Awful Phenomena of Nature.
an ACCOUNT of
Some of the
Moſt Remarkable
EARTHQUAKES,
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS,
SEA STORMS,
HURRICANES &c.
Which have happened in the known World:
With the Calamitous Effects, which have resulted from thoſe Dreadful Convulſions of the Elements.
IN FOUR PARTS.
Collected from good Authorities.
"Sweet Innocence! thou stranger to offence,
"And inward ſtorm! He who yon' ſkies involves
"In frowns of darkneſs, ever ſmiles on thee
"With kind regard-"
Printed in the Year 1799.
CONTENTS
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Part I. EARTHQUAKES. . . . . |
Page 1 |
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CONTENTS.
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Part III. SEASTORMS. . . . . |
(illegible text) |
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Awful Phenomena
of Nature
PART FIRST,
EARTHQUAKES
ACCOUNT of SEVERAL
Remarkable Earthquakes, &c.
Kircher's Account of the Earthquake in Calabria, in 1638.
ON the 24th of March, ⟨we⟩ launched (in a ſmall boat) from the harbour of Meſſina in Sicily, and arrived the ſame day at the promontory of Pelorus. Our deſtination was for the city of Euphemia in Calabria; but on account of the weather, we were obliged to continue three days at Pelorus At length, wearied with the delay, we reſolved to proſecute our voyage; and although the ſea ſeemed more than uſually agitated, yet we ventured forward. The gulph of Charybdis, which we approached, ſeemed whirled round in ſuch a manner as to form a vaſt hallow, verging to a point in the centre. Proceeding onward, and turning my ⟨eyes⟩ to Mount Etna, I ſaw it caſt forth large volumes ⟨of⟩ ſmoke, of mountainous fire, whi h entirely covered the iſland, and blotted out even the ſhores from my view. This, together with the dreadful noiſe and the ſulphureous ſtench, which was ſtrongly perceived, filled me with apprehenſions that ſome more dreadful calamity was impending. The ſea itſelf ſeemed to wear a very unuſual appearance, thoſe who have ſeen a lake in a violent ſhower ⟨of⟩ rain all covered over with bubbles, will have ſome idea of its agitations. My ſurpriſe was ſtill increaſed by the calmneſs and ſerenity ⟨of⟩ the weather; not a breeze, not a cloud, which might be ſuppoſed to put all nature thus into motion. I therefore ⟨warned my⟩ companion, that an earthquake was approaching; and, after ſome time, making for the ⟨ſhore⟩ with all poſſible diligence, we landed at ⟨Tropæi⟩. But we had ſcarce arrived at the Jeſuits college ⟨in⟩ that city, when our ears were ſtunned with an horrid ſound, reſembling that of an infinite number of chariots driven fiercely forward, the wheels rattling and the thongs cracking. Soon after this, a ⟨moſt⟩ dreadful earthquake enſued; ſo that the whole track upon which we ſtood ſeemed to vibrate, as we were in the ſcale of a balance that continued waving. This motion, however, ſoon grew more violent; and being no longer able to keep my legs, I was thrown proſtrate upon the ground. After ſome time, finding that I remained unhurt amidſt the general concuſſion, I reſoved to venture for ſafety; and running as faſt as I cou'd, reached the ſhore. I did not ſearch long here, till I found the boat in which I had landed, and my companion alſo. Leaving this ſeat of deſolation, we proſecuted our voyage along the coaſt; and the next day came to Rochetta, where we landed, although the earth ſtill continued in violent agitations. But we were ſcarce arrived at our inn, when we were once more obliged to return to our boat, and in about half an hour we ſaw the greateſt part of the town, and the inn at which we had ſet up, daſhed to the ground, and burying all its inhabitants beneath its ruins. Proceeding onward in our little veſſel, we at length landed at Lopizium, a caſtle mid-way between Tropæi and Euphemia the city to which we were bound. Here, wherever I turned my eyes, nothing but ſcenes of and horror appeared; towns and caſtles levelled to the ground; Stromboli, though at 60 miles diſtance, belching forth flames in an unuſual manner, and with a noiſe which I could diſtinctly hear. But my attention was quickly turned from more remote to contiguous danger. The rumbling ſound of an approaching earthquake, which by this time we were grown acquainted with, alarmed us for the conſequences. It every moment ſeemed to grow louder, and to approach more near. The place on which we ſtood now began to ſhake moſt dreadfully; ſo that, being unable to ſtand, my companions and I caught hold of whatever ſhrub grew next us, and ſupported ourſelves in that manner. After ſome time, the violent paroxyſm ceaſing, we again ſtood up, in order to proſecute our voyage to Euphemia, which lay within ſight. In the mean time, while we were preparing for this purpoſe, I turned my eyes towards the city, but could ſee only a frightful dark cloud, that ſeemed to reſt upon the place. This the more ſurpriſed us, as the weather was ſo very ſerene. We waited, therefore, till the cloud was paſſed away: then turning to look for the city, it was totally ſunk; and nothing but a diſmal and putrid lake was to be ſeen where it ſtood.
