF the earthquah, *
was M running along at the usual speea an. an
when about q mile south oI DedDnrs !. @ vn
cnnntered the terrible experience. i. wa a.
trs;obted with hundred excursi0nlsts re
t"rn;np from the mountains. lhey ys;n' ~sr'
ali cav and happy, Laughing ana n,"aa va,n.1 ae .