Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-10-08
Correspondence Of The fvENINo STAR

| Correspondence Of The tvENING STAR.
| GRANADA, NICARAGUA, Sept T.
| There have been ominous warnings of convul-
! sions OF nature going on under the surface OF q
portion OF this fair country during the past sew
cral days which have driven the people of Gran
ada from their homes. The earthquakes, begin
| ming their rumblings on Sunday, have since re-
suited in the injury of nearly every house OF
this city OF $4,000 souls to greater or less ex-
! tent. Granada is built at the base Of the great
! volcano Mombscho, which has been considered
rs extinct for centuries, no eruption having
take place in il since the discovery of the coun-
try, though there is now daily dread lest the
| lonS-closed crater should open and bury the
| town in lava and ashes. The first evidence of
the earthquake disturbances which have bcen
| going on beneath Granada was given on Sun
| day, when one OF the farest days OF the year
| was broken in upon BY trembling of the earth
and an ominous rumbhng noise of distant
| thunder proceeding from the volcano. Several
| spells OF trembling were then felt but not any
OF them sufficient to do harm to houses. though
| 1t created panic among the inhabitants.
MANY HOUSES SHAKEN.
A heavy shock came on Monday morning that
| caused great injury to nearly every house Of
the city and was felt at Managua, Rivas. Masaya
and other towns GO and 70 miles distant from
the volcano Mombacho. Other shocks equally
heavy followed. though no damage has been
done outside Of this city, and now there is
scarcely a house with walls uncrackcd or with
tile roof uninjured and partly thrown into the
! street, in some cases the destruction being
rather worse.
Arriving in the city in the midst Of the panic
THE STAR correspondent found desperate eff
fort being made on the part OF every one to
leave the place. Those who were able
got away by railroad. carriage or cart or on
foot to neighboring towns or haciendas short
distances out Of the city and little farther
! from the dreaded volcano. A common sight il
to whole families. headed by father or
brothers, carrying bundles of bedding and the
most necessary of household goods, every
member bearing part of the burden. Those
who have been unable to get away have passed
the nights slceplessy and fearfully on cots
placed at doorways i'll the streets Or public
plazas, where groups Of campers huddled
together away from tho danger of falling wallis
The vibrations of the earthquake have been
from northeast to southeast ard those of the
heaviest kind have numbered half dozen,
though the minor tremblinss have been in
Vulnerable.
While the one-story houses of adobe, a mud
brick made with straw, after the fashion of the
| ancient Egyptians, have been cracked from
ceiling to Hoor 1t remains fact that many of
the firm masonry structures here have been
injured. Of this latter style there are numerous
examples i'll both bridges. churches and a few
dwellings, The adobe brick. the popular
building material OF Central American towns
has but little adhesive power, and the shakinSs
Of the earthquake readily cause it to crack
though the walls are built thick and have a
massive appearance.
PANIC-STRICKEN EXODUS.
Up to the present time 1000 people have
left the city by the railroad trains alone, the
government running the trains out Of town as
rapidly as the facilities will permit. Iuaddition
to that number a couple of thousand have gone
by other means, seeking refuge in neighborinS
haciendas. the railroad facilities having been
totally deficient in the task of effecting an
exodus within short time, and the depot has
been. and Is even now, crowded with men,
women and childfep, the aged and infirm, the
invalid from bed of sickness, all this mass Of
humanity, with bundles of bedding and most
necessary clothes, abandoning homes, urged
forth by tho widest fears, perhaps yet to be
realized. and every one joining in the stampede
to get even room to hold on to the train to be
taken from the place.
MOST PITIFUL SIGHTS.
On all hands the most pitiful sights are seen
Of those whose homes are partly destroyed and
left to the mercy of the clements, furniture and
clothing rain-soaked perhaps much stolen be-
fore they can return-if it is so that they can
ever return-and as the quivering of the earth
is again felt and that ominous, distant rumbiing
from the volcano is heard, the weak and help
less cast anxious glances toward the crater's
crest to detect any beginning of the creator
calamity they fear. But the population OF the
city has now been reduced il is estimated to
1900. the remains OF city of $500 population
four days ago. Although the calamity has been
great enough, and caused great panic, there
have been 10 cases yet of falling walls or OF
any death consequent upon the earthquake
shock.
GOVERNMENT AID EXTENDED.
has in;
keep order and prevent the plundering of de-
serted houses. Two hundred soldiers have
been sent hero from Managua, and when any
one is caught IN the act of stealing Justice il
promptly administered in the form OF a tlog-
glng there and then.
Mr.. VIM. Newell, the newly appointed Ameri-
can consul, wSs here today looking after the
interests of several American young ladies',
Misses Frances A. and u. /. Caldwell and Miss b.
{. Graves. who are teachers in the college for
young iadics located here. There has been no
severe shock now for nearly thirty hours, and
confidence Is being restored to great enough
extent to permit the refugees to return tor
some OF their valuables left in the hurried
flight.
MoMDACHo, THE VOLCANO
which is looked upon tho center Of the up-
heaval going on, is about 900 feet high and
Granada Is located at its base, n part OF tho
town being built on the lower portion of tho
slope and less than 10 miles from the crater.
There are evidences of q terrible eruption in
the past, when the greater quantity of the lava
coursed down the VOLCANOES slope to the waters
OF Lake Nicaragua, from the shores of which
the peak rises. There are numberiess little
islands q short way from shore formed by the
flow of lava. ShOuld there be an eruption
Granada would be doomed even should the lava
take direction away from it, as the fall Of
ashes would be inevitable and would be sufii-
cient to make the town uninhabitable ~,
At present there Is no active volcano in Mica
| ragua and but one in Central America viz
i'll Salvador. Three years ago Ometepl near
the center OF Lake Nicaragua. ended an active
state and tho last of the eruption OF Mono
tombo. Oh the border of Lake Managua and
near the capital, was seen less than two years
ago in the form OF "a thin column of smoke
| rising from its crater. Since then there has
been in this country no volcanic eruption and
! no prominent earthquake.
The STARS correspondent left Granada today
taking tho steamer across the lake, and as a
full view of Momotombo was had from tho
ship several great landsides near the top OF
the peak were noticed, giving evidence of the
commotion which had taken place there
Newly opened crevices were claimed to DO
seen by some, but this was not established.
The fact of the landslides of tho volcano. which
could not be seen from Granada was tele-
graphed TO the city and will doubtless tend to
prolong tho exile OF the inhabitants even
should no more shocks be felt for several Wepks