The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1896-07-15
The japanese Tidal Ware.

SAN FRANCISCO, July 1.-THE Toxic
correspondent OF the United Press writing
under dare of June 26, thus graphically
describes the devastation wrought by the
seismic wave which recently visited the
northeast coast OF japan:
Japan has been visited by a calamity of
almost unprecedented magnitude. On
the 18th of June, at half past s o'clock in
the evening, a seismic wave struck the
northeast coast ofthe main island through
out a distance of about 200 miles, and in
five minutes $4,000 people were killed
and 5000 houses destroyed. That is the
whole story.
Anyone can identify the locality of the
disaster by a glance at the map of Japan.
From the island of Kinka-san, on the
south, to Hachin0ye, on the north, the
coasts of Rikuzen and R,kushu provinces
assumes a distinctly convex shape.
Throughout the whole of this bow-like
area, nearly every town and every village
was visited by the wave, the portion be-
tween Motoyoshi and Yamada suffering
most severely. The general direction of
The wav appears to have been north bs
east, for after carrying devastation to the
the west, touching that island at Yerimo
Cape only.
In the case of foundations, cyclones, Or
ever earthquakes, there is a record of
more or less continuous mischief, and
more or less successful struggle against
the forces of destruction: but in the case
of seismic waves, one tremendous blow
accomplishes the whole calamity in an
instant.
at haIf-past s o'clock the Inhabitants of
numerous towns and hamleta along the
coast were celebrating the "Boys', Festi-
val,' on the fifth day of the fifth moon,
according to the old calendar; at twenty.
five minutes before g., 8 10000 of them had
been swept out to sea or thrown dead up
on the shore, and S 900 of their homes had
disappeared or lay wrecked.
There was nothing to presage the dis
aster. From III In the forenoon until 4.30
In the afternoon heavy rain fell. II was
followed by a fine evening aud q dark,
calm night. T.ere is much difficulty in
obtaining perfectly accurate statements
as to the time of the phenomena that
preceded the final catastrophe they were
too insignificant to seem worth recording.
Several accounts agree, however, that
about Z O'Clock three or four shocks of
earthquake were felt, not violent shocks,
though of the vertical kind that folks in
coSol Law 4Oc4 ~ =
meter gave, at the time, no indication Of
anything unusual. Some twenty or
twenty-five minutes later a booming
sound became audible from the direction
of The sea. It appears to have been
rariously interpreted Some construed
it as the noise of a coming gale; others
supposed that a huge school Of sardines
had reached the ofiGg. Only q few sus-
pected the real significance of the sound
and fled inland at the top of their speed.
Rapidly the noise increased until it as
suned the volume and deafning din ofa
great park Of artillery and then, in q
moment, waves from 20 to 80 feet high
were laundering against the shore. The
places where the actual totals of b deaths
reached the highest figures were not al
ways those that suffered the most In pro-
portion to the population. OF the three
prefectures visited by the wave-Iwati,
Miyagi and Aomorl-Iwati had by far
the largest aggregate of disasters, its list
of dead amounting to $4,000. Some of
the details, however, convey a more
graphic idea of the facts than any general
statement can suggest.
Kamaishi is q little seaside town, stu
ated at the head Of q rocky inlet two
miles deep and directly facing the Pacific
Ocean. Behind it is q PERCEPTIONS hill.
The inhabitants seem to have remained
until the last wholly unconscious Of what
was pending. At little after s in the
evening g mountaia of sea was Observed
piling itself up at the mouth Of the inlet
and in q moment, with a %thunderous
roar waves thirty feet high swept over
the town. Three times the avalauches OF
water rushed forward, the first incom-
parably the most terrible, and in less
than two minutes the town vas virtually
annihilared. Out of 1923 dwellings only
l43 remained standing, and out of q popu.
lation of 6,557 death had overtaken 400
and 500 lay wounded. In completeness
of destruction this record heads the list.
Scarcely less appalling was the work OF
the a in the bay some five miles far
tier north. There, in the village Of
Futaishi, only 100 persons escaped death
out Of a population Of $50, n only two
houses out Of IS many hundreds remained
standing. At Yamands 700 houses out OF
900 were destroyed, and 5000 persons
were killed out OF 1920. AT Toni ESQ
houses we're swept away out of 269, and
I,103 persons were killed and So wounded
out Of total of 1905. In. the Kissen dis
trict one town aud eleven villages at
tackled by the wave had $3.50 persons
killed and 1860 houses washed away or
wrecked.
At Hongo the whole hamlet Of $50
houses was annihilated, and the sole
survivors were a party Of mon that hap
pened to be playing "go'' In a temple on
high ground.
Such are the tales Of death and ruin
th,t come from place after place. the
terrible totals at this moment Of writing
being 1908 killed, 1887 wounded and
1874 houses washed away or wrecked.