Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-01-24

felt the people rush. peil nell, out OF door at
whatever hour of day or night. regardless Of
clothes or any other consideration but self
preservation, and Immediately Gfterward, soon
az the man whose express business it is can
reach the belfry. every bell in the city begins
to toll. as an expression Of PRAYER for deliver
anee or of appeal if the terror has not subsided.
On the occasion described the quaking of the
earth was accompanied by an awful rumbiing.
similar to the noise OF an avalanche. and in less
than three minutes the church towers fell and
the bells came crashing to the ground. The
great effort of everybody was to keep well in
the middle of the widest streets to be more out
of the reach of flying stones and tmbers and
to reach the broad open space of the main
plaza rs the safest place. but the earth shook so
that it extremely difficult to keep ones feet
and in their tight scores were buried under
falling walls or killed BY the debris that filed
the air.
THE WHOLE CITY IL DIST AND DARKNESS.
The whole city ,afs enveloped in clouds Of
dust and darkness. and above the sound of the
horrible rumbling re-echoed cries of human
anguish, the frantic believing Of beasts. the
bowling of terrified dogs and the cracking of
tumbling buildings. Not single house
left entire in Arequipa, and but one church
tower remained-that of Santa Catarina-but
II was so damaged that il had to bo pulled
down. For weeks the citizens were compelled
to live in tents pitched near the bank OF the
river, and for many DAYS none dared to return
To town because the rumbling and shocks con-
tinued. OF course the rougher element ven
tured forth first. and many families whose val
uables were spared by the earthquake, or were
but partially buried in the debris. lost all at
the hands of thieves. Meanwhile Mount
MIST, which had not been in eruption before
during the historical period, vomited forth
Quantities OF mud. lava and clouds of smoke
the latter com pletely hiding its sides from
view. but through the darkness came the hor-
ribie sound OF falling boulders and a roaring
as of a colossal furnace. The usually calm
river was rendered impossible and unfit for
use by reason Of Its sudden violence and sui
phurous odors, while the rise in its waters wGs
SO great and rapid that within six hours sew
eral villages in the adjacent valley were swept
entirely out OF existence.
THE SICK BURIED IN THE RUINS.
The sick in the hospitals and the prisoners
in the carcel being una BILE to flee. were buried
in the ruins. Just now, after twenty-three
years. they are clearing out the debris from
the fallen walls of what was once the woman's
hospital and occupied a square in the central
part of the city. We often extend our morning
walks in that direction, and seldom pass with
out seeing "a skull, trunk or some other por-
ton of a human skeleton, removed with the
dust and stones and crumbled plaster. Fast as
the workmen shovel into the debris, il is
dumped into boxes that are run in on an i'm
proyised railway, while cart stands near into
which the bones are mostly piled and carried
off to the cemetery. The last time we paused
to watch the progress of the work one of the
diggers picked out an arm bone, wrapped 1t in
a bit of coarse checked flannel that lay in the
dirt near it, and presented it to me for a re-
cuerdo-a gruesome souvenir of not the least
sad part of the great catastrophe. Eighty
women, helpless in their beds. buried amid
topping walls. and not one of them saved, IL
is 20 be hoped that all were instantly killed.
and none left wounded to perish by slow star
walton. Stranger still it seems that their re-
mains were never taken from the heap in
which they fell. but we're left unburied for
more than twenty years in the heart of the city.
FAsNIE b. WARD.