SEVERE EARTHQUAKES IN SAN FRANCISCO,

Colonist, Volume XII, Issue 1174, 25 December 1868, Page 4

SEVERE EARTHQUAKES IN SAN FRANCISCO,

The following is copied from the Panama Star and Herald of November 22 : — San Fkancisco, Oct. 21. By far the most terrible earthquake that ever visited this coast occurred this morning at seven minutes before eight o'clock.. The shocks were tremendous, and the vibration were, so far as I am able to judge from the report of others, from north-west to southeast, and were prolonged. That portion of the city east, of Montgomery-street is very much wrecked. Some buildings are down entirely, others are cracked and split from foundation to roof, and hardly one has escaped more or less damage. After tho first heavy shock several others occurred, but of much less violence. Business ia nearly entirely suspended, and half the population is in the street. In several parts of the city, upon the made ground, the earth has opened and water lias been thrown up from the cracks to the height of several feet. On some of the streets the buildings havo sunk some inches and been left in every conceivable shape. Scarcely a building in the eastern section of this city is now plumb. The principal hotels have suffered, but sustain no very serious damage. Of course they, as well as every other house, were vacated as soon as possible by their inmates. We hear that at Oakland, San Leandro, San Jose and other parts of the State tho damage has been very great. They appear to have had the shock as heavy as ourselves. All the telegraph wires were disarranged, and not one was working for some time. All the clocks were stopped at the time given above. San Fbancisco, Oct. 21—evening. Several buildings on Pine, Battery and Sansomstreets were thrown down and a considerable number badly damaged. The ground settled which threw building 3 out of line. Several severe shocks have followed at intervals since, creating a general alarm among the people. The shock was felt with greut severity at Sun Jose, where a number of buildings are considerably injured. The principal damage in this cily is confined to the lower portion below Montgomery-street, and among Ihe old buildings on the made ground. Numerous houses in that portion of the city have been abundoned and pulled down. The Custom House, a brick building, built on pile ground, which wns badly shattered by the eavthqunke of October, 1865, is considered unsafe, and the officials have removed to the Revenue buildings. Business in the lower part of this city is suspended. The parapet walls and chimneys of a number of buildings have been thrown down, causing loss of life. The damage will not exceed a million dollars. At Oakland the shock was very Bevere, throwing down chimneys and greatly damaging a number of buildings. The ground opened in several places, and a strong sulphurous Bmell was noticed after the pliruik. The Court-house at San Leandro was demolished and one life lost. From various portions of the country and in the vicinity of Sun Francisco bay the shock is reported as severe, and considerable damage is sustained. In many places the earth opened and water gushed forth. The streets are crowded this evening with an excited multitude discussing the particulars of the disastrous earthquke. Twelve shocks were felt through the day. Tlio direction of the shock w;»s from the north to the south, though some descriptions give a rofcury motion. Tho greatest damage extends in n belt several hundred feet wide, and running about north-west rind south-east, commencing near the Custom-house and ending nt Folsom-street wharf, injuring and demolishing about twelve buildings in its course. At the corner of Market and First-streets the ground openprl several inches wide and about forty or fifty feet in length. The City Hall may be considered a perfect wreck. The courts havo all adjourned, and the prisoner? havo been taken from the station hon«cs to the Council jtiil. All the pulients in the United States Marine Hospital have been removed, the building hating been declared unsafe. The chimney of the United States Mint is so badly damaged that the establishment is closed for repiirs. ITager's type foundry suffered greatly. The Lincoln school-house is badly damaged, and the large statue in front of tho building completely buried. All business at the General Delivery PostotVice is temporarily suspended. The Sin Francisco Gas Works suffered severely, tho tall chimney having been thrown over, fell through the roof. The Mission Woollen Mills is considerably damaged. The large chimney of tho sugar refinery on Eighth-street is b-idly crocked. The gable-end on the girl's side of the Deaf, Dumb and Blind Institute fell in, crushing through the ceilings. Many chimneys in the southern purt of tho city were thrown down, but no one was sei-i usly injured by them. Only four lives have been reported lost, although numbers are seriously injured by ihe filling debris. The water in the bay was perfi'ctlv smooth at the time of the shocks, nnd no perr"|)tiblt> disturbance took plnce. The shock was felt a'lotinl the shipping in tho harbor as if the vessel had snick iifion a rook. Thp earthquake was severe in the interior. Shocks were felt nt Sacramento and Stockton. The Central Coasts and Alamedn Company's building was thrown down and some lives lost. The Mare Island navy yard experienced two heavy shocks. Several buildings were thrown down nnd others considerably shaken, but no serious injury occurred. At Red Wood city the large brick court-house is litt'e better than a wreck, and all the County officers havo moved out. At Marysvillo a light shock wns felt, and at Grass Valley the shock was severe. At Sonora the shocks were light but they continued nearly all day. Another despatch from the Presiden* of the San Francisco Chambers of Commerce, says:— Oct. 21,11-20 p.m. A severe shock of earthquake wus experienced here at 750 a.m. There was considerable alarm felt at the timo of the occurrence. A good many buildings on made ground were injured. The Custom House nnd City Hull, both firmly constructed, were badly injured, and come buildings in process of construction lmve fallen in. Some parapet walls fell down, causing a loss of four or fivo lives, and about thirty persons were injured, some of whom, it is thought, will die of their injuries. There was no damage to well constructed building*. The total loss to property will not exceed §300,000. San Fbakcisco, Oct. 23. Some details of the destruction of property in the interior of tho State by the earthquake of the 21st instant have been received. Alemedii County suffered most. Aleraeda County lies on the east side of the bay of San Francisco, and directly opposite the peninsular which includes tho County and the city of San Francisco. The damage to property in Alemeda extended in all directions. Back of the town of San Leandro (in the northern j part of the llemeda County) there are numerous ! fissures in the earth from some of which issued clouds of dust, and from others volumes of water. San Leandro creek which has been dry for months (as is usual at this season of the year), is now a rapidly running stream. In some places hot water and steam gushed from the ground. The villages of San Leandro and Haywards are almost in ruins. These villages are fifteen or twenty miles apart. The brick buildings were all thrown down and a hundred tenements have been rendered uninhabitable. Numerous wooden structures were much damaged. At Haywardß there is only one building remaining uninjured. The towns of Alemeda, Brooklyn and Oakland all suffered severely. The destruction of property in the towns of San Jose and Redwood city was very great. San Jose, the old capital of the State, is in Santa Clara County, which adjoins Alemeda on the south, and Redwood city it in San Mateo County, which adjoins San Francisco County on the south. The brick and adobe buildings in the " old mission 3an Jose" which is some miles ea«t of the town of San Jose, are a mass of ruins. At Sacramento city, Stockton and Marysville, the injuries to buildings are slight and the losses small. In the towns of Pcteluma, Healdsburg, Santa Rosa Valleys and Martinez the full force of the shock was felt ; chimneys and fort walls were thrown down, and the damage is considerable. Sak Fbancisco, Not. 6. Slight tMfhqpAket of ajnoftt daily gwunvacc iiuc«