derers of all kinds, which, an old chronicler | of Huancavelica, through the valley of the rivtells, "had a marvelously good effect." This earthquake, notwithstanding its violence in Lima and its vicinity, does not seem to have been very severely felt further than forty miles to the northward and a hundred miles to the southward. The tidal wave, however, reached as far north as Santa, 200 miles from Callao, where "the ship Concepcion, belonging to Don Tomas de Chavanque," was foundered by it. Noises were heard, it is said, in Truxillo, 275 miles to the north, but without disturbance of the earth. er Pisco, to the sea, in the succeeding month of November. We were just emerging from between the mighty walls of rock and bare, lofty mountains that shut in the upper waters of that stream, and were entering on the undulating desert extending from the mountains to the sea, when we again heard the ominous sound approaching, as before, from the south. My mule pricked up her ears, and stopped on the instant, in a tremor, as if smitten with sudden ague. I dismounted, and took out my watch. It was ten seconds, not counting the time this It has been often asserted, and is largely be- manœuvre occupied, before the movement comlieved, that atmospheric and other meteoric menced under our feet. The shock lasted sevphenomena often prognosticate the approach en seconds, and was a severe one, being a comof earthquakes; and it is alleged that animals bination of the undulatory and saltatory moveand men have an obscure perception and fore-ments. It was also wide-spread in its range, boding of them, manifested by a feeling of anx- and in any country except Peru, where man iety and restlessness, shuddering and tremblings has taken almost every possible precaution of the limbs. Von Tschudi, a good authority, against the effects of earthquakes, would have affirms that he several times experienced this been destructive. sensation while in Peru, just before the occurAnd here I have to recount a circumstance rence of earthquakes. My own experience of interesting in itself and to science. In gazing several years in countries subjected to these to the southward, and listening to the advance phenomena, but which, however, is entirely of of the shock as it approached with constantly a negative character, does not confirm these increasing noise, we distinctly saw the vibrastatements and hypotheses. It was confined tions of the mountains in that direction for four to a residence of a year on the coast of Peru, seconds before those nearest us began to bow to and to three rather decisive shocks. I do not each other. Assuming that the movement of mention those slight tremors of the ground the mountains could be detected by the naked which, during the day, are seldom to be dis-eye at a distance of two miles, we have the tinguished from the vibration of the ground means of an approximate estimate of the velococcasioned by carriages, and are mostly appre-ity of the shock in question. It was about thirciable at night. The first of the three to which ty miles a minute. I refer occurred November 23, 1863, at about six o'clock in the morning, and lasted about ten seconds. It was preceded by a distinct rumbling sound, continuing during the movement, which was of the ordinary undulatory kind. The shock was felt along the whole coast, from Arica northward, doing little damage, however, except in the city of Truxillo. It is not many years ago that it was generally believed among the common people, and implicitly by many of the better classes, that not only "signs in the heavens," but pestilences also, were the portents and precursors of earthquakes. Had this hypothesis prevailed in Peru in this decade the great catastrophe of 1868 might have been foreseen with terrible distinctness, for during the six months preceding the 13th of August a large part of the country was literally decimated by the yellow-fever, or a fever analogous, of peculiar malignity. In Lima and Callao it was particularly fatal, over ten thousand deaths, it is said, having occurred in the capital, while in the port one-fifth of the population was swept away. For weeks and months penitential processions, in sombre garb, with agonizing lamentations, thronged the streets of both cities, while the churches were dim with incense from their many altars, before which flared sacrificial candles, while there rose day and night the murmur of prayers and sobs, mingled with the echoes of masses and the low chant of the ritual for the dead. To escape the pestilence thousands fled to Arequipa, Arica, Tacna, and other places less afflicted, only to meet there a more appalling, if less destructive, agent of death. To escape the pestiferous atmosphere of Callao the ill-fated Fredonia, the My third and last experience was when de- United States store-ship, which had swung laziscending to the coast from the lofty table-landsly at her moorings for so long a period as to The second I experienced a few weeks later, at about two o'clock in the afternoon, while engaged in making a survey of the ruins of Amacavilca, near the village of Chorillos, nine miles south of Lima. I had just exposed a plate in my photographic camera, and was timing the exposure, when my attention was arrested by a sound from the southward, something like that of a heavy sea-wave striking the shore at an angle and breaking in a sustained, continuous roar. I recognized the sound, and carefully noted the time that elapsed between its first reaching my ear and the commencement of the earth movement. It was five seconds a fact of value as bearing on the rapidity with which earthquake shocks are propagated. The movement was not very severe, although sufficiently great to ruin my photographic negative, which I preserve as probably the only example of photographing an earthquake. In Lima it caused some alarm, but little damage. have become almost as characteristic a feature of the harbor as the island of