The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 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 Earths 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 Populace 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 Populace 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
Upheaval.

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 n Charleston telegram. limit
ed section in the south of the city is sample OF
the whole. Standing at the Postoflice and look
ing west an almost impossible roadway Of
debris meets the eye. The building Of the
Chamber OF Commerce is badly damaged, por-
ton of the south and east walls having been
thrown down by the violence of the shock, and
the buildings of Walker, Evans BOSWELL
have also suffered, while the heavy granite
slabs which formed the parapet Of the Ne'0S
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
the earthquake Is most perceptlble at the MS
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 the roof
of the porch, carrying it away and leaving only
the large fiuted 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
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 tho 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 been completed, seems TO be in
tact but it is out of plumb and is in momentary
danger of falling. The massive porch has been
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 ey-
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 building from the corner of Broad street,
on the east side, consumed the entire row of
buildings as fur north as the Quaker graveyard.
The few houses left on that side Of the street
are more or less shattered and Quilted. The
few houses on the west side OF the street, north
of Broad street. have not escaped the general
fate, although the damag. Is not as great as IN
other portions of the street. From Queen street
TO Horback's 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 cabin
occupied by colored man, that is completely
surrounded by yawning chasms extending
over All around this there sinks of fresh
water and masses of mud with queer-lookinG
soft substances that have never been seen be
fore It is cOntende1 by many that the mud
and other substances found around the village
are volcanic matter.
Just after the first great shock there was
decided and distinct smell of escaping sui
phuric acid gas over the entire village. tn,
smell lasted throughout the night, and wai
distinct in those localities where the cavities il
the enrth were most numerous. Some say tina
portions of the mud were thrown up by tn,
waterspouts are strongly impregnated will
sulphur, and that small portions OF sulphur
can be found in the mud
Not fur from Charleston on the road to Sum
merville extensive mounds of clay were thrown
up and hillocks of sand in most cases in TIT
shape Of inverted cones, the hollow part o
which had evidently been formed by the actor
Of the water returning into the depths from
which it had been raised. In many cases tn,
erupted matter had streamed away from thu
breaks in the surface of the earth 70 distance
OF from twenty to fifty feet. In other place.
there were assures almost invariably extend
ing from north TO south. These cracks were
not wide and extended downward, always
in a antng direction. The matter that wa
thrown up was OF dull, dark slaty color
and was mixed with gravel There was ais
a little shale, and in general the mud resem
bled that which is thrown from the bottom o
the phosphate pits along the river The waite
i'm some places had the taste OF our artesian wa
ter but in many instances it was just as clea
and limpid as from mountain spring. Thes
evidences OF the great commissions are not spor
adic they extend far and near in every direc
ton from the city limits OF Charleston TO Sum
mefville and ut the latter place IL found
from Trustworthy information, that the crack
and assures are everywhere visible for mile
and miles around. Strangely enough, some O
these were in active operation and the constan
shocks that were felt ut SummerviHe sent tn
water out OF these assures in jets TO the heigh
of from fifteen to twenty feet.
This was evidently the result OF the crack
being flled with water and then the sides open
inc and closing by each succeeding shock
Tbese appearanoes were OF course suggestiv
of still more violent erruptions. and there wa
n constant dread everywhere that there woul
be a general inundation caused by some extrt
ordinary force of the earthquake. Not only wa
the water emitted i'm the low places where
might be expected TO exist all the time, but o
tops of the highest elevations the mud could b
sean This latter fact indicated that the fore
was being exerted at rather more than tn
depth that was at first thought to be the linn
of the force. 80
The horror OF the situation In Summerville o
Nedne sday was much intensified by certai
manifestations that we're not observed
Charleston to any great extent All during Oh
dav there was n constant series OF detonatton'
now east now west and from all possible dire
tons IL resembled the discharge OF heav
guns at Intervals Of about ten minutes, and wa
iike the sounds of n bombardment at grei
distance. All OF these explosions were not ~
cofnpanied by tremors OF the earth, as IL wa
o,,Iv occasionaliy that the earth would qual
from subterranean discharges. remarkab
fact vas noted in Summerville in respect TO th
bnlcing of the winter from the interior OF u
earth Nearly all OF the wells had been at 10
water There was a sudden rise IN all OF thei