Account of the Earthquake that happened in Jamaica, in 1692.
IN 1692, an Earthquake happened in Jamaica--In two minutes, it deſtroyed the town of Port Royal, at that time the capital of the iſland; and ſunk the houſes in a gulph 40 fathoms deep. It was attended with an hollow rumbling noiſe like that of thunder: the ſtreets roſe like the waves of the ſea; firſt lifting up the horſes, and then immediately throwing them down into deep pits: All the wells diſcharged their waters with the moſt violent agitation. The ſea burſt over its bounds, and deluged all that ſtood in its way. The fiſſures of the earth were in ſome places ſo great, that one of the ſtreets appeared twice as broad as formerly. In many places it opened and cloſed again, and continued this agitation for ſome time. Of theſe openings, grear numbers might be ſeen at once. In ſome of them, the people were ſwallowed up at once; in others, the earth caught them by the middle, and cruſhed them to death; while others, more fortunate, were ſwallowed up in one chaſm, and thrown out alive by another. Other chaſms were large enough to ſwallow up the whole ſtreets; and others; ſtill more formidable, ſpouted up immenſe quantities of water drowning ſuch as the earthquake had ſpared The whole was attended with ſtenches and offenſive ſmells, the noiſe of falling mountains at a diſtance, &c.; and the ſky, in a minute's time, was turned duſt and reddiſh, like a glowing oven. Yet, as great a ſufferer as Port-Royal was, more houſes were left ſtanding therein then on the whole island beſides. Scarce a planting-houſe, or ſugar-houſe, was left ſtanding in all Jamaica. A great part of them were ſwallowed up, houſes; people, trees, and all, in one gap: in lieu of which, afterwards appeared great pools of water; which, when dried up, left nothing but ſand, without any mark that ever tree or plant had grown thereon. The ſhock was ſo violent, that it threw people down on their knees or their fa es as they were running about for ſhelter. Several houſes were ſhuffled ſome yards out of their places, and yet continued ſtanding. One Hopkins had his plantation removed half a mile from the place where it ſtood, without any conſiderable alteration. All the wells in the iſland, as well as thoſe of Port-Royal, from one fathom to ſix or ſeven deep, threw their water out at the top with great violence. Above 12 miles from the ſea, the earth gaped and ſpouted out, with a prodigious force, vaſt quantities of water into the air: yet the greateſt violences were among the mountains and rocks; and it is a general opinion, that the nearer the mountains, the greater the ſhock; and the cauſe thereof lay among them. Moſt of the rivers were ſtopped up for 24 hours by the falling of the mountains; till ſwelling up, they made themſelves new tracks and channels; tearing up, in their paſſage, trees, & . After the great ſhock, thoſe people who eſcaped got on board ſhips in the harbour, where many continued above two months; the ſhocks all that time being ſo violent, and coming ſo thick, ſometimes two or three in an hour, accompanied with frightful noiſes like a ruſhing wind, or a hollow rumbing thunder, with brimſtone blaſts, that they durſt not come aſhore. The conſequence of the earthquake was a general ſickneſs, from the noiſome vapours belched forth, which ſwept away above 300. perſons.
Of the Earthquake in Sicily, in 1693.
