The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1906-04-20
EARTHQUAKE IN THAT CITY IN
1886 WAS LAST AND MOST
NOTABLE in The UNI
TED STATES

Inc IaS~ great SaIISQudhe-I IL lie
United States was that Of Charleston
S. c.. in 1856. This earthquake was
preceded by minor uemors. to which
little attention was paid The p0nci-
pal shock occupied about one rainute.
and other shocks followed at inter-
walls, with gradually diminishing xio-
Ience. At the end OF four weeks they
had ceased to be destructive. but
te-ors were occasionally observed
for several months longer. In Charles
ton the movements were less vioieht
than at the center OF the disturbances.
a point Is miles west of the city a
large number Of houses in the city
were thrown down, and nearly all the
buildings in the city were more or
less damaged The damage was com
puted at many millions of dollars.
Twenty-seven persons were killed
outright, and others died afterwards
from injuries received
The earthquake in Charleston was
peculiar IN that it occurred on fat
land remote from either mountains or
volcanoes. There were two centers
of Gisturbance-1G and Is miles north
west and west Of the city There were
shocks and noises for several days.
At $50 P. NJ. suddenly everything
began to dance as though heavy
blows were being dealt upward to the
rocks from below. a man entering
house was thrown 10 feet forward on
his face. and before he could recover
himself he was thrown backward in
like manner, as though he We're in a
pounding ship in a storm The piers
and mantelS were driven downward
into the earth. All the chimreys We're
thrown down. CCaterletS formed in
the soil sometimes Is or 20 feet in
quicksand. The railroad tracks were
bent into 5 shapes and the fshplates
sheared The depth Of the centrum
was estimated at u miles. aud the
speed az propagation OF the earth
wave from .iree to four Ealies per
second. he shock was felt frc-1
Maine TO Iowa.
Eart1Guakes OF 1811-72-
In ADDITION TO the Charleston
earthquake there have been Other
tremors of the earth at different times
in different sections Of the country,
but none has been destructive Z: -ife
and property except those which visit.
ed Charleston in 1856, and the Missis-
sippi Valley. in 1911 and 1s12- There
was perceptible shock ID Baltimore
in 1886.
The earthquakes Of 1S11-12. which
shook almost the entire American
Hemisphere, were accom- oanied in
| some places, notably in Missouri. pE-
the explosion of steam, due to the
| superheat:..- Of water below tae SIR
face SIR Charles LyeI, who visited
The United states to study Ii effects
of the .=rttnuakes of ISLE along
| the Missi3>,:.i, writes that ring its
progress powerful jets OF water
mixed s-ti: sand. mud and coa.y mat,
! ter" were thrown up from the orcn'
ing in t:l.= earth which resulted I. :.
the Shoc's - view of the evidence
| already accumulated by these who
\ simply recorded It for the future with
out seeking TO use il in support of a
theory, II IS made possible to cen
Guide wstl,o.r great danger of mistake.
| first, that earthquakes and vol :anic
explosions Of the greSteSt violence are
most frequent in the vicinity OF large
| bodies of water on the surface. and
second. that even when water does
not appear on the surface the volcan-
ic explosion or the earthquake, If the
| latter be sufficiently violent to rend
the earth. shows that Subterranean
water is present in quantities great
enough TO enter into the forces Of the
earthquake and to constitute in its
form of Superheated steam one Of its
greatest possibilities of disturbance.
AS Seen by Eye-Witnesses.
Godfrey Leisur. who was an eye
witness to the earthquakes of ISL
and 1872, which had their center in
Missouri. has left the following ac-
count OF his observations at the shock
conferred, which was town known as
Little Prarie. IS miles below the pres
ent town of New Madrid. No.:
''The first severe shock OF the earth
quake of ISL was observed early in
the morning on December 16. 1t was