The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1915-10-07
EARTHQUAKE FRIGHT
ENED EMMETT
Buildings ShOok-Clocks Stop
ped-Chickens Shook from
Roosts-No Damage.

An earthquake shock that lasted al
least minute struck Emmett at II :5E
Saturday night and caused genera
CONSERVATION. Brick buildings trem.
bled, frame buildings swayed, clocks
stopped, electric lights suspended by
cords swayed to and fro like pendul.
ums of clocks, chickens were shaker
from their roosts, and people were
reused from their slumbers by the
swaying of the beds, the rafting of
windows and the creaking of doors
and joints. In short, Mother Earth
acted as if she had been on spree
and with unsteady gait was trying to
make her way upstairs to bed with
out disturbing the old man and had
made the usual bungle at it. But no
damage was done, except to the
nerves of the timid and of those
with guilty consciences.
The direction of the quake was from
west to east or vice versa. Clocks
whose pendulums swung north and
south stopped; those swinging east to
west gained momentum and pounded
the sides of their cases. Brooms
suspended in a rack in McNish's store
swung in the same direction a dis
tance of five feet each way, as did al
so a bundle of whips, and electric
lights. Sam Motz was just reaching
for the door knob of his back door,
upon his return from the dance, when
the quake occurred, and he missed the
knob a foot as the house swayed to
the east, and missed it again as it
swung back. He thought some one
had spiked" the city water and it had
affected his head.
Arch Mcclellan, the Squaw creek
rancher, was engaged in a social game
of solo at the Brunswick. The lights
swayed, the pop bottles crashed
against each other, cigars got up on
their hind legs and walked, the queen
of spades winked at him and the jack
of clubs made pass. That was too
much for Archie; he rushed for the
door, leaving his hinkeys on the table.
Tom Hance was toasting himself
before the fire. He had severe cold
and had been taking cough medicine.
When everything began to swim be-
fore his eyes he thought he had taken
too much of the stuff and it had gone
to his head.
Bob Knizer, who was asleep,
thought the dog had gotten under
the bed and was bouncing the bed
springs up and down. D. NJ Stokes
oery's wife thought her husband was
.rying to bounce her out of bed, and
Ora Bever scolded his wife for kick
ing so hard. The effect upon Allen
Gatfield was to make him sick at his
stomach, and others were affected the
same way. Herb Blackman rushed
1own town, expecting to see every
brick building in ruins. The city
water tower swayed, and the iron
,races scraped against each other and
made an awful noise, something like a
orchestra playing the
Dance of the Valkyries.
At the Russell hotel the guests were
BADLY frightened and rushed panic
stricken from their rooms ard down
stairs, clad in sundry and divers gar
nents.
So far as the news agencies have
,een able to learn little damage has
esulted from the earthquake, al /
hough it was general all over the
western country. 1t was felt from /
Jictorio B. C. to Fresno, CAL; and as
ar east as the Rocky mountains. 1t
vas the heaviest in Nevada and Utah,
,ut no casualties or material damage
S reported from either state. In
Utah there was slip in the Wasatch
Mountains for $50 miles, and this
.aused a third shock which many
,eople thought was another earth
Iuake. In Boise the tremor was felt
or nearly two minutes while at On
ario it is reported that it cracked
he plaster in the Moore Hotel. Prac-
tally all southern Idaho and eastern
oregon towns felt the shock. At
'aker City a panic was narrowly
verted, and at Vale the shock was
ute severe.