however, was this resolution taken, and before the first shock had entirely subsided, a second and much more violent one succeeded; this was accompanied by noise, which appeared to be deep seated in the earth, perpendicularly to the spot on which we stood. The duration of this shock was about two minutes; it was succeeded by a third, also accompanied by noise, less loud than that which accompanied the preceding shock. The shock was less violent than either of the two former shocks, and of less duration. These shocks occupied about five minutes of time. Shocks at intervals, of four or five minutes, continued for nearly an hour, after which, they became less frequent during the remainder of the night, and of very different intensities, some being rather severe, and others hardly perceptible. The three principal shocks may be said to constitute the earthquake.

"At the commencement of the earthquake, the atmosphere was, as is usual at this time of the year in this country, quite free from clouds, the moon and stars shone with splendour; there was no atmospheric indication of change of any sort, either before or after the earthquake. Some persons say they saw an unusual light in the horizon to the southward, but 1, who was expecting some change, and was prepared to observe any that might have occurred, saw none whatever. "During the earthquake the ground rose and fell with great violence, and with almost inconceivable rapidity. There was certainly no undulatory motion, though many unobserving and unreflecting persons suppose this to have been the case. I had a strong suspicion at the time, since confirmed by observation of its effects, that there was a powerful horizontal motion, but as I could not perceive it as coming from any particular point, I concluded at the time that I was mistaken. The circumstances which make me now conclude there was a horizontal motion, are observations I have since made in many places, in which walls, and even houses, have been partially twisted round, and from the fissures round the roots of the largest trees. At Quintero, ten miles to the northward of Concon, are several large palmtrees; three of these standing so as to form an equilateral triangle, lashed one another like willow rods, and beat or shook off many of their branches. The motion of these trees seems to have been horizontal and circular, since each of them cleared a space in the ground round its stem, several inches wide, and this was the case also with other large trees in different places. "The sensation we experienced during the earthquake, was probably the same we should have felt had we been

conscious that a mine had been sprung about to blow us all into the air.

beneath us,

and was

"On examination next morning, at daylight, I found the earth full of fissures, some of them very small, while others were from two to three feet wide. In many places sand had been forced up, and had formed small hillocks. In the most recently formed alluvial soil near the river, water and sand had been forced up together, there being many large truncated cones of clean washed sand, each of which had a hollow in the centre, like the crater of a volcano. The same phenomenon was observed in several places; in other places, large quantities of soft mud had been forced up, and spread itself over the surface of the land.

The surface of the country has been raised all along the coast, as far as my information extends. It seems to have been raised highest at the distance of from two to three miles from the shore, diminishing both ways. The rise on the coast is from two to four feet; at the distance of a mile, inland, the rise must have been from five to six or seven feet; for in the cut for the tail water-course of a mill, at the distance of about a mile from the sea, a fall of fourteen inches has been gained in little more than a hundred yards.

"At Valparaiso, near the mouth of the Concon, and along the coast northward to Quintero, rocks have appeared in many places, where none before were visible. The high-water mark along the shore is about three feet above the place the tide now reaches, and a vessel, which had been wrecked on the coast and which could only be approached at low water in a boat, is now accessible on dry land at half tide.*

"At Valparaiso, not a single house escaped being damaged; it is somewhat remarkable, however, that although the ground was raised bodily, and considerably, those houses whose foundations were on the rocks, were less damaged than those built on the alluvial soil. All the houses at Valparaiso are built of adobes (sun-dried bricks), cemented with clay. These were thrown into heaps of rubbish, or torn and rent in all directions. The town had the appearance of having suffered a heavy and long continued bombardment. Upwards of three hundred persons were buried in the ruins. Had the earthquake happened two hours later, very few of the inhabitants would have escaped.

There is very little variation of tides on this coast; the sea never rises more than four feet at the full of the moon.

"After the earthquake, the inhabitants encamped upon the hills above the scene of desolation, in the best way they could; this was thought less of a hardship than it would have been thought in most other countries, from the fine warm weather, the certainty as was concluded of dry wea ther, and the small quantity of dew which, at this season of the year, falls in Chili. To these hills goods of all sorts, furniture, and every thing else, were brought, and laid in the open air. The damage done to this thriving town will not be repaired in many years.

Its so

The church of La Merced presented a striking instance of the violence of the earthquake; the tower, sixty feet high, which served as a belfry, was levelled to the earth. lid walls of burnt bricks, well laid in mortar, were shivered in pieces; the two side walls, full of rents, were still standing, supporting part of the shattered roof, but the two end walls were entirely demolished. On each side of the church were four massive abutments, six feet square, of brick work; those on the western side were thrown down, and broken to pieces, as were two on the eastern side; the other two were twisted off from the wall, in a north-easterly direction, and left standing.

