The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-11-25
TEE JAPAN FARrHoUAKE.

There is some reason for believing that
the earthquake of the 28th ult in Japan was
tie most destructive OF the present century,
if not of modern times. 1t is the first earth
quake on record Of which we have accurate
accounts taken by competent persons, who
were not crazed by terror. Doubts will
always attach to the popular chronicles
Of the earthquake at Lisbon in 1855,
and the earthquake of 1884 at Simoda,
for the reason that there was no ma
chinery in either place by which the
mortality could be accurately computed.
1t was evident in both places that large
loss Of life had occurred, and the survivors
roughly reckOned this at so many thousands,
on no better evidence than their own i'm
agination. Whereas, with regard to the
catastrophe Of the 2Sth, official and IN
doubte6ly authentic reports figure list of
1000 people killed and 5000 wounded,
with large number of districts yet to be
heard from. One of the cities DESTROYED
contained nearly a million people, and the
whole territory ravaged from Gifu to
Hiogo was one of the richest and most pop
ulous districts of Japan.
The catastrophe differs from all others
of the like nature, in that water cut no fig
ure as destructive agent, and that the whole
sale destruction of life and property was the
work Of earth waves. followed by fire. At
Lisbon there was water wave, which
overthrow buildings, and of which the
undertow carried people to drown in the
waters of the bay; this was followed by
another precisely similar water wave, which
swept away those who had come out of
their houses to see what was happening.
AT Simoda, again, it was a water wave
Which wrppkn1 tho Ruee al frio IA
and washed the people of the shore into the
sea. 1t was the same water wave which
did the mischief at africa, in South Amer
lea, in 1868. Again at the Krakatoa earth
quake in 1888, it was tidal wave which
annihilated Anjier, and the seacoast towns
of Java ana Sumatra.
No water wave nor tidal wave accompa-
MED the recent earthquake in Japan. At
about 6: AS o'clock in the morning of the 18th.
after number of preliminary warnings in
the shape Of rumblings, tie earth began to
shake over an area roughly estimated at
thousand square miles An earth wave.
with the usual rotary motion, swept over
this area and caused the fall of number of
buildings, whose ruins almost Immediately
took fire. Among the inmates of the build
ings plumber were crushed by the falling
roofs and walls, and many pinned under
the wreck were burned to death. The
shocks continued for five days, not all
with equal violence but still severe enough
to destroy buildings which had been shaken
by the first temblOr; in some places as
many as six hundred consecutive shocks at
intervals OF minute or Two were counted.
But the Chief destruction of life was due
to the subsistence of the earth and the OPEN
ing OF wide crevices in its surface. This
was the feature of the earthquake of 1872 in
the Mississippi Valley, which would have
caused much destruction of life had the
country affected been thickly peopled. In
Japan great riffs of unknown depth opened
in the soil and swallowed I'D man and
beast. Side by side with these creyices
whole fields, and in some cases tracts of
land on which villages stood, sunk from one
to thirty feet. One side OF Mount Fusiyama
cayed in. The catastrophe resembled a re-
production on a small scale of the conyul-
sion which. according to Donnelly, effaced
the continent Of Atlantis from the surface
of the world.
1t is too soon to determine the area of the
disturbance. 1t is known that several
buildings were destroyed in Kobe-that
lovely spot which is familiar to many of
our citizens; and flames were noticed by
some OF the passengers by the China from
one OF the islands of the Aeutian chain
The Simoda earthquake was felt on this
Coast; thus lar no observer has reported
any disturbance which can be connected
with the catastrophe of the 18th of October.
Some weeks must elapse before all the
lands and seas surrounding Japan are heard
from.
Meanwhile terrible suffering prevails
Throughout the devastated district. Some
haii million people are destitute of food and
shelter; the Japanese are doing their best to
relieve the distress, but their contributions
appear TO be small. 1t would be graceful
thipg Tor California to spare to these
neighbors OF ours something out of our
abundance to feed the hungry and to clothe
the ed