THE EARTHQUAKE IN SOUTH AMERICA.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 122, 3 October 1868, Page 2

THE EARTHQUAKE IN SOUTH AMERICA.

(From tke Panama Sair and Herald, Aug. 31.) Callao, Aug. 22, 1868. When the mail left us on the 14th inst., we little thought what a sad story we should have to write by to-day's steamer ; the Btory of a calamity so wid - spread and so awful in its severity that, to think on the loss of life and property, the complete ruin, the misery and destitution, was perfectly appalling. Cities, towns, and villages once well-known in the interior of Peru as well as many rising and important ports along the coast are now no more. The earthquake, of which we advised you by last mail, is probably the most dreadful and terrific that ever occurred in the world's history. Certainly nothing approaching to the dire catastrophe of the 13th inst., has ever lieen recorded of this Continent noted for volcanic eruptions. We have no intelligence further south than Cobija, and, from what we have ascertained, the shock there was much the same as we experienced in Callao, the sea receded not more than fifty yards and gradually returned < to its original level. At Iquique the town is completely swept away. Nothing but a mass of ruins remains. The loss of life must have been very great ; at present no estimate can be given ; by next mail we may have definite information. The ports of Mejillones, Pisagua, Arica,Ho, and Chala have likewise shared the unfortunate fate of Iquique. Arequipa, the. second city of the Republic, is levelled to the ground; not one house is left standing, unless a few wooden erections on the outskirts of the city. The magnificent cathedral is not completely destroyed, but the towers are gone, and the . building is doubtless in a very dangerous condition, liable to a fall at any moment. Moquega, in the neighbourhood of Arequi-

pa, is likewise overthrown. Tacna has escaped .with'only the loss of sixty houses. j- There are endless rumours as to entire towns and districts having been swallowed up, but it were idle to repeat or give them currency until we have more reliable news. The earthquake, it is reasonable to suppose, must have been so severe in many places that great chasms may have been formed and many new streams of water broken out in the hills. It is reported that in Tambo Valley just beyond the new port of Meija, (near to Islay) a sm all town was sw§pt away, and out of 500 inhabitants, only 20 managed to escape. From Arica we have the most graphic picture of the sad event. The Agent of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company in his letter to the Manager, write* 1 : — "Into other matters it i»- now useless to enter, as I write under the shadow of a great grief. Arica no longer exists; at about fire o'clock in the afternoon of the 13th we were visited with a tremendous earthquake. I had barely time to get my wife and children into the street, when the whole of the walls of my house fell, — fell is hardly the word, as they were blown out as if they were spit at me, at the same time the earth opened, probably two or three inches and belched out dust, accompanied wiih a terrible stench as of powder, the air was darkened and I could not see my wife who was withia two feet of mt> with the children. If this had lasted any iftae we must have been suffocated, but in about a couple of minutes it cleared and collecting my household goods together, I then started for the hills. How we passed through falling houses, when we saw men struck down, some stone dead, 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 with the earth shaking, making us stagger aB drunken people, when a great cry went up to Heaven, ''The sea has retired." I hurried on and I had barely got to the outskirts of the town, when I looked back and saw all the vessels in the bay carried out irresistably to sea, probably with a speed of ten miles an hour. In a few minutes the great outward current stopped, then arose a mighty wave, I should judge about 50 feet high, and came in with a fearful rush, carrying everything before it in ita awful majesty, the whole of the shipping came back with it, sometimes turning in circles, but all speeding on to an inevitable doom. Meanwhile the wave had parsed in, struck the mole into atoms, swallowed up my office as a giant's mouthful, and roaring ,on swallowed up the Custom house and rushing down the same street carried everything before it in its irreaistable course. The remains of my dwelling house disappeared faster than the change of scene in a Christmas Pantomime, my launches had long since disappeared and my ruin was thus completed. I stood breathless looking at the awful sight, but thanking God life had been preserved to me and my loved ones, but each second was a life time ; 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 the loss of one life ; with a small draft of water she was carried bodily on the top of * the sea and landed about a quarter of a mile inshore of the Railway track. The Fredonia, United States store ship was bottom upwards, every soul on board perished, (excepting the captain, surgeon and paymaster^who were on shore and were saved.) The British bark Chanarcillo of Liverpool was lying high up on the beach, the remains of a hull, half of her crew perished. An American bark lnden with guano was swallowed up and has not left a vestige to tell her fate. The last of the illfated squadron, a Peruvian brig was placed on the Railway track apparently without losing a rope or spar. On what has since happened it iB needless to dwell, for nearly two days we lay on the hills without covering and without food, in a constant state of alarm, as the Bhocks of earthquake were incessant." The United States steamer Powhattan w ent south to Arica two days ago and the Government have forwarded stores and funds to relieve the present necessities of the sufferers. Mr Calderon has given a liberal donation of 50,0n0 dols., and Mr Meiggs the railroad contractor a similar sum in behalf of the thousands who have been thu3 suddenly and unexpectedly left destitute of all their possessions. FURTHER PARTICULARS. Our correspondent at Arica gives additional particulars of the destruction of tbe ports of Cbala, Islay, Mollendo, and 110, as follows :— Chala. — The steamship Santiago reports the almost total destruction of the port of Chala by an earthquake which occurred on tbe 13th inst. at 5 p m., the havoc continu ing for about 45 minutes. At the moment the steamer was about to anchor, after a shock which was felt very sensibly on board, the sea receded, parting the chain of the vessel and of the Company's hulk at anchor in tbe roadstead, and then returned at a height of about 50 feet, covering the rocks about the anchorage and in the harbour and sweeping up into the town for the distance of over 1000 feet. The Custom House Steamship Agency, Mole, and everything within range, .was swept away by three successive seas, preceded and followed by as many as twelve shocks of earthquake, each lasting from three seconds to two minutes in duration. Much credict is due Jto Mr Donaldson, the third officer, and four of the crew of the Santiago, who in the midst of the tempest volunteered to save three persons on board of the hulk, who would otherwise have perished. The steamer narrowly escaped being either landed high and dry or being engulphed by the receding sea. Capt. King was fortunately equal to the occasion and a serious danger resulted harmlessly to those on board. Although not certain, no lives are presumed to have been lost. Launches and

