Omaha daily bee., 1914-11-15
Great Port of Conception and Naval Station


Houthern Chile and the outlet to the bes
farming part OF the country. II has rail
roads going north and south through tn,
great central valley. and extensions az,
proposed which VIII cross the Andes ant
argentina to Buenos Ayres. II already
lakes large part of our American ex.
ports and farm machinery and tools Of al
Kinds from the United States are for sal,
in its stores Not far from It are the grea
coal mines OF Lots and within short
street car ride is Taicahuano. the chic
naval station OF the republic.
Conception is the third largest city OF
Chile. y is surpassed only by Valparaiso
end Santiago and Il Is rapidly growing
The town lies on the Bio-bro river not far
from the sea. A low range OF hills sepa.
rates It from the ocean. When It was frs
founded It lay right on the beach Their
came an earthquake that swallowed the
city as the whale swallowed Jonah Con.
cepcion disappeared into the NAV OF the
Pacific. It was wiped out like Port ROYAL
Jamaica, and there Is now onl a bathing
resort on that spot In rebuilding the
people chose the present site where the
hills keep out the waves. so that in spite
OF the earthquakes the city stll stands
Earthquakes Are Common.
say in spite of the earthquakes. for
there are so many that the land moves
to and fro as though Il had the ague.
The quakes are almost as common as
those of Japan. We had one last night
that swayed the walls OF my hotel room
and set the electric lights swinging The
first shock awakened me II was about
II p. m. The experience made me think
] was in a storm out at sea. My bed
rose and fell and bottle OF ammonia
on the edge Of my washstand dropped
to the floor with a crash At the same
time its pungent scent filled the room
] looked at my watch. 1t was ten
minutes after II p. m. As the second
hand measured one minute rose
and went into the hall The walls were
still trembling, and as entered the
portico looking down on the patio.
smolSestack Cell down and the guests of
the hotel came running out in their
night clothes for fear that the heavy
tiled roof OF the building might fall.
Some Of them stayed outdoors all night
] waited until the trembling of the earth
ceased and then went back to bed. But
] could not sleep for an hour or more
for fear of the second shock, which often
follows first. finally dropped off and
silent soundly until ( o'clock, when the
second shock came. II was quite severe.
but not so bad as the first The dis
patches of todays paper show that these
two earthquakes have been felt all over
Chile. They have thrown down one small
town and the created such CONSERVATION
ut the capital that many OF its citizens
spent last night in the streets.
Not LikeabIe Sensation.
| do not like earthquakes. There are
regions where they have some kind of n
shock every day; but even there the ma
tives are afraid Of them and It is only
the ignorant globe-trotting tenderfoot
who says he is not. The most severe
earthquake / ever experienced was in
1894 in the capital of Japan. At that
time a great number of buildings were
destroyed. the high chimney Of the Par
Lament House crashed through the roof
and the American legation building was
almost split in twain. At the time this
earthquake occurred was in the house
hold department OF the mlkado. having
an interview with the high court cham
berlsin concerning the empress. about
whom I was to write a magazine article.
The building was modern, and after the
style of the public buildings Of our coun-
try. Had 1t been Japanese It would prob
ably have stood, but at It was the earth
quake threw half of it to the ground.
We saw the walls moving and felt the
floor rising ana falling, when the high
Japanese official said: There is an
earthquake and ] think we had better
get out" At the same time the halls
were filled with flying clerks. We rushed
out and had barely gotten clear OF the
hnilGing hafora ah0fIt half Of all
to the ground.
Buildings One story.
On account of earthquakes nearly ell
the buildings OF Conception are of one
story. The town covers a great deal of
ground. II lies on a fiat plain at the
edge of a hill known as the Caracol.
1000 feet high. 1t is the public park of
the city and rises up almost like a fort
over the houses. I climbed Il today for
the view. Walking through wide streets
lined with one and two story buildings. /
crossed the Alameda and went up the
winding slopes. The road was lined with
mighty pines and 1t made me think Of the
great Cryptomeria avenue that leads up
to Nikko, Japan. Mixed with the pines
were mimosa trees now in fun bloom.
-{here were many green shrubs, the vege-
rOad. BY ana by we came TO the top.
We were now high over the city of Con-
cepcion and the valley Of the Bio-bio.
We could see the houses of Talcahuano,
the naval station, and the ocean beyond.
We could pick out the Bio-bio river, as
II wound its way down to the sea and
thD bridge across 1t, the longest and
largest In Chile,
Conception itself lay just below us, a
great expanse OF terra-cotta rooted houses
with a plaza OF green In the center We
could see the cathedral on one side OF the
plaza. II is large building with an audi
ence room covering half an acre. The
streets so out from the plaza They are
wide and cross each other at right angles
They are paved with asphalt and clean
and well kept. The houses Of the city
are low. Looking over them We see here
and there a cluster of trees surrounded
by wallis The trees seem 10 be sprouting
frC the roofs Of the houses. They are in
a=e courts OF patios around which the
houses are built.
Town f. sport Loving.
We turn around and look toward the
ror:h There rs nothing but wooded hills
or that side You might imagine your
self in the midst OF wilderness did you