San Lorenzo, was towed to Arica by the only less ill-fated Wateree, to be dashed in pieces, with all her crew, on the sinister rocks at the base of the frowning Morro. of Lake Titicaca, in Cuzco, the old Inca capital, and at La Paz, the capital of Bolivia. In fact, over an area of not far from 450,000 square miles. Its effects, or those of concurrent phenomena in the Pacific, seem to have been limited only by the shores of that vast ocean, since nearly synchronous tidal disturbances were felt on the Sandwich Islands, and on the coasts of California and Alaska. Its devastating force, however, was chiefly expended in Peru, and here its most conspicuous incidents were to the south of Lima, and consisted in the destruction of the city of Arequipa and the port of Arica. Moquegua and a few other interior towns, including the great mining town of Cerro de Pasco, suffered heavily and directly by the earthquake; but Arica, Iquique, Chala, and the other sea-ports were exposed to double disaster, for all along the coast the implacable sea completed the destruction the earthquake had begun.. It is not unnatural that deeply-seated superstitions should have existed regarding earth-shores of Australia, of China and Japan, at the quakes in a country so exposed to their occurrence as Peru, and that the pseudo science of a century and a half ago should find in them a field for profit and display. They were attributed to causes as fantastic and irrelevant as imagination could devise; effects were taken to explain causes; and even the influences of the planets, and of the conjunctions of the sun and moon, were alleged active agents in their occurrence. I have before me "The Astronomical Clock of Earthquakes (Temblores de la Tierra), a marvelous Secret of Nature, discovered and explained by Don Juan de Barrenechea, Professor of Mathematics in the Royal University of San Marcos, in Lima," printed in 1725. It is "perpetual and universal," and "at one and the same time indicates the time when earthquakes will occur, when human beings will expire who die a natural death, and the time of low tide." It is adjusted for the meridian of Lima, and is accompanied with a special horoscope (if I may so call it) or calculation for the year 1726. Five days in the year, the 24th of January, the 22d and 31st of May, the 12th of August, and the 31st of December, are those in which people should take special precautions against earthquakes. The greatest loss of life and property at any one place in Peru was at Arequipa, the second city in size, population, wealth, social and political importance in the republic. In short, the rival of Lima, and often, politically, its master. It stands in latitude 12° 2′ S. and longitude 77° 8' W., at the foot of the great symmetrical volcanic cone of Misti, 20,300 feet high, on a beautiful plain, one of the interior oases that occur at the foot of the Cordillera which I have already described. This plain, elevated 7850 feet above the sea, is watered by the river Chili, and between it and the sea at Islay, which is the port of Arequipa, intervenes an unbroken desert, relieved only by medanos, or crescentshaped, shifting sand-hills, and the skeletons of men, mules, and horses that have perished in transit. Had Professor Barrenechea published his "Reloj Astronomico" 142 years later, in 1868 instead of 1726, his prediction of the 12th of August would have been regarded as a sufficient demonstration of the accuracy of his mathemat-the ical and other calculations. The difference of a day would be overlooked, and even now the Professor would be accepted in Lima, and possibly in his own college, as a "sabio" surpassing Newton and all the philosophers in prescience and knowledge of the laws of Nature. Coming now to the great Peruvian earthquake of August 13, 1868, I shall speak of it as distinct from that which devastated some parts of Ecuador three days later. What dependence there may have existed between the two, as well as between all the similar phenomena which during a few months made the circuit of the globe, is a profound question for physicists. In its direct action on human life the convulsion in Ecuador was more fatal than that in Peru, because the latter occurred in the afternoon, and was preceded by warning shocks, while the former took place at midnight, and without premonition. The Peruvian earthquake was felt from the equator to latitude 43°, in Chili, over a coastline of upward of 3000 miles. It was also felt inland, although but lightly, beyond the Cordillera of the coast, past the great Despoblado, or uninhabited region, at Puno, on the shores Before the conquest the Incas had made an establishment here for facilitating communication between their capital and the coast, and called it Ari-quepai, "Yes, rest here!" from which, with slight variation, comes the name of the modern city, founded by the great Pizarro himself in 1540. A late census showed it to contain about 50,000 inhabitants; and as through it most of the trade with those vast interior departments of Peru, Cuzco, and Puno was carried on, it had become, together with. its local resources, rich and luxurious. Probably no town in South America was so well built. Its houses, if not altogether imposing, were massive and strong, constructed of a light but tough volcanic stone, vaulted, and seldom of more than one story. This style of architecture was adopted in 1821, after the great earthquake of that year, which had laid most of the city in ruins, as a security against a similar catastrophe, and the new buildings successfully resisted all subsequent convulsions, many of them formidable, until the 13th of August, when they were thrown down, despite their strength, like the card-houses that children build. Its cathedral, a modern building of a rather extraor 1582, from all accounts, seems to have been the severest; and, it is said, was so fearful in the interior that the huanacos and vicuñas of the mountains