"On board the Admiral's ship in the harbour, where, more secure than ashore, the effects of the earthquakes so far as the situation permitted, observations were made with great accuracy. Here three distinct shocks were felt; the second was observed to be by far the strongest, and its duration, as had been noticed at Concon, is stated at two minutes. The effect upon the ship was the same as would have been produced had she suddenly sunk down upon a rock. It appeared as if her bottom had been struck with prodigious force; the vessel vibrated in an extraordinary manner, her timbers cracked, and she appeared strained throughout.

sea,

"At Santiago, the capital, at ninety miles distance from the and about twenty miles from the mountains of the Andes, the earthquake was less severe; no houses were thrown down, although many, as well as the churches, were much damaged, but no lives were lost. Here, however, as in other places, the inhabitants removed from the town, and camped out in the open air. the effect of the earthquake at Aconcagua, about fifty miles N. N. W. of Santiago, was much the same as at Santiago. Millipilla, sixty miles S. E. of Valparaiso, suffered less than either Santiago or Aconcagua; but, at Casa Blanca, not a single house or wall of any kind was left standing. At Mapel, the shocks were very se

vere, great part of the village was destroyed, and a pool of water was formed in the market place. Quillota also suffered to a considerable extent, many houses were destroyed, and all were more or less damaged. At Valdivia, in 39° 50 S. Lat., one shock only was felt; it is described as having been "pretty sharp," but it did no damage. At the moment the shock was felt, two volcanoes in the neighbourhood burst out suddenly with great noise, illuminated the heavens and the surrounding country for a few seconds, and then as suddenly subsided into their usual quiescent state.

Although no atmospheric changes appeared at the time of the earthquake, there can be no doubt that very considerable changes took place. The weather after the earthquake, continued as usual; but on the evening of the twenty-seventh of November, just eight days after the earthquake, the country, for a great extent, was visited by a tremendous storm of rain, accompanied with heavy gusts of wind; the rain continued all night, producing terror and dismay among the people. Every thing saved from the earthquake, was exposed in the open air, or under such temporary coverings as could be constructed with the few materials time and circumstances permitted. Few of the tents, under which part of the people lived, were water proof. Many were living in enclosures called ramadas, made of dried boughs and bushes, open to the heavens, and many had no other fence than could be formed of their furniture or other effects. Rain towards the close of the month of November had been expected by no one, and no preparation to defend either persons or property from its effects, had been made. Rain had never before fallen in the country, even at a small distance north of the river Maule, in the month of November. The consequences anticipated from the rain, which from appearances, was likely to continue, were of the most distressing nature. The total destruction of the houses which had been injured, as well as that of the goods, merchandize, and furniture, which had been collected, and of the growing crops, was anticipated by all. Its immediate effects, had it continued, would have been intermitting and malignant fevers. These apprehensions caused the people to pass a night of indescribable agony. The rain, however, ceased suddenly towards morning, and the weather became settled as usual.

"The greatest force of the earthquake appears to have been felt at the distance of about fifteen miles N. E. of Valparaiso; the whole country from the foot of the Andes to far out at sea, has been raised; the rise has, however, been very unequal.

"As the earthquake was felt at Copiapo in the north, and at Valdivia in the south, its extent, from north to south, exceeded nine hundred miles. Where the shocks were most severe, the earth has been raised the highest, and its not subsiding again to its former level has probably been occasioned by the innumerable fissures and multitude of small cracks caused by the repeated explosions, by which the den-. sity of the whole mass has been somewhat altered.

"Many persons to the north of Valparaiso thought the direction of the shocks was from the southwest, while those to the southward thought they came from the northwest. If the principal force, as it appears to have been, was exerted within a circle of about fifty miles diameter, the centre of which was a little to the N. E. of Valparaiso, the direction of the shocks might have been, as those at a distance, to the north and south of that space have described them. Most persons that live near the coast, suppose the shocks to have come from seaward, either to the northward or southward, as has been mentioned, while those who resided within the circle described, concluded they were produced by explosions, perpendicular to the earth's surface. It does not appear that the earthquake extended into the mountains of the Andes; no change whatever was observed in any of these mountains, except as has been related near Valdivia, and here the volcanic ridge is nearer to the sea and less elevated than in any other part of Chili. The surface over which, or rather under which, the earthquake extended ashore, cannot be less than 100,000 square miles.

"During the earthquake the sea, for a considerable distance along the coast, receded and returned several times. At Quintero, the fishermen who live upon the beach fled in terror to the sand-hills. At Valparaiso, a man-of-war's boat going ashore, landed at the door of the customhouse, which is twelve feet above the usual high-water mark. Neither the recussion, nor the retrocession of the sea, were as violent as might have been expected.

"Up to the end of September, 1823, the date of the last accounts, earthquakes continued to be felt; forty-eight hours seldom passed without a shock, and sometimes two or three were felt during twenty-four hours."