everything afloat or within reach of the sea were swept away. ' ' The authorities of the Port and such piersons as wsre afloat were compelle 1 to proceed to Islay, owing to the impossibility of returning again to shore. The estimated loss at this port is 80,00 ) dollars. Islay. — Owing to the elevation of the Port, the damage done by th« sea was not very great. The San Luis, English bark, lying there loading wood, suffered no damage The French ship Cunton. although left high and dry, succeeded in floating off with the return sea. The mole is nearly destroyed, and several of the launches. In the town every stone or cement wall is either demolished entirely or badly shaken. Among other freaks of the earthquake an entire new quebrada has opened at Guerreros with a running spring at the bottom. From Arequipa there is no intelligence, as the telegraph was down. Arrieros report the shock as having been felt very severely on tbe Pampa, the Coralon of the Tambo de la Joya in the midst of the desert was demolished. The course of the earthquake wag from south to north, varied with repeated shocks from west to east, the difference in time of the occurrence between Islay and Chala, distance 145 miles, was about 10 minuUs. The destruction was caused similarly to that in Chala by three successive seas. Mollendo. — This is the depot of suppliea for the Arequipa railway. Provisions, houses and property of every description were completely swept away. 110. — Here not a vestige of habitation of any kind is left, either at the port or in the town, which contained a population of 500 or more inhabitants. What was not knocked down by the shock was swept away by the flood, attended with a loss of twenty lives. The Ninita, English sloop, belonging to Mr A. Wellington, of Valparaiso, is a total wreck. The Gambeta, belonging to Messrs Gambeta Brothers, is also totaiy loßt, as well as a schooner owned in Pisagua, and the entire crews perished. The losses will reach to more than 100,000 dols., only part of the marine property being insured. From the mining province of Juancavelion we learn that all the cities in that department have been destroyed. Cerro de Pasco is in ruins. The loss of life and property in the mining regions is reported very large. From, Puno and Cuzco we ha re no tidings yet, but it is feared the news from these cities will be quite as sad as any yet received, as the motion of the earthquake seems to have come from tbe direction of these places. The loss of property by the earthquake is estimated at three hundred millions of dollars. The house of Gibbs alone is said to have lost one million. The U.S. flagship Powhatan with Admiral Turner on board, has sailed from Callao for Arica with supplies and to render all assistance possible to tbe sufferers. The steamer Union had been loaded with provisions, &c, and despatched from Callao by the Peruvian Government to render assistance to the destitute along the coast, but, owing to some defect in her machinery, she was obliged to put back to port. We have to lament the death at Arica of Mr Charles L. Worm, manager of the Arica and Tacna railroad; and at Iquique that of Mr William E. Billinghurst, who, with half of his family, perished in the ruins. Some members of Mr Billinghurst's family made their escape in a boat which was carried through the ruins of his dwelling by the sea. Dr Bokenham also lost his life at Iquique. At Pisagua the captain of the British ship Kamahamaha was drowned whilst trying to board his vessel during the eruption. The British barque Dona Henrietta was wrecked on the rocks at Junin, all hands saved ; and the American barque Condor was lost at Mejillones, all tne crew saved. The people of Iquique are said to jbe suffering terribly for want of water. The neighbourhood is entirely void of fresh water and was solely dependent for a supply upon the condensing works situated close to the sea, which were washed away completely. The shock appears to have extended along the coast from Callao south to Cobija and was felt with about equal severity at these two points, whilst nearly all of the intermediate ports are left in ruins. How far inland the shock was felt is not yet knbwn ; but it is believed to have carried destruction far up into the C irdilleras. FIRE IN CALLAO. On the 14th it:stant, the most extensive fire ever known in Callao broke out about 9 o'clock in the evening, originating it is believed in the hotel Confianza, situated in the Calle de Constitution. The flames were not long in gaining ground and ere the fire engines here and of Lima were in active operations the fire was so strong and powerful that it was with difficulty extinguished, and only after a great loss of valuable property. The fire extended on the one hand along to the house of the prefect and every house was burnt up to the Roma hotel, the front part of which fortunately escaped. In the other direction every house was destroyed up to the first opening in the 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 Calle de Sosiego to Calle de Peligro were also burnt to the ground, altogether some thirty houses are totally destroyed and twenty-seven others seriously damaged, it is estimated that property amounting to fully one million dollars has been lost, and only some $80,000 were insured.