fled to the city and sought refuge in the habitations of men, tame with fright. The story of the final destruction of this somewhat haughty city is, perhaps, best told in the following concise letter from that place, dated August 16, three days after the event: "This city was completely destroyed by an earth dinary architectural style, was, nevertheless, a | May 13, 1784; 1812; July 10, 1821; June 3, vast and imposing edifice, and believed by most 1825; and October 9, 1831. Of these that of of the self-complacent Arequipans to be among the finest structures in the world. It had a bell, cast in Arequipa itself, and one of its "lions," of greater size than that of St. Paul's in London. Apart from these more obvious distinctions, the indices of wealth, activity, and enterprise, Arequipa contended that it was the most intelligent and vivacious, and, in science and art, the most advanced city in Peru. It even ventured on the bold assumption that its women were more beautiful than those of Lima. As impartial writers, we must admit that this self-sufficiency was not wholly unfounded. Most of the distinguished names in modern Peruvian history, whether in government, art, literature, commerce, or war, belong to Arequipa-albeit, it is constantly involved in intrigue and revolution, which led to its bombardment by President Prado for three days, in December, 1867, with a destruction supplemented by that of the earthquake that took place nine months later. The bombardment, however, was unsuccessful, and its failure cost Prado his place at the head of the government. Notwithstanding its position so much further inland, Arequipa seems to have been, from its foundation, nearly as frequently exposed to earthquakes as Lima itself. Among the most celebrated are those of January 2, 1582; February 18, 1600; November 23, 1604; December 9, 1609; 1613; May 20, 1666; April 23, 1668; October 21, 1687; August 22, 1715; VOL. XXXVIII.-No. 227.-39 quake on the 13th instant; not a church left standing, not a house habitable. The shock commenced at twenty minutes past five P.M., and lasted from six to of one story resisted for about one minute, which gave seven minutes. The houses being solidly built and time for the people to rush into the middle of the streets; so the mortality, although considerable, is not so great as might have been expected. If the have been left to tell the story. As it is, the prisoners earthquake had taken place at night, few indeed would in the Carcel (public prison) and the sick in the hospital have perished. The earthquake commenced with an undulating movement, and as the shock culminated no one could keep his feet; the houses rocked as a ship in the trough of the sea, and came crumbling down. The shrieks of the women, the crash of falling masonry, the upheaving of the earth, and the clouds of blinding dust, made up a scene that can not be de scribed. "We had nineteen minor shocks the same night. Nothing has as yet been done towards disinterring the dead. I do not think any are buried alive, as certain death must have been the fate of all those who were not able to get into the street. "The earth has opened in all the plains around, and water has appeared in various places." Another account from an eye-witness, dated August 16, describes the event as follows: "At about four minutes past five P.M. last Thursday, the 13th, a slight movement of the earth was noticeable here by persons who chanced to be seated; there was no rumbling. In about eight to ten seconds more the movement became strong enough for persons not seated to notice. This movement gradually increased in strength until, after about thirty seconds, pieces of timber began to fall from the houses. In about a minute all were satisfied that a great earthquake was at hand. Then began a terrible rumbling, similar to the noise of an avalanche. Every one ran to the open spaces. It seemed as if the earth was about to open; the earth shook, and every structure swayed to and fro from north to south. It seemed in my own house as if the walls were about to meet and smother us. In about three minutes the soil shook so that it was almost impossible to hold one's feet. The strongest buildings began then to cast off stones, bricks, pieces of wood, etc., and the weakest began to fall, almost all of them level with the ground. In about five minutes from the first movement the whole city was enveloped in clouds of dust and darkness, and resounded with the crash of falling buildings. There is not one house left standing in Arequipa. The only church tower left is that of Santa Catalina, but it, like the cathedral, will have to be pulled down. Santo Domingo Church is down to the ground. The Portal de Flores is all down, as well as all the surrounding blocks. Nearly all the inmates of the prison and hospitals perished. Many persons are known to have been crushed to death in the streets. "We are now living in a tent on the river bank. No one dares go to town, as the shocks still continue to bring down what little is left standing. They occur at intervals of half an hour each. This evening some of the shocks have been very violent. So far there have been about seventy-six shocks up to eight P.M. The river Paucarpata has changed to three colors, work. Every thing is confusion, and the cries and lamentations that we hear are heart-rending. Thus which makes us believe that the volcanoes are at the work of the Arequipenos for three hundred years has been destroyed in a few minutes; it will take an age to do the same work over. The débris of the Jesuits' church was hurled to a distance of one hundred yards. "The picture presented by our desolate city is sad indeed. God grant that our fears be not realized, for Mount Misti is vomiting lava, clouds of smoke, and quantities of mud, and darkness hides its sides from our view. We hear the constant noise of falling rocks and earth, and the river is impassable, owing to its black color and