The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-10-07

From Shock"
 From the earthquake zone in Japan a letter has reached MT and Mrs w. A. Jenkins of Birmingham from their aunt, Mrs. Maude Pelham Henderson, formerly of Birmingham, daughter of the late pr. Solomon Palmer. for two terms state superintendent or education for Alabama
 Mrs. Henderson has been in China and Japan for the past four years, but expects to return to Birmingham next spring. She has been. doing educational work in connection with the mission enterprises of the Meth- odist Episcopal church, south. Recent fy she has been teaching English in a mission school near Osaka. Mrs. Henderson has a number of relatives in Birmingham. sister, Mrs. Robert N. Bell, widow of the late Judge Bell; her nieces, Mrs. Arthur Jenkins and Mrs. Edgar Collins; her nephews, Robert N. Bell, Jr., and Palmer N Bell.
 With personal matters left out, Mrs. Henderson's letter Is as follows:
 Miniooka, Gotemba, Sept. 8, 1923.
 Dearest Vicy: Before your birth day I fully intended writing you but you'll understand when I tell you it was one of the most terrible days l ever had. However, I thought of you many times and in my heart said Happy birthday. Many returns am not very late, as you have only just passed 1t.
 Quake Began At 13,06 O'clock.
 No doubt. you've heard from the papers there of the terrific earth quake we have experienced. Saturday is a memorable day and always will be. About 12 oclock-12:06, to be exact--I was calmly sitting in my room upstairs in this Japanese house when suddenly I heard terrible roar and immediately thereafter the house began to rock and furniture and doors began dancing. | ran to the stairs, and if there had been more than eight steps I'm sure l could never nave gotten down. They were fairly reeling. The partitions are made of sliding doors covered with paper. These were all falling. I ran to the yard and found Mrs. Newcomb and Clark clinglng to each other. swaying with the earth. l joined them. We stood there as long as we could and then sat down. Neighbors gathered and we crawled further down out of way of the houses. We expected the houses to fall any minute, and if they had been foreign built they could never h the
  had one shock after another all aft ernoon and night. We didn't dare go into some of the houses except to run in and out again.
 The servants brought out our beds, and we slept under the stars and 8 beautiful moon. It had rained all afternoon and we had huddled in among small cedar trees around us All the Japanese and those who had aN ay-ip artt On al dxyie ting in the trees for fear of falling houses. Oh, it was terrible to sit there in the rain and wait for shocks! At 4:30 another came that was al- most as bad as the other or first one. Everyone thought Of Mt. Fuji the first thing, but I guess if it had been our lives would not have been worth 30 cents. About four hours after the first shock I ventured up to my room to find it perfect wreck, but others were the same and many worse.
 "The kitchen of the clubhouse was terrible. The cook was almost ready to serve dinner and soup spilled all over the floor. dishes smashed; bread which was ready for baking, was up- turned on the floor and everything in such a mess that one could hardly get into it.
 Get Japanese Extra.
 We heard all kinds of rumors, but yesterday we got a bulletin, or rather a Japanese extra, and it gave authenticated news. We learned that a peninsula had erupted near Tokio and there's fearful destruction there, and Yokohama almost totally des- troyed. It is fearful! Three ladies. who had been here all summer, went to Tokio Friday. We are so anxious about them. The eruption was an oceanic one, that is, under water. and caused a great tidal wave at Yoko- hama; the gas plant exploded, elec- tric wires set fire 10 houses and they say the houses ablaze were swept into the ocean.
 After sitting among the trees in the rain, everybody getting drenched as no one had brought out coats, we ecided 1t was as well to run the risk of having a house fall on us as to get pneumonia, so we all moved into an unoccupied house. I wish you could have seen that crowd. it is funny now that it's all over. One lady was washing her hair in the bath room and when the shock came she ran across to her room, grabbed sheet, wrapped herself in 1t and flew down the stairs. Everybody was white and trembling. Mothers hugged their babies and wondered what would hap pen next. When moving into the house we began getting busy. MT. Hereford went for water to find none. Connection with the spring had been broken. The cook found enough bread to give us for lunch. We ven- tured into the kitchen and rescued some butter and jam and with apples we had lunch enough. We ate stand ing or sitting on the edges of our