Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1903-07-22
DESCRIBING AN EARTHQUAKES.
a Startling Experience Which is Graph
ical1y Described.


ical1y Described.
the following account of an earth
quake which occurred recently in
California is taken from San Fran
cisco paper. Mrs March of this city
was in San Francisco at the time and
says that the following art; cle describes
the experience quite accurately.
Shortly after o'clock this incoming
the sl"mbering popula ton of San Fran
cisco was awakened by a swinging
shake, which indicated troubles of a
seismic nature in the earth, and eff
fectually banished sleep. Before
people had time to become excited
and frightened, however, the tremors
subsidized and the earthquake was over
Even at the Palace Hotel, where
Eastern Visitors may be counted on for
degree of fright and excitement,
born of their inexperience with San
Francisco's occasional harmless shakes,
there was no rushing into the corridors
this morning, and those who might
have felt impelled 10 forget their
deshabille did not have time 10 indulge
in undue excitement before the trouble
was all over.
At the Hall of Justice considerable
prevailed. In nearly every room of
the big structure the quake left its
mark, and in some places extensive
repairs, will be necessary to put the
cracked plastering and shifted wood
work back into place.
The shake was most severe probably.
on the top floor of the building, where
the city prison is located, and many
offenders are housed. Here the pris-
oners were panic-strichen, and SO sew
ere was the shock that many were
rudely awakened from their sleep by
being tossed from their hunks to the
floor. Attaches from the jail say that
the shock seemed to be from east to-
west, was preceded by shrill, whist
ling sound, and lasted apparently
about ten or fifteen seconds.
The most damage on the SECOND
floor appears to have been sustained in
the Office of Sergeant of Police Melon
aid. who has charge of the Police
Court records. Here the immense
cases in which are kept the big books
were thrown out from the wall in some
places several places, and ink was
stopped out of the ink wells upon the
desks.
In all OF the other rooms of the
building the plaster on the walls was
cracked more or less, but the damage
to the building is not thought to be
anything serious.
The only report of damage from the
outside stations appears to be the shat
tering of glass in several small dwell
lings and business houses. The only
plate glass broken, so far as was re-
ported, was at $40 Howard street.
Here big plate crumbled away in fine
Tits but the windows N adjoining
stores were not injured at all.
The most noticeable effect of the
tembler was the stopping of the clock
on the ferry tower. It's hands pointed
III minutes past o'clock during the
morning, and the g1aring inaccuracy
of the reliable timepiece was the first
Indication many suburbanites who
came to the city on early boats had OF
the early morning shake.
Earthquakes are always felt most
distinctly in that part of the city
about the bay were the land has beer
flle9 in and reclaimed from the waters
OF the bay, which explains the reason
the pendulum of the ferry clock wa:
shaken into quietude, while othel
clocks in the city on towers as high a.
the ferry tower continued undisturbeC
to mark the time. 1t was the mos
severe shock since the earthquake O
March 80, 1898. when some damag
resulted in the city and at Mare Isant
a number of buildings where shaker
into ruin. That that shook the cit
into small panic at 11:4O O'Clock a
night, and lasted As seconds.
This mornings shake, as recorde
at the Weather Bureau occurred a
5:11:O3 o'clock, Or fraction over l
minutes past 5, and lasted only sec
onds. The movement was a marke
swing from north to south, precede
by preliminary tremors and followe
NV o,sr, oil ft,c,,