sulphurous odor." As already said, Arequipa stood at the foot of the great volcano Misti, which had not been in eruption during the historical period, but which now burst into activity, in which it still remains. At the time of the eruption those who were outside the city saw huge pieces of rock split off from it, and, together with heavy avalanches of snow and ice, tumble down to the bottom, making a fearful noise. The river that is fed by the snows of the mountain increased at least one-third inside of six hours. Indeed, the rise in the water was so great and rapid as to inundate several of the towns in the valley of Arequipa, sweeping away the ruins the earthquake had made, together with the dead and the wounded. As to the loss of life and property, the Prefect of Arequipa, "writing under the deepest impression of horror, and in profound affliction," reported officially, "all the edifices have been thrown to the ground, and the few walls that remain are so racked that they will require to be demolished." Another report states the number of buildings absolutely ruined at between four and five thousand, besides twenty two churches, including the cathedral. The prisoners in the jails and the patients in the hospitals, unable to avail themselves of the warning which enabled the people generally to save their lives, were all crushed. Thanks to the premonitory shocks, the strength of the edifices, and their comparatively small height, which prevented them from covering the streets when their walls fell outward, the number of victims outside the hospitals and jails does not appear to have exceeded three hundred, with from one thousand to twelve hundred severely injured. Still, until the ruins are cleared, it will be impossible to ascertain the number of the dead. About 90 miles to the southeast of Arequipa, in another fertile oasis, situated 60 miles back from the sea, in the centre of a considerable wine-producing district, is the large town of Moquegua, from which the southern department of Peru takes its name. Immediately behind it, forming part of the chain of the Cordillera, are three great volcanoes-that of Omate, called by the Indians Huayna-Putina, Ubinas, and Tutupaca. The first-named broke out in a fearful eruption in 1600. The latter seems to have done so simultaneously with the occurrence of the earthquake under notice, and throughout Peru is believed to have been its centre of action. At any rate, the convulsion was as severe in Moquegua as in Arequipa, and, from all reports, attended with as heavy loss of life. The following account of the catastrophe here is from a letter of a resident, dated August 30: "The movement of the shocks was from east to west, alternating with vertical vibrations. I noticed this especially. And the earth seemed as if about to open under my feet and leave me in the air. The shocks lasted from five to six minutes. When the buildings had tumbled we were almost choked with dust, but a western breeze soon dispelled the clouds. The earth did not cease shaking until Sunday, the 22d of August. The shocks were more or less violent, but were always preceded by heavy discharges of electricity louder than the heaviest cannonading. In about five minutes every structure in the valley was in literally complete dilapidation, not a stone left on another. In the limestone lands all the hills were split and the rocks were rent into small pieces. Along the river and in the lowlands of the vineyards large openings were made, whence issued streams of blackish and pestiferous water. I assure you that I have seen as vivid a picture of judgment-day as is possible in this world. The damage done to our crops will amount to about twenty-five per cent. The inhabitants of this city and valley are encamped in the parks and fields; some are in groups with their friends, others in tents or huts, and some in the open air." Ninety miles from Moquegua, still to the southwest, is the city of Tacna, capital of the department, and one of the most important and active towns of Peru. I have described this town, which I visited in 1864, in this Magazine for April, 1868, and hence only need to say here, in explanation of the fact of its suffering very little in the great earthquake, that it is a modern town, built chiefly of wooden houses of one story, which may be racked, but which could hardly be thrown down by any convulsion of the earth. Neverthless, forty buildings were destroyed, probably some of the few built of stone or adobes, and a few lives were lost. While, however, Tacna escaped thus lightly, Arica, its port, 40 miles to the southwest, was absolutely destroyed by the earthquake and its attendant phenomena. Our accounts of the catastrophe at this point are much more full and accurate than from any other, and probably the event will be best, remembered from its devastations here. Although, next to Callao, the most important port of Peru, it was not that rich and populous place that many accounts of the earthquake have represented. Instead of having, as some of these state, a population of from thirty to forty thousand souls, it probably had less than six thousand; and although rather picturesque and showy from the water, was meanly built. The mole, custom-house, the warehouses, and some of the residences and offices of foreigners, were large and substantial modern structures; but the remaining buildings were either of adobes or canes plastered over, yet well adapted to resist earthquakes. The great shock of the earthquake of August 13 took place here a few minutes earlier than it did in Arequipa, showing that Arica was nearer the centre of action than the latter town. As there, it was also preceded by premonitory shocks, which had the effect of alarming the inhabitants and driving them into the streets or open squares, and to the sand-hills back of the town, where they were in comparative safety. An eye-witness says: "The hour was that when by custom most of the |