The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-01-08
A VERMONTER
Tells His Expeaience in the Javan
Earthquake.

Earthquake.
Claude NJ. Severance, son of Rev. NJ.
L. Severance of Bennington, and Con-
gregatiOnal missionary to Japan, writes
thus to the New Haven Palladium from
Tottori, Japan, under date of November
10Th.
While it falls to your lot to give news
of railroad disaster, again university
episode or the ascent of some political
balloon, we out in Japan have to write
down in our journals the rumblings of
earthquakes, the eruptions of volcanoes,
the subsistence of hills, the formation of
hot springs and lakes, the opening of
assures in the earth's crust and the de-
struction of thousands of human lives.
Coming to this country last year as a
missionary of the A. B. c. f. NJ, it was
my fortune to be here 1862 days without
experiencing a single earth wave; but on
October 10th, while at morning prayers
with the Rowlands, we were swayed in
our seats and given dizzy feeling, the
tlmbers of the heuse creaking and the
door bell ringing dirge. We were for
getting this earthquake, when about II
days later, at about Gas o'clock in the
morning, we were startled by violent
undulation that set the door bell tolling
and drove us all out doors, where, fOrtu-
nately, it was not too cold for Pajamas
and the like. Houses in the neighbor-
hood were swaying perceptibly and we
feared our chimneys would come down
you know the Japanese do not build
chimneys for their houses-fOr the
ground beneath us was moving in dis
tinct undulatiOns. How grateful we are
that it was not the vertical motion, that
it was not the still more dreadful whirl-
ing movement. This first shock was
long and was followed by slighter ones
oft repeated for days. Even yet there
are small waves felt at times. The sky
was very oddly colored, a smoky mist
seeming to be blended with the gor,
geous red of the rising sun. In this city
it was said at once to be the most violent
shock in the remembrance of thousands,
and yet as far an one can see not wreck
marks the scene of commotion. We es-
capped. We were not at the center of the
greatest activity. 1t was in the vicinity
of Gifu and Nagoya that one had to go
to see horrors and despair.
The magnitude of the disaster seems to
grow on one rather than diminish. Land
opened and swallowed men, closing
again so as to leave only their hair visi-
bic. The courses of rivers were changed.
Towns were utterly destroyed by fire
following the shocks. The suspense of
those living is beyond description, fer
when their turn should come they could
not guess. Railroad communication has
been stopped for the winter between
Kyoto and Nagoya, it is feared, al
though they do not know, just how much
damage has been done the road. Over
$14,00 has been contributed by foreign
ers alone to relieve sufferers. Physicians
from leading cities were promptly on
hand where there was the greatest dis
tress, and tents were put up for the
homeless and wounded. DR.. John Berry
of the Doshisha hospital, Kyoto, received
passport at short notice and went to
the region where, for full week, he
was able to bring his Christian sympathy
and recognized medical skill to bear
upon{ the afflicted japanese.
| / hava nftan or tho ho,
ness of Japanese homes, being able to
account for it only with the fact that
there is deal of poverty in the country,
but venture to state another cause now.
In a land where violent earth-waves may
occur often, what pleasure could there
be in collecting delicate adornments,
fragile, costly, and not oyer-satisfying
even If uninjured
You will be glad to know that in this
time of National regret the Christians of
Japan are doing noble work and letting
their light shine. The Y. NJ. e. A. here
at once gave magic lantern entertain
ment in large theater, one of the young
men painting his pictures from newspa-
per woodcuts, representing earthquake
scenes, and making success of the Ian
tern before 1000 people who paid for
tickets of admission that the money
might be sent to Gifu and vicinity.
If this earthquake had conferred in
Tokyo the disaster would have been SUI.
perlatively lamentable.
Two missionaries were injured. Seven
chimneys were thrown down in Kyoto
and there was destruction in OSAKA.
Seven hundred schools have recently
been registered in Toxic.