IN 1693 an earthquake happened in Sicily, which may juſtly be accounted one of the moſt terrible of which we have any account. It ſhook the whole iſland: and not only that, but Naples and Malta ⟨ſuffered⟩ in the ſhock. It was impoſſible for any body ⟨in⟩ this country to keep on their legs on the ⟨dancing⟩ earth; nay, thoſe that lay on the ground were ⟨rolled⟩ from ſide to ſide as on a rolling billow: ⟨high⟩ walls leaped from their founda ions ſeveral ⟨paces⟩ &c. The miſchief it did is amazing; almost all ⟨the⟩ buildings in the countries were thrown down. ⟨Twenty⟩-four cities and towns, beſide an incredible number of villages, were either destroyed or greatly damaged. We ſhall only inſtance the fate of ⟨Catania⟩, one of the moſt famous, ancient, and flouriſhing cities in the kingdom; the reſidence of ſeveral monarchs, and an univerſity. This once famous city had the greateſt ſhare in the tragedy. Father Anthon. Serrovita, being on his way thither and at the diſtance of a few miles, obſerved a ⟨black⟩ cloud like night hovering over the city, and ⟨there⟩ aroſe from the mouth of Montgibello great ⟨ſpires⟩ of flame, which ſpread all around. The ſea all of ⟨a⟩ ſudden began to roar and riſe in billows; and ⟨there⟩ was a blow, as if all the artillery in the world ⟨had⟩ been at once diſcharged. The birds flew about aſtoniſhed: the cattle in the fields ran crying, & His and his companions horſes ſtopped ſhort, trembling; ſo that they were forced to alight. They were no ſooner off, but they were lifted from the ground above two palms, when caſting his eyes towards Catania, he with amazement ſave nothing to a thick cloud of duſt in the air. This was the ſcene of their calamity, for of the magnificent Catania, there was not leaſt footſtep to be ſeen S. Bonajutus aſſures us, that of 18900 inhabitants, 18000 periſhed therein.
This and the two preceding accounts are taken from Encyclopadia Britannica 3d Editn, vol. 6--EAR.
An account of the Great Earthquake, that happened at Liſbon, November the firſt, 1755.
'THERE was a finer morning ſeen than the firſt of November (1755); the ſun ſhone out in its full luſtre; the whole face of the ſky was perfectly ſerene and clear, and not the leaſt ſignal or warning of that approaching event, which has made this once flouriſhing, opulent, and populous city a ſcene of the utmoſt horror and deſolation, except only ſuch as ſerved to alarm, but ſcarcely left a moment's time to fly from the general deſtruction.
'It was on the morning of this fatal day, between the hours of nine and ten, that I was ſat down in my apartment, just finishing a letter, when the papers and told I was writing on began to tremble with a gentle motion, which rather ſurprized me, as I could not perceive a breath of wind ſtirring; whilſt I was reflecting with myſelf what this could be owing to, but without having the leaſt apprehenſion of the real cauſe, the whole houſe began to ſhake from the very foundation, which at firſt I imputed to the rattling of ſeveral coaches in the main ſteet, which uſual paſſed that way, at this time, from Belem to the palace; but on hearkening more attentively, I was ſoon undeceived, as I found it was owing to a ſtrange frightful kind of noiſe under ground, reſembling the hollow diſtant rumbling of thunder; all this paſſed in leſs than a minute, and I muſt confeſs I now began to be alarmed, as it naturally occurred to me, that this noiſe might poſſibly be the forerunner of an earthquake, as one I remembered, which had happened about ſix or ſeven years ago, in the ſtand of Madeira, commenced in the ſame manner, though it did little or no damage.
'Upon this I threw down my pen, and ſtarted upon my feet, remaining a moment in ſuſpence, whether I ſhould ſtay in the apartment, or run into the ſtreet, as the danger in both places ſeemed equal, and ſtill flattering myſelf that this tremor might produce no other effects than ſuch inconſiderable ones as had been felt at Madeira; but in a moment I was rouſed from my dream, being inſtantly ſtunned with a moſt horrid craſh, as if every edifice in the city had tumbled down at once. The houſe I was in ſhook with such violence, that the upper ſtories immediately fell, and though my apartment (which was the first floor) did not than ſhare the ſame fate, yet everything was thrown out of its place in ſuch a manner, that it was with no ſmall difficulty I kept my feet, and expected nothing leſs than to be ſoon cruſhed to death, as the walls continued rocking to and fro in the frightfulleſt manner, opening in ſeveral places, large ſtones falling down on every ſide from the cracks, and the ends of moſt of the rafters ſtarting out from the roof. To add to this terrifying ſcene, the ſky in a moment became ſo gloomy, that I could now diſtinguiſh no particular object; it was an Egyptian darkneſs indeed, ſuch as might be felt; owing, no doubt, to the prodigious clouds of duſt and lime, raiſed from ſo violent a conceſſion, and as ſome reported, to ſulphureous exhalations, but this I cannot affirm; however, it is certain I found myſelf almoſt choaked for near ten minutes.
