SOUTH AMERICA. FRIGHTFUL EARTHQUAKE IN PERU.

A frightful earthquake occurred on the 13th of August and following days, in Peru and Ecuador ; thousands of lives lost. Many cities, villages, and towns in the interior and on the coast are in ruin?. Three meu-of-war and numerous mercantile ships lost; enormous destruction of property. The most featful earthquake ever recorded. At Iquique the town is completely swept away, nothing but a mass of ruins remaining. The loss of life is very great, and at present cannot be estimated. The ports of Mexillones, Pizaqua, Arica, Ho, and Chala have shared the fate of iquique. Arequipa, second city in the Republic, was levelled to the ground. Not one house is left standing except a few wooden erections on the outskirts of the city. Moquegua, in the neighbourhood of Arequipa, U likewise overthrown. Taona has escaped with only a loss of sixty houses. Tambo Valley, just beyond the new port of Mezia (near to Islay), a small town, was swept away. Out of five hundred inhabitants, only twenty managed to escape. A correspondent of the Panama Star and Herald writes as follows :—: — " Arica no longer exists. The walls of my house fell, or rather were blown out. At the same time the earth opened, probably two or three inches, and belched out dust accompanied by a terrible stench, as of powder ; the air was darkened, and I could not see my wife, although she and the children were within two feet of where I was. If this had lasted any length of time, we must have been suffocated, but in a few minutes it cleared away. 1 then collected my household goods together and stated for the hills. How we passed amongst falling houses, where we saw men struck down, some stonedead, and others maimed, is to me a mystery ; but a merciful Providence was over us. We wended our sad way as well as we could towards the hills, the earth shaking so much as to make us stagger as if drunken. Suddenly a great cry went up to heaven, ' The sea has retired !' I hurried on, and 1 had barely got to the outskirts of the town, when I looked back and caw all the vessels in the bay carried out irresistibly to sea, probably with a speed of ten miles an hour ; in a few minutes tbe great outward current stopped, aud then arose a mighty wave, I should judge about fifty feet higb, and came in with a fearful ruib, carrying everything before it in its awful majesty ; the whole of the shipping came back with it, honietimes turning in circles, but all speeding on to an inevitable doom. " Meanwhile the wave that had passed in struck the Mole to atom°, swallowed up my office as a giant mouthful, and roaring on swallowed up the Customhouse, and, ru-hing down the same street, carried everything before it in its irresistible course. " lbe remains of dwelling-houses disappeared faster than the change of scenes in a pantomine ; my launches had long since disappeared, and my ruiu was thus completed. I stood breathless, looking at the awful sight, but thankiug God life had been spared to me and my loved ones, but each second was a lifetime. Looking seawards I saw the ships still hurrying on to their doom, and in a few minutes all was completed. Every vessel was either ashore or bottom upwards. " The Peruvian war steamer * America ' lost about 85 hands ; the United States steamer ' Wateree ' escaped with loss of one life ; with a small draft of water she was carried bodilj on the top of the sea, and landed. "The steamship 'Santiago' reports the almost total destruction of the port of Chala by an earthquake which occurred on the 13th Last., at 5 p.m., shocks continuing for about 45 minutes. At the moment the steamer was about to anchor, after * shock which was felt very sensibly on board, the sea receded, parting the chain of the ' Company,' at anchor in the roadstead ; and then returned at a height of about 50 feet, covering the rocks above the anchorage and in the harbour, and sweeping up into the town for a distance of over 1,000 feet. The Custom-house, Steamship Agency, Mole, and everything within range were entirely swept away by three successive seas preceded and followed by as many as twelve shocks of earthquake, each lasting from 3 seconds to 2 minutes in duration." Arrieros reports that the shock was felt very severely on the Pampas. The Coralon of tbe Santa de la Joy a in tne midst of the desert is demolished. The course of the earthquake was from south to north, varied with repeated shocks from west to e&st ; the difference in time of the occurrence between Itlay and Chala, a distance of 145 miles, was about ten minute*. The destruction was caused similarly to that in Chala, by three buccessive seas. At Iso, not a vestige of a habitation of any kind is left either at the port or on tbe town, which contained a population of 500 or more inhabitants. What was not knocked down by the shock wxs swept away by the flood, attended by a lost of 20 lives. At Mollendo, the depdt of supplies for the Aremane Kailway, provisions, house- 1 , and property of every sort were completely swept away. The 'Ninita,' English sloop, belonging to Mr. Wellington, of Valparaiso, is a total wreck ; the ,' Gambeta,' belonging to Messrs. Gambeta, Brothers, is also a total wreck, as well as a schooner owned in Priadua, and the entire crews perished. From the mining province of Juan Covelon, -we learn that all the cities in that department have been destroyed. Cerrode Paseo is in ruins. The loss of property by the earthquake is estimated at 300 millions of dollars. The house of Gibbs alone is said to have lost ons million. The United States flag-ship 'Powhattan,' with Admiral Turner on boaid, has Hailed from Callao for Arica with supplies, and to render all assistance possib'e to the sufferers. We have to lament the death, at Arioa, of Mr. Charles L. Worm, manager of the Arica and Jacua railroad, and at Iqnique that of Mr. William C. Burlinghurst, who with half his family perished in the ruins. Some members of Mr. Burlinghurst's family made their escape in a boat, which was carried through the ruins of his dwelling by the sea. Dr. Bokinham also lost his life at iquique. At Psaigua, the captain of the British ship 'Kamehameha,' was drowned trying to board his vessel during the eruption ; the British brigantine ' Dona Henrietta' was wrecked on the rocks at Jernin, all hands saved ; and the American barque ' Connowai ' was lost at Majorlones, all the hands saved. A most extensive fire has taken plaoe at Callao. It originated it is believed in the Hotel Confianza, situated in the Callabe Constitucion. The fire extended along to the house of the Prefect, and every bouse was burned up to the Koma Hotel. In the other direction every house was destroyed to the first opening in a street three or four houses beyond the building formerly known as the Club Mercantile. Again, on the other side of the street, the houses running from Alle de Petigro wera also burnt to the ground. _ Altogether, some thirty houses were destroyed, and twenty-seven others seriously damaged. Property amounting to one million dollars has been loat, and only lome 10,000 dollars were insured.