The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-10-08

~ NhC Sicdt edIlI1QOak Re occurred
mere had been a slight tremor about
noon of that day, but it was not until
me darkness was falling that the
earln gave its great heave. 1t was. in
lact, just about ten minutes TO D.
M. when most Of the people were in
their homes, either eating their din
ner or sitting and chatting. that a
mighty shock came wnich convert
ed the surface Of this city into a way
ing sea, and which within a few sec
OndS educe the whole town to rub
Dish. Nearly every house was thrown
TO the ground. The churches were
ruined and the tower Of Ell Carmen
was hurled many rods and dropped
right across the railroad tracks. Nine
ty-SlA squares OF buildings were reduc-
ca 10 DEBRIS. The market was laid
low, and agreat female seminary be-
came dust and stone. The American
hotel, which had over 200 guests, was
destroyed. The Church of Los
Angeles. about the richest in Central
America, had its towers racked and
its walls fell in. The Carnegie build
ing, which its architect declraed was
earthquakeproof, was Ieyeled to III
round and the catacombs OF the
cemetery were torn open. and thous-
ands Of breaking collins, out of which
spilled bones and dead bodies, were
thrown to the ground. while in other
3NH an oitlli Quits
filled with dead crumbled 10 the
earth.
One Thousand Lives Lost
The loss Of life was terrible. AL
most One-tenth Of the city persisted
in the ruins Including the n%eighbor-
ing town Of Paraiso, the dead were
fully 1000. and in addition to his
many were wounded. The people
ruhed from the buildings at the first
great frpnOr of the Garth h,f TIM
shock came SO quickly that many
were crushed before they could get
out. One OF the citizens tells me of
how he and his family crawled under
a heavy wood table and thus escaped
destruction. The streets rose and fell
SO that people running along them
were sometimes thrown against the
buildings while falling and thus
crushed.
DR.. Alfred Prize, a rich Canadian
coffee n banana planter, who lost
something like 100000 in the earth
quake, told me today OF some curious
instances which reminds one Of Pom
peii. When the ruins were excavated
many people were found just as they
appeared in the acts of their ordinary
work when killed by this mighty
catastrophe.
In one house." said he, "a shoe
maker sat amid the ruins with a shoe
VA A1o hItS A1Ao 111o 80 10ISSO
in the act Of striking the sole. We
found women sitting al their sewing
machines, their hands still holding
the cloth and their heads bowed owe
their work. In one case the wife OF
a Central American diplomat was
giving her baby a bath when the
house fell and crushed both her and
the child"
Some strange Features OF the Earth.
quake.
Tell me IL " experience, AIR
Pirie,' said /.
Myself and my family were unin-
jured." was the reply, but neNerthe-
less the shock was a terrible one and
we had a narrow escape. My house ha:
walls, over three feet in thickness ano
it was SO built~that only the ~interio,
Of it was destroyed. ] had severa'
l Canadian girls visiting me al the time
l the earthquake occurred. We hao
! just sat down to dinner. 1t was al
ready dark and the electric light:
,, were turned on. We a been taiklns
1 about earthquakes, and one OF the
{ girls had said she a felt a Sigh
tremor that a%fternoon. We had warn.
I ed her that there was little danger
1 but just at that moment the floor:
1 rose and the inside walls began to fal
{ in. We were all thrown from oul
chairs to the floor. The table wa:
overturned. At the same time TIL
. light went out. The screen wa:
4 thrown against the door. shutting i
h. tight. and we rad a great scramble
4 irving to get out. We would rise, ant
= be again thrown to our knees. A!
/ soon as we could gain our feet W.
D rushed through the house for tn
e children who were in different rooms
:. Two Of my little ones were III tn
e hands of the nurse taking a bath
8 and a third was in bed with a fever
= We carried them out into the street
| and finally made our way out Of tn
ruins.
t Sounded Like a Battle.
t It cannot describe the scenes at tina
time" continued LIT. f1Iae. In
: walls were everywhere falling, am
n the noise was like the ~cannonading 0
Il a battle. The people seemed to b
e crazy. They were shrieking and cry
ing. and many were on their knee