'As ſoon as the gloom began to diſperſe, and the violence of the ſhock ſeemed pretty much abated, the firſt object I perceived in the room was a woman ſitting on the floor, with an infant in her arms, all covered with duſt, pale and trembling; I aſked her how ſhe got hither: but her conſternation was ſo great that ſhe could give me no account of her eſcape; I ſuppoſe, that when the tremor firſt began, she ran out of her own houſe, and finding herſelf in ſuch imminent danger from the falling of ſtones, retired into the door of mine, which was almoſt contiguous to her's, for ſhelter, and when the ſhock increaſed, which filled the door with duſt and rubbiſh, ran up stairs into my apartment, which was then open: be it as it might, this was no time for curioſity. I remember the poor creature aſked me, in the utmoſt agony, if I did not think that the world was at an end; at the ſame time ſhe complained of being choaked, and begged for God's ſake I would procure her a little drink; upon this I went to a cloſet where I kept a large jar with water (which you know is ſometimes a pretty ſcarce commodity in Liſbon) but finding it broken in pieces, I told her ſhe muſt not now think of quenching her thirſt, but ſaving her life, as the houſe was juſt falling on our heads, and if a ſecond ſhock came, would certainly bury us both; I bade her take hold of my arm, and that I would endeavour to bring her into ſome place of ſecurity.
'I ſhall always look upon it as a particular providence, that I happened on this occaſion to be undreſſed, for had I dreſſed myſelf, as I propoſed, when I got out of bed, in order to breakfaſt with a friend, I ſhould, in all probability, have run into the ſtreet at the beginning of the ſhock, as the reſt of the people in the houſe did, and conſequently have had my brains daſhed out, is very one of them had; however, the imminent danger I was in did not hinder me from conſidering that my preſent dreſs, only a gown and ſlippers, would render my getting over the ruins almoſt impracticable: I had, therefore, ſtill preſence of mind enough left to put on a pair of ſhoes and a coat, the firſt that came in my way, which was every thing I ſaved, and in this dreſs I hurried down ſtairs, the woman with me, holding by my arm, and made directly to that end of the ſtreet that opens to the Tagus; but finding the paſſage this way entirely blocked up with the fallen houſes to the height of their ſecond ſtories, ⟨I⟩ turned back to the other end which led into the main ſtreet (the common thoroughfare to the palace and having helped the woman over a vaſt heap of ruins, with no ſmall hazard to my own life, juſt as we were going into the ſtreet, as there was one part I could not well climb over without the aſſiſtance of my hands, as well as feet, I deſired her to let go her hold, which ſhe did, remaining two or three feet behind me, at which time there fell a vaſt ſtone, from a tottering wall, and cruſhed both her and the child in pieces: ſo diſmal a ſpectacle at any other time would have affected me in the higheſt degree, but the dread I was in of ſharing the ſame fate myſelf, and the many inſtances of the ſame kind which preſented themſelves all around, were too ſhoking to make me dwell a moment on this ſingle object.
'I had now a long narrow ſtreet to paſs, with the houſes on each ſide four or five ſtories high, all very old, the greater part already thrown down, or continually falling, and threatening the paſſengers with inevitable death at every ſtep, numbers of whom lay killed before me, or what I thought far more deplorable--ſo bruiſed and wounded that they could not ſtir to help themſelves. For my own part, as deſtruction appeared to me unavoidable, I only wiſhed I might be made an end of at once, and not have my limbs broken, in which caſe I could expect nothing elſe but to be left upon the ſpot, lingering in miſery, like theſe poor unhappy wretches, without receiving the leaſt ſuccour from any perſon.
