Los Angeles herald., 1892-03-07
How the Earthquake Toppled
Them Over.
The TemblOr on the Colorado
Desert.
Rocks Rolled About as Big as Street
Blocks.
The Awe-Inspiring Sights Seen by Arch
ibald Campbell = Some Exciting
Scenes-The Desert Very
Badly Shaken.

Diegan, writes from Campo, in San
Diego, on the edge of the Colorado
desert, under date Of February Goth, the
following in reference to the freaks of
the earthquake in that region:
Thinking it might interest some of the
San Diego people to hear our experiences
during this earthquake scare, pen you
few lines on it. 1 left Campo for the
Vallecitos ranch, on the desert. on the
morning of the 23rd inst, and descended
to the desert from the Laguna mount
aims. The elevation at the top of the
trail is 500 feet; at the foot of the
trail, good stones throw out from the
top. 1000 feet, and at Vallecitos 1475
feet. When we went 10 bed the sky was
cloudy, as if we were going to have
rain. At IL 40 we were reused out of
our sleep by big commotion, the plas-
ter falling off the old adobe and boards
falling on the tops of our heads,
and the house rocking and grind
ing as If about to fall. l thought
the horses, housed in the next apart
ment of the adobe, had broken loose and
were kicking with all their might against
jumped out into the open. Everything
roar, like the ocean surf, but louder and
more regular, sounded in our earp, and
both mountains-the one northeast and
the other southeast of us-sen6ing part
of their rocky tops down close to u..
Those mountains are over 1000 feet
high, / should judge. The rocks sent
down must have weighed hundreds of
tons. One mountain to the southwest,
about mile off, which we saw next
day, sent half its peaked top down half
way till it met another peak to stop it.
What it sent down made fiat face down
its side over 1900 feet and quarter mile
wide. 1t must have weighed thousands
Of tons, as some of the rocks were bigger
than block of street.
The first shock was the heaviest. l
looked at my watch and it was IL 40 at
night. ALL our shocks on the desert
were from the northeast. For over half
an hour after we had the heaviest of all
the shocks, but it was nearly continuous
shaking for upwards of half an hour.
We counted forty-seven shocks till next
evening. We had very heavy ones to-
wards O'Clock next morning. with more
Of the mountain tops toppling down.
During all the next day it Kept ehskinx.
heavily, and commenced heavier next
night and kept it going through the
| night, but no more of the mountains fell.
Next morning three Of us pulled out by.
another trail, as the Laguna trail was too
dangerous from rocks falling on its steep
sides. We got to George McCain's,
on the Treea Blanca, and found they
were as badly shaken there but the
shocks, they said, were from the west to
southwest. Nat Gamers nearly new
adobe house, they say. is completely
ruined, cracked and rocked all over and
unsafe to live in. The family are
camped outside of it. Jesse Gamers
new adobe is az bad. Peter McCain's
adobe house is nearly topping down
and the ground is cracked open in two
places for quite length. Fred Asbeck's
house at the junction of the Vallecitos
and Carriso creeks on the desert fell in.
John Gray's chimney at La Posta is
half down and his adobe milk house
split open in several places.
The Campo people we're badly scared,
as they had it equally heavy. Nearly
every person, without distinction of sex,
rushed out OF their houses without
thinking Of clothing themselves, and
tuoy Will Lave many lAuSH amOugsL
themselves when they speak of it in the
future. Many of the women were very
badly scared, and several of them
tainted. The Indians are leaving ia.
cumba, the earthquake having dried up
the springs.
Thursday night, here in Campo, we
had several very heavy shocks and lots
Of small ones. Friday, till noon, a
few very light ones were felt. The
Indians at Campo. are badly scared
and won't sleep in their houses.
We hear from Campo, by telephone,
that San Diego has not had it
bad. think the desert has had the
worst Of it, for every big rock that ex-
amined on my way home from the desert
was loose in its bed OF earth, and the
larger the rock the more it had moved
in its bed, some having enlarged their
beds over two inches all around.
suppose the big commotion in the
sun (the sun spots) must have some-
thing to do with it.. I could see all over
the desert to Castle Dome, above Fort
Yuma, yesterday and there is no sign Of
q volcano opened up anywhere.