Besides Chairs, Tables, Book-Shelves, Etc., In
Great Numbers, There Were Several Roofs Of Cottages, Which
Had Been Transported Almost Whole.
The storehouses at Talcahuano
had been burst open, and great bags of cotton, yerba,
and other valuable merchandise were
Scattered on the shore.
During my walk round the island, I observed that numerous
fragments of rock, which, from the marine productions adhering
to them, must recently have been lying in deep water,
had been cast up high on the beach; one of these was six feet
long, three broad, and two thick.
The island itself as plainly showed the overwhelming
power of the earthquake, as the beach did that of the consequent
great wave. The ground in many parts was fissured
in north and south lines, perhaps caused by the yielding of
the parallel and steep sides of this narrow island. Some of
the fissures near the cliffs were a yard wide. Many enormous
masses had already fallen on the beach; and the inhabitants
thought that when the rains commenced far greater slips would
happen. The effect of the vibration on the hard primary slate,
which composes the foundation of the island, was still more
curious: the superficial parts of some narrow ridges were as
completely shivered as if they had been blasted by gunpowder.
This effect, which was rendered conspicuous by the
fresh fractures and displaced soil, must be confined to near
the surface, for otherwise there would not exist a block of
solid rock throughout Chile; nor is this improbable, as it is
known that the surface of a vibrating body is affected
differently from the central part. It is, perhaps, owing to this
same reason, that earthquakes do not cause quite such terrific
havoc within deep mines as would be expected. I believe this
convulsion has been more effectual in lessening the size of
the island of Quiriquina, than the ordinary wear-and-tear
of the sea and weather during the course of a whole century.
The next day I landed at Talcahuano, and afterwards rode
to Concepcion. Both towns presented the most awful yet
interesting spectacle I ever beheld. To a person who had
formerly know them, it possibly might have been still more
impressive; for the ruins were so mingled together, and the
whole scene possessed so little the air of a habitable place,
that it was scarcely possible to imagine its former condition.
The earthquake commenced at half-past eleven o'clock in the
forenoon. If it had happened in the middle of the night, the
greater number of the inhabitants (which in this one province
must amount to many thousands) must have perished,
instead of less than a hundred: as it was, the invariable
practice of running out of doors at the first trembling of the
ground, alone saved them. In Concepcion each house, or
row of houses, stood by itself, a heap or line of ruins; but in
Talcahuano, owing to the great wave, little more than one
layer of bricks, tiles, and timber with here and there part of
a wall left standing, could be distinguished. From this
circumstance Concepcion, although not so completely desolated,
was a more terrible, and if I may so call it, picturesque sight.
The first shock was very sudden. The mayor-domo at Quiriquina
told me, that the first notice he received of it, was
finding both the horse he rode and himself, rolling together
on the ground. Rising up, he was again thrown down. He
also told me that some cows which were standing on the steep
side of the island were rolled into the sea. The great wave
caused the destruction of many cattle; on one low island
near the head of the bay, seventy animals were washed off
and drowned. It is generally thought that this has been the
worst earthquake ever recorded in Chile; but as the very
severe ones occur only after long intervals, this cannot easily
be known; nor indeed would a much worse shock have made
any difference, for the ruin was now complete. Innumerable
small tremblings followed the great earthquake, and within
the first twelve days no less than three hundred were counted.
After viewing Concepcion, I cannot understand how the
greater number of inhabitants escaped unhurt. The houses
in many parts fell outwards; thus forming in the middle of
the streets little hillocks of brickwork and rubbish. Mr.
Rouse, the English consul, told us that he was at breakfast
when the first movement warned him to run out. He had
scarcely reached the middle of the courtyard, when one side
of his house came thundering down. He retained presence
of mind to remember, that if he once got on the top of that
part which had already fallen, he would be safe. Not being
able from the motion of the ground to stand, he crawled up
on his hands and knees; and no sooner had he ascended this
little eminence, than the other side of the house fell in, the
great beams sweeping close in front of his head. With his
eyes blinded, and his mouth choked with the cloud of dust
which darkened the sky, at last he gained the street. As
shock succeeded shock, at the interval of a few minutes, no
one dared approach the shattered ruins, and no one knew
whether his dearest friends and relations were not perishing
from the want of help. Those who had saved any property
were obliged to keep a constant watch, for thieves
prowled about, and at each little trembling of the ground,
with one hand they beat their breasts and cried "Misericordia!"
and then with the other filched what they could
from the ruins. The thatched roofs fell over the fires, and
flames burst forth in all parts. Hundreds knew themselves
ruined, and few had the means of providing food for the day.
Earthquakes alone are sufficient to destroy the prosperity
of any country. If beneath England the now inert subterranean
forces should exert those powers, which most assuredly
in former geological ages they have exerted, how completely
would the entire condition of the country be changed!
What would become of the lofty houses, thickly packed cities,
great manufactories, the beautiful public and private edifices?
If the new period of disturbance were first to commence
by some great earthquake in the dead of the night,
how terrific would be the carnage!
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