Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-11-24
| DEATH THROES,
The Earth, Angry and Torn With
Conflicting Motions,
HURLS THOUSANDS, DEAD
And Dying, Into Fires That
Burn Unceasing.
WATER TURNED TO POISON.
In Buddha's Temple They Called on
Shin the Great.
FIVE HUNDRED CORPSES SHOW
His Vaunted Power to be as
That of Baal.
IN THAT CHURCH OF CHRIST
His Followers Pray and Out of Forty Four
are Taken.
IN THAT CHURCH OF CHRIST
His Followers Pray and Out of Forty -Four
are Taken.
SEVEN THOUSAND ARE DEAD.
Twice that Number Injured. Cities Wiped
Out, Mountains Torn Asunder-Two
Hundred Thousand People Home
less-The Earth Opens and the
Heavens Droop-Not Yet
the Crack of Doom.
National Calamity.

YOKOHAMA, Nov. 23-Several prolonged
shocks Of earthquake occurred October Is,
few minutes before Z o'clock in the morn
ing. 1t was the most severe experienced
since the terrible catastrophe Of 1853, and
must rank as q national calamity. The
greatest damage to buildings and loss of
life occurred in the projects of Eachy and
Gifu, in which nearly 1000 people were
killed outright and 20O0 seriously wounded.
In these two prefectures 1000 houses We're
totally destroyed The number of provinces
throughout which the disturbances We're
strongly felt numbers thirty one.
The center seems TO have been in Nina and
Oawart, but even as far south as Higo and
Rikushud. In the North the disturbance
was sensibly felt. The destruction of 40, 900
houses means POO, 900 people to be rendered
homeless. Up to November earthquakes
still continued to DE felt, but with intervals
between them gradually and the intensity
of the shocks diminished. From the COM
mencement of the disturbance up to date it
is estimated that $500 shocks, or more than
one every two minutes, were felt.
The town of Gifu, on the Toxic railway
with 4 population of $1,000 was almost
entirely destroyed Thir.y-five hundred
out of total of 400 houses in town We're
overthrown or burned. Seven hundred
and forty-seven people were killed. In the
town of Kans 600 houses were overthrown.
In the town OF kano 600 houses were
overthrown, 1000 houses burned and 100
people crushed to death. Nearly 600 houses
were overthrown and z like number burned
and over 600 people We're killed at Toki-
onawa. The entire village of Eutakatomi
was destroyed and thirty people were kill
ed. These towns We're all in three prov
inces, and represent a total of 34O0 killed
and nearly 1890 houses totally destroyed.
Many survivors were so utterly con-
founded that they could only stand vacantly
staring at the scene of destruction. At
IChinomya and kiyoSuie people had man
aged to save 4 few mats and We're prepar-
ing to pass the night in the open fields. the
villages being a mass of fallen houses,
which the flames were rapidly destroying.
Throughout the day and night the work
of carrying the wounded to Ma
goya proceeded. A continual stream
of bearers passed along the railway. The
inhabitants of the ruined towns describe the
shocks as conveying the IMPRESSION that
the houses were first raised and then sud
denly lowered through space OF from two
to three feet. The fact that there was a
marked subsistence of the earths surface
for considerable area about Gitu indi-
Gated that the latter town was the
center of the disturbance. Shortly
after the shock had leveled thousands
of houses in the town and hundreds OF peo-
pie We're lying buried in the debris, flames
burst from the ruins of a silk factory in
Gifu, and in 4 short time spread to such an
extent that citizens We're compelled to de-
sist in their work of dragging
out the wounded and dying. This
fire burned out in one direction, but three
other fires Immediately broke out, and,
joining into one, swept from street to street,
being famed by strong northwest wind
which began to blow at 2 O'Clock in the
afternoon. By S O'Clock in the
evening almost every part Of the town of
Gifu was wrapped in fire, and
the inhabitants abandoning all hope
OF staying the confagration saved what
few articles they We're able to and fed the
town, taking refuge in the woods and on hill
sides. The police, aided by the normal
school ana eighty prisoners from jail,
fought the fire through the
night but it was not subdued
till the forenoon of October IS,
when it had been burning for twenty eight
hours and almost the whole town had been
burned. The potteries IN the prefectures
of Dwarf and Mino, the great centers Of
porcelain manufacturing of Japan al Seto
and other towns, were almost entirely de-
stroyed and there is reported to
be no prospects of resuming the industry
during the present year. The top of
the sacred mountain of Fusiyama has been
rent asunder for distance of 1900 feet in
width and 600 feet in depth. Much of the
destruction of the houses is attributed 70
the poor material entering into the con-
struction OF the brica and stone buildings
and the excessive weight of their
roofs. All well built wooden
buildings suffered very little except as to
plastering and tiled roofs. The up and
down trains on the Toxic railway were just
meeting at Gifu station, the center of the
seismic disturbance, when the first shock
occurred. The shock was accompanied by
a rambling noise and the move
ment was so violent passengers
slipped from their seats. They were
thrown into a state Of great alarm believing
that collision had taken place. From the
window however they behe,d the station
moved and the water IN q neighboring pond |
dashed from side to side The rumbling |
continued and large cracks from |
-wo to three feet wide were observed opening |
and closing in all directions, volcanic mud |
and ashes being thrown from some of them. |
SO numerous were these assures that 70 |
tep in any direction threatened destruction, !
and passengers feared to leave the train. |
Passengers who made their way into Gifu |
found immense heaps OF ruins of fallen |
houses while others were so dislocated |
hat each succeeding tremor threw some of |
hem down as if crushed by descending |
.veight. In almost every house some un-
fortunates had been buried and |
heir chances of escape were /
greatly diminished by the confiagrations
which broke out in many places. 1t was
,scertained that the railway line had been |
m much Iararaj in both dirac+:ouc 70 oil