Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-28
EARTHQUAKE SHOCKS
How It Feels to Be Tossed and
Rocked About.
CAN'T RUN AWAY FROM 1T
Experience Of Sailors in a 'Teeny
Quake" on Land.
MADE ALL OF THEM SICK
When the Ship Was Shaken in the
Harbor-Uncanny Disturbances
Beneath the Sea.
MADE ALL OF THEM s1c1

I've felt land and water tremble un-
derneath me on two occasions and don't
like 1t, said a former chief petty oficer
OF the American navy. Something un-
canny about these earthquake doings
when you're right on the spot. I'd a heap
rather run into and heave to and wriggie
out OF dozen typhoons-even Tahiti
typhoons-than to be caught with my mess
anu hammock number on one of these sore
ana Hcny spots OF the old earth's hide.
When the earthquake catches you you have
an overwhelming appreciation Of the fulfil
ity OF trying to run away. Where are YOU
going to run to? To hike and hike fast,
Is OF course the first impulse OF anybody
caught by an earthquake on dry land You
don't know where you're going. but you're
on your way Out in the open, and rapid
leg work for yours. But when you've
started. and the old bass fiddle of a rock
Ing earth still keeps up its tremolo work.
you come to q quick halt, II you are not
actually thrown down. and the thought
darts into your head, Where in blazes am
going. anyhow
There's a certain grim humor in the
idea of your trying to leg it away from
an earthquake. but you don't see the fun
OF 1t at the time. But when a fellow
starts to run that way and then pulls up
suddenly with a knowledge of his utter
helplessness In a situation wholly new and
strange. the thing doubly terrifying be-
cause the force underlying the disturbance
can't be seen. understood nor appraised,
he's pretty liable to fall to gibbering with
pure fear IL he doesn't take a pretty good
clutch on himself.
First time I was made literally sick at
the stomach by an earthquake was up at
the Volcano House, the hotel on the edge
OF the crater called the Burning Lake Of
Kilauea, which is the safety valve and
vent Of the greatest of all volcanoes hoary-
rod
Hawaii. The Kflauea crater squats about
ten miles below Mauna Loa, which is 1900
feet high, and you get to the Burning Lake
by riding horseback or In coach seven
or eight hours on a steep upward slant
from Hilo, the second town OF Importance
in Hawaii after Honolulu. Hilo's been de-
stroyed several times by lava from Mauna
Loa, and the volcano sharps say that IL 1t
wasn't for that Kilauea crater acting for
q vent and safety valve for the main vol
cano Mauna Loa would be doing damaging
stunts pretty nigh all the time.
When Kilauea is Spouting.
LAS it is Kilauea Is Tuning and spout
ing a good deal of the time. the flames and
molten stuff advancing and receding with
the regularity of a pulse. and when Kill
auea is particularly busy letting out the
aggregated cussedness Of its higher-up pal
Mauna Loa, it presents picture Of the
place that bad folks are said to go to that
\ makes an OlQ-llme DTitIlSluut ulLS-
mari Presbyterian sermon seem like mere
family outlined sketch drawn with milk
on white paper.
"Our ship was in the harbor of Hilo at
time when Kilauea was In one of its
grouchy and spouty moods. and bunch of
our chief petty officers got leave and took
the long. jolly ride up to the Volcano
House-run for many years by a most i'm
perturbably good-natured Scandinavian
named Peter Lee-to have peek at one Of
the worlds most VIGOROUSLY fretful car
buncles.
Mr.. Lee can have his hotel. It Is SIT
mated not more than sixty yards from the
very edge of that Kilauea crater. and you
can stand on the front porch of the Vol
cano House and throw rocks into that
crater with swell chance of hitting old
Nick or some OF his assistant stokers
You've got to show me where It's going
TO soothe ordinary man any to be
brought into such close contact with a
finish that he's got a sure-thing even
chance of making If he doesn't watch out.
and I'm just ordinary and glad of it. The
general view from the porch of the Vol
cano House, even when Kilauea isn't erupt-
ing any. is something to make the brush
and pencil efforts of Dore look like mere
flourish penmanship drawings of birds and
swans.
I'VE made the Volcano House at OF
O'Clock in the afternoon, and when / was
ready to turn in about IL o'clock that night
had my mind made up that I hadn't lost
any volcanoes that needed to hunt for any
longer and that I was going away from
there on the following morning. although
the bunch / was with Intended to remain
for a couple OF days.
"All of the gang from my ship had turned
in early. dog-tired, and was sitting on
lawn bench on little grassy sward in
front of the hotel with Peter Lee smoking
pipe with him. when the bench we were
sitting on suddenly began to teter back
and forth. 1 turned around to look at Peter
Lee to see If he was jogging the bench,
80. H. IL 4. L. k..u~, I'LL IT,
at me In the dim light. and there was a
sort of expectant half-grin on his face.
While was noticing this heard a sound
as of distant detonations coming close to-
gether, and then the bench pitched forward
and Peter Lee and 1 were sitting on the
grasy and the bench half-overturned on top
of US.
A "Teeny" Earthquake.
''I knew what was coming of then, all
right. and 1 jumped to my feet in panic.
powerful sick at the stomach at that. and
took up that jog in no particular direction
that Is. as I say, the first impulse of the
man caught in his first earthquake. But
the grassy sward kept pulling away from
me and then coming back so swiftly that 1
fell fiat on hands and knees. Then / heard
Peter Lee calling after me: Where dye
think you're going, shipmateT and when 1
turned on sitting-down pivot saw Lee
seated on the grass, with his knees drawn
ing comfortably away at his pipe, although
the earth continued TO sway and the loud
detonations continued apparently from the
bowels OF the fame-tinted crater of Kill
auea. If 1t hadn't been for the cool spec
tacle presented by Peter Lee / might have
been running yet. and / might have hoped
across the road and pitcAed headforemost
into the crater in my excitement But the
sight of Peter Lee sitting there on the
grass, pulling at his pipe, pulled me to-
gether and l crawled over alongside him
on my hands and knees. By the time /
had reached him the shock had ceased.
Just then two of Peter Lees large fam,
lily of beautiful daughters appeared in
dressing gowns on the second-story porch.
They hung over the ran. with their fine hair
plated down their backs. and they ap-
peared TO be as cool as watermelons hang
ing in a well bucket.
.Teeny one, wasn't 1t. papaT one of the
young women called merrily down to her
dad.
Yes. Notwithstanding worth mention
ing, replied Peter Lee. Go oack to bed,
children, and his two handsome daughters
disappeared from the upper porch rail- and
entered their room through the window.
chatting cheerfully.
sTeeny one. hey? said to Peter Lee,
and l was so sick that could hardly hold