'As ſelf-preſervation, however, is the firſt law of nature, theſe ſad thoughts did ſo far prevail, as to make me totally deſpair. I proceeded on as faſt as I conveniently could, though with the utmoſt caution, and having at length got clear of this horrid paſſage, I found myſelf ſafe and unhurt in the large open ſpace before St. Paul's church, which had been thrown down a few minutes before, and buried a great part of the congregation, that was generally pretty numerous, this being reckoned one of the moſt populous pariſhes in Lisbon. Here I ſtood ſome tine, conſidering what I ſhould do, and not thinking myſelf ſafe in this ſituation, I came to the reſolution of climbing over the ruins of the weſt end of the church, in order to get to the river ſide, that I might be removed, as far as poſſible, from the tottering houſes, in caſe of a ſecond ſhock.
'This, with ſome difficulty, I accompliſhed, and there I found a prodigious concourſe of people, of both ſexes, and of all ranks and conditions, among whom I obſerved ſome of the principal canons of the patriarchal church, in their purple robes and ⟨clochets⟩, as theſe all go in the habit of biſhops; ſeveral prieſts who had run from the altars in their ſacerdotal veſtments in the midſt of their celebrating maſs; ladies half dreſsed, and ſome without ⟨ſhoes⟩; all theſe, whom their mutual dangers had ⟨there⟩ aſſembled as to a place of ſafety, were on their knees at prayers, with the terrors of death in their countenanccs, every one ſtriking his breaſt, and ⟨crying⟩ out inceſſantly, Miſerecordia meu Dios.
'In the midſt of our devotions, the ſecond great ⟨ſhock⟩ came on, little leſs violent than the firſt, and ⟨completed⟩ the ruin of thoſe buildings which had ⟨been⟩ already much ſhattered. The conſternation ⟨now⟩ became ſo univerſal, that the ſhrieks and cries ⟨of⟩ Miſerecordia could be diſtinctly heard from the ⟨top⟩ of St. Catherine's hill at a conſiderable diſtance ⟨away,⟩ whither a vaſt number of people had likewiſe retreated; at the ſame time we could hear the fall of the pas church there, whereby many persons were killed on the ſpot, and others mortally wounded. You may judge of the force of this ſhock when I inform you, it was ſo violent, that I could ſcarce keep on my knees, but it was attended with ſome circumſtances ſtill more dreadful than the former.--On a ſudden I heard a general outcry, 'The ſea is coming in, we ſhall be all loſt.'--Upon this turning my eyes towards the river, which in ⟨that⟩ place is near four miles broad, I could perceive heaving and ſwelling in a moſt unaccountable manner, as no wind was ſtiring; in an inſtant there appeared, at ſome ſmall diſtance, a large body of water, riſing like a mountain; it came on foaming and roaring, and ruſhed towards the ſhore with ſuch impetuoſity, that we all immediately ran for our lives as faſt as poſſible; many were actually ſwept away, and the reſt above their waiſt in water at good diſtance from the banks. For my own part I had the narroweſt eſcape, and ſhould certainly have been loſt, had I not graſped a large bean that lay on the ground, till the water returned to its channel which it did almoſt at the ſame inſtant, with equal rapidity. As there now appeared at leaſt as much danger from the ſea as the land, and I ſcarce knew whether to retire for ſhelter, I took a ſudden reſolution of returning back with my cloaths all dropping, to the area of St. Paul's: here I ſtood ſome time, and obſerved the ſhips fumbling and toſſing about, as in a violent ſtorm; ſome had broken the cables, and were carried to the other ſide of the Tagus; others were whirled round with ⟨incredible⟩ ſwiftneſs; ſeveral large boats were turned keel upwards; and all this without any wind, which ſeemed the more aſtoniſhing. It was at the time ⟨of⟩ which I am now ſpeaking, that the fine new ⟨quay⟩ built of rough marble, an an immenſe expence, was entirely ſwallowed up, with all the people on it, who had fled thither for ſafety, and had reaſon to think themſelves out of danger in ſuch a place; at the ſame time a great number of boats and ſmall veſſels, anchored near it (all likewiſe full of people, who had retired thither for the ſame purpoſe) were all ſwallowed up, as in a whirlpool, and never more appeared
This laſt dreadful incident I did not ſee with my own eyes, as it paſſed three or four ſtone throws from the ſpot where I then was, but I had the account as here given from ſeveral maſters of ſhips, who were anchored within two or three hundred yards of the quay, and ſaw the whole cataſtrophe. One of them in particular informed me, that when the ſecond ſhock came on, he could perceive the whole city waving backwards and forwards, like the ſea when the wind firſt begins to riſe; that the agitation of the earth was ſo great even under the river, that it threw up his large anchor from the mooring, which swam, as he termed it, on the ſurface of the water; that immediately upon this extraordinary concuſſion, the river roſe at once near twenty feet, and in a moment ſubſided; at which inſtant he ſaw the quay, with the whole concourſe of people upon it, ſink down, and at the ſame time every one of the boats and veſſels that were near it were drawn into the cavity, which he ſuppoſes inſtantly cloſed upon them, inaſmuch as not the leaſt ſign of a wreck was ever ſeen afterwards. This account you may give full credit to, for as to the loſs of the veſſels, it is confirmed by every body; and with regard to the quay, I went myſelf a few days after, to convince myſelf of the truth, and could not find even the ruins of a place, where I had taken ſo many agreeable walks, as this was the common rendezvous of the factory in the cool of the evening! found it all deep water, and in ſome parts ſcarcely to be fathomed.
