The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-04-23
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT
Of the Memorable Earthquake That
Happened in Canada in 1863.
From Heriot's "History of Canada"

On the 9Th of February, about half
an hour past in the evening, a great
noise was heard, nearly at the same
time, throughout the whole of Canada
That noise seems to have been the ef-
feet of a sudden vibration of the air
agitated in all directions. 1t appeared
as If the houses were on fire, and the
inhabitants, in order to avoid its ef
fects, Immediately ran out of doors.
But their establishment was Increased
when they saw the buildings shaken
with the greatest violence, and the
roofs disposed to fall sometimes on one
side and sometimes on the other. The
doors opened of themselves, and shut
again with a great crash. All the bells
were sounding, although no person
touched them. The palisades of the
fences seemed to bound out of their
of the floor separated and again sprung
together. The dogs answered these
previous tokens of a general disorder
of nature by lamentable howlings. The
other animals sent forth the most ter
rife groans and cries, and, by a natural
instinct extended their legs to prevent
them from falling
The surface of the earth was moved
like an agitated sea- The trees were
thrown against each other, and many
torn up by the roots were tossed to a
considerable distance. Sounds of every
time like the fury of q sea which had
overfown its barriers, at another like
multitude of carriages rolling over a
pavement, and again like mountains of
rock or marble opening their bowels
and breaking into pieces with tre-
mendous roar.
The thick clouds of dust which at the
same time arose were taken for smoke
and for the symptoms of an universal
cOnfagration. The CONSERVATION be-
came so general that not only the men,
but the animals, appeared as if struck
with thunder They ran in every quar-
ter without a knowledge of their course
and wherever they went they encoun-
tered the dangers they wished to avoid.
The cries of children, the lamentations
of women, the alternate SUGGESTIONS OF
fire and darkness in the atmosphere all
combined to aggravate the evils of a
dire calamity which subverts every
thing by the excruciating fortunes of
| the imagination, distressed and con-
founded. and losing in the contempla-
ton of the general confusion, the
means of representation.
The ice which covered the st. Law
renee and the other rivers, broke into
pieces which crashed against each
other, large bodies were thrown up
into the air, and from the place they
had quilted, a quantity of sand
and slime and water spOuted up. The
ers became dry, the waters of others
we're impregnated with sulphur. AT
some times the waters appeared red, at
| others of a yellOwish cast, those of the
st. Lawrence became white from Que
| bee to TadOusac, a space of thirty
! leagues. The quantity of matter to
| impregnate so vast a body of water
must have been prodigious In the
meantime the atmosphere continued tC
! exhibit the most awful phenomena, an
| incessant rushing noise was heard, and
| the fires assumed every species of form
! The most plaintive voices augmented
| the general terror and alarm. POr-
] pOises, and sea COWS (seals) were heard
/ bowling in the water at Three Rivers
! where none of these fish had ever be-
/ fore been found, and the noise which
| they sent forth reSembIed not that OF
| any known animal.
| Over the whole extent of 300 leagues
from east to west, and $50 from south
/ to north, the earth, the rivers and the
! coasts of the ocean experienced for q
| considerable time, although at intervals
| the most dreadful agitation.
The first shock continued without in
! PERMISSION for half an hour About
O'Clock in the evening there came a. sec
| ond, no less violent than the first, and
/ in the space Of half an hour were two
] others. During the night were reck-
| oned thirty shocks.
! The above is copied from PoIvantbos