The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1891-12-01
JAPAN's AWFUL EARTHQUAKE.
Particulars of the Recent Seismic Dis
turbance, in Which Thousands
of Lives Were Lost.

OF Lives Were Lost.
SAN Francisco, Cal, Nov. 24.-Fol-
lowing are additional details Of the
Japan earthquake of October %: The
up and down trains on the Tokaido
Railway were just meeting at Gifu
station, the centre Of the disturbance,
when the first shock occurred.
The people on the train slipped from
their seats, and fer a moment thought
that a collision had occurred. On
looking out Of the windows. however,
they beheld the station in ruin and the
wafer in a neighbOring pond daShiDg
violently from side to side.
Some Of the passengers made their
way into Gifu and found immense
heaps of ruins. Many houses bad fallen,
while others were so shattered that the
succeeding tremOrs of the earth threw
them to the ground.
In almost every house some unfOr-
tunate was buried, and the chances Of
escape were diminished greatly by con-
tlagratiOns in many places.
The town Of KanO was found to be
wholly III ruins, not u house remaining
standing. KaSematsu suffered q like
fate. Everywhere survivors were dig
! ging out the dead and wounded and
fighting against cOntlagratiCns CT all
| sides.
Throughout the day and night the
work Of carrying the wounded to
! NagOya proceeded. Il continual stream
| Of bearers passing along the railway,
which was the only available route.
The inhabitants Of the ruined town say
that the first sensation was that the
! houses were being raisoi and then sud
! denly lowered two or three feet. In
fact, there was = marked subsistence of
the carth's surface FIR u considerable
areaAFnWt GifU which indicates that
| 7he latter town was the centre Of the
| disturbance.
HOUSES ON FIR
Very 0 after the houses were
| thrown down and while hundreds of
| people werc buried in the debris flames
burst from the ruins Of the silk factory
and III a Short time spread to such an
| extent tina. the citizens were compelled
to desist III their work OF rescue.
By eight o'clock in the evening almost
every part Of the town Of Gifu was
wrapped in flames and the Inhabitants
had abandoned ali hope of staying the
| COn~fiagratiOn. saving what articles
they could and fleeing to TIE woods
and hills.
The potteries in the procedures Of
War; nd MinO, the great centres in
porcelain manufacture in Japan, and
those at SetO and other towns were
almost entirely destroyed, and it is
| feared that there is no prospect of re-
Stunning their industry this year.
The KObo temple, belonging to the
Shin sect, Buddhists, was crowded with
wOrshppers when it fell. burying at
least fifty people. The ruins took fire
and the shrieking victims were con
sumed before the eyes Of the Mortified
OnlOOkers.
DESTRUCTION AT NAGERIO.
A slight shock was felt at Nagerio on
the night of Sunday, October 25th On
Wednesday morning, while forty
Christians were assembled i'll one of
the buildings of the Methodist school,
the structure began to tOtter and the
wOrshippers fled. One Christian and
his wife were killed and two Japanese
were fatally injured. Mr.. and Mrs.
Van Dyke, missionaries, and one other
white person were dangerously hurt.
The thread factory and q large brick
building caved in, killing hundreds Of
persons, but the old castle, despite it's
four hundred years, stood firm.
The loss of life in the three towns
"uIC1 SD'OIIldh6 up Vic Guy VI ANdSOyd
is estimated at from sever hundred
and fifty to M thousand.
Up to the morning Of Friday. Oct.
Both. 1858 distinct shocks were reported
as following that of Wednesday. Re
ports were received of assures in the
Learth two feet wide and several feet
deep, railway rails twisted, iron bridges
broken, river embankn ents sunk or
crumbled and fields flooded. A lake
six hundred yards long and sixty yards
wide was formed at the foot of the
KukuSan Mountain.
The general appearance If the Mizu-
shima division OF the MOtOsu district
underwent a complete transformation,
and at NOgO in n district q marked
subsistence of the earth's surface has
taken place. Out OF 7CO temples in the
Gifu prefecture Tor than one third
were totally destroyed.
At Osaka q cotton mill collapsed.
and twenty five persons ere killed or
wounded. I o other cotton mills
were very badly damaged, and twenty
three lives were lost in them. The top
of the sacred mountain of F~usiva1na
was rent asunder for a distance of
/, 200 feet in width and 600 feet in
depth
Up to November 9Th, 81, 600 in
money and large quantity Ofrice had
been distributed for the relief of the
sufferers. The Emperor and Empress
made a donation of 500, 600. One hun
dred and fifty-eight thousand persons
in the Cifu prefecture alone have ap-
piled for assistance.