Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-20
FORMER EARTHQUAKES
Seismic Shocks Are Of Common
Occurrence
IN STATE or CALIFORNIA
But None Of Such Widespread Dis
aster Has Ever Occurred.
NO LOSS OF LIFE SINCE 1872
In 1891 Some Trembles Were Felt,
but There Was No Publicity
Given to the Fact.
NO LOSS OF LIFE SINCE 1s,

Seismic shocks are Of common occurrence
In California, but not since 1872 has there
been one in that state accompanied by loss
of life. In that year. on March Is and "a.
there was a most severe earthquake In the
Inyo valley. The records state that several
small towns were destroyed and about
thirty lives lost. The quake extended to
San Francisco. where the walls Of several
fine public buildings were cracked. and
damage was done to the Lick House. a
famous and historic San Francisco hotel.
Prior to tfat the only earthquake of note
In the state was which took place In
1852, and destroyed one of the ancient and
picturesque missions of the Franciscan
Fathers in southern California There was
also a severe shock at San Francisco on
October Ii, 1891.
sojourner In San Francisco two years
ago was struck by the frequency Of earth
quake shocks or tremblers. as the slighter
Jars are termed Sometimes two or three
would follow each other within very short
period, and the tremblers occurred inter-
mittently for several weeks. Some alarm
was felt in the city by the nervous. but as
surances were given by the expert that
nothing need be feared and the more con-
servative newspapers did their best TO
throw cold water on the reports OF their
more sensational contemporaries
Public Desire Not to Hurt City.
In San Francisco there is desire not
to hurt the city by publishing anything
which will make the easterner bit wary
about settling there.
Some extensive contracting work was be-
ing done ON the outskirts of the city at
the time and blasting was continual Inc
shocks were first laid to the heavy blast
ing, but finally the city learned that seismic
disturbances were going On.
One Sunday it was discovered that the
peak on one of the twin stone towers OF
the city hall which San Francisco is very
proud of, since it is one of the most mag
nificent buildings in the country. costing
100000 to erect. had been Jared from
it's base and toppled to one side as IL II
would fall into the street. The report spread
that the damage to the peak had been
caused by an earthquake. and thousands
of people gathered to view the tower. AIT
erward it was denied that the break was
caused by quake. but the popular idea
still chung to that report.
Californians Used to Shocks.
The tremblers which occurred at that
time were not OF any unusual severity. and
the Califernians had become so used to
these slight shocks occurring from time to
time that they paid no attention to them
until portion of the press took up the
subject, but strangers in the city, asleep
in their beds, would sometimes feel them
tremble as does ship at sea, and see the
gas fixtures shake violently from side to
side, while glassware ratified all about.
year or two before this the tower of
the Odd Fellows Hall was tumbled into
the street by an earthquake.
The earliest earthquake which is record
ed in history occurred In 425 B. c.. wnen
Euboea made an island. One accom-
panied the eruption of Vesuvius In 70 A. D.,
when Pompeii and Herculaneum were
buried. In 742 A. D. there was awful
40 vi CIJ l-a In, Cyrria "a me
destroying more than 500 towns and en-
failing immense loss of life. Fifteen
thousand people were swallowed up in one
which occurred in 1877 A. D., and 100000
persisted in one In Japan in 1903. In be-
tween these quakes there were years in
which shocks occurred IN many dlHerent
portions of the world, killing sometimes
as many as $4,000 persons.
First Notable In the States.
OF quakes in the United States the first
notable one recorded In this country is the
one which took place in Inyo valley of
California. In 1884 shocks were felt over
the section of country extending from
Washington to New York, but they were
slight. Then came the most disastrous
of all earthquakes in this country, that at
Charleston. S. c.. in which forty-one lives
were lost and property estimated In value
at S5.0oo,o00 was destroyed. Many build
fngs were toppled over. These shocks were
felt throughout the eastern portion of the
country, even in this city, but Charleston
bore the brunt of the trouble. and that is
where the loss of life took place. This
earthquake occurred on August 81, 1885.
From that time until the present there
was no earthquake of Importance in this
country-that is to say, none accompanied
by loss of life
On November 81, 1898, slight shock was
felt in New Hampshire and Vermont
Cause Matter Of Doubt.
What causes these tremblings Of the
earth's crust is still a matter of doubt. The
earliest theory was that they were pro-
duced by subterraneous clouds bursting into
lightning, which shook the vaults that con-
fined them. Later on, as the world grew
In knowledge. scientists supposed that
there were many vast cavities underground
which had q communication with each
other, some Of which abounded in water,
others with exhaiattons arising from in
fiammable substances, as inter- bdtumen,
sulphur, etc Other scientists attributed
earthquakes to electricity. Some are sup
posed to be due to steam generated by sub
terraneous heat: others to contraction Of
the eartll's crust
ject. but in them are to be found princi-
pally the theories of the writer's. DIR.
Thomas Young and Gay Lussac are two
men who have. however, contributed to the
advancement of knowledge in regard to
earthquakes. They remark similarity be-
tween earthquake shocks and the vibrations
Of sounding bodies. Maliet. who prepared
the Earthquake Catalogue of the British
Association" Is a man who applied the
knowledge of an expert mechanical en-
gineer together with rigidly exact meas
urements and tnductive reasoning to the
subject His catalogue embraces the rec
ord of between 6.00O and 1000 earthquakes