'This is the only place I could learn which was ſwallowed up in or about Litton, though I ſaw many large cracks and fiſſures in different parts and one odd phenomenon I muſt not omit; which was communicated to me by a friend who had a houſe and wine-cellars on the other ſide of the river, viz. that the dwelling-houſe being firſt terribly ſhaken, which made all the family run out, there preſently fell down a vaſt high rock near it, that upon this the river roſe and ſubſsided in the manner already mentioned, and immediately a great number of ſmall fiſſures appeared in ſeveral contiguous pieces of ground, whence there ſpouted out like a jet d'eau a large quantity of fine white ſand, to a prodigious height.
'I had not been long in the area of St. Paul's, when I felt the third ſhock, which though ſomewhat leſs violent than the two former, the ſea ruſhed in again, and retired with the ſame rapidity, and I remained up to my knees in water, though I had gotten upon a ſmall eminence at ſome diſtance from the river, with the ruins of ſeveral intervening houſes to break its force. At this time I took notice the waters retired ſo impetuouſly, that ſome veſſels were left quite dry, which rode in ſeven fathom water: the river thus continued alternately ruſhing on and retiring ſeveral times together in ſuch ſort, that it was juſtly dreaded Liſbon would now meet the ſame fate, which a few years ago had befallen the city of [1] Lina.
'Perhaps you may think the preſent doleful ſubject here concluded; but, alas! the horrors of the firſt of November, are ſufficient to fill a volume. As ſoon as it grew dark, another ſcene preſented itſelf little leſs ſhocking than thoſe already deſcribed--the whole city appeared in a blaze, which was ſo bright that I could eaſily ſee to read by it. It may be ſaid, without exaggeration, it was on fire at leaſt in a hundred different places at once, and thus continued burning for ſix days together, without intermiſſion, or the leaſt attempt being made to ſtop its progreſs.
'I could never learn, that this terrible fire was owing to any ſubterraneous eruption, as ſome reported, but to three caules, which all concurring at the ſame time, will naturally account for the prodigious havock it made: the firſt of November being All Saints Day, a high feſtival among the Portugueſe, every altar in every church and chapel (ſome of which have more than twenty) was illuminated with a number of wax tapers and lamps, as cuſtomary, theſe ſetting fire to the curtains and timber work that fell with the ſhock, the conflagration, ſoon ſpread to the neighbouring houſes, and being there joined with the fires in the kitchen chimnies, increaſed to ſuch a degree, that it might eaſily have deſtroyed the whole city, though no other cauſe had concurred, eſpecially as it met with no interruption.
'But what would appear incredible to you, were the fact leſs public and notorious, is, that a gang of hardened villains, who had been confined, and got out of priſon when the wall fell, at the firſt ſhock, were buſily employed in ſetting fire to thoſe buildings, which ſtood ſome chance of eſcaping the general deſtruction.
'The fire, by ſome means or other, may be ſaid to have deſtroyed the whole city, at leaſt every thing that was grand or valuable in it; and the damage on this occaſion is not to be esſtimated.
'The whole number of perſons that periſhed, including thoſe who were burnt, or afterwards cruſhed to death whilſt digging in the ruins, is ſuppoſed, an the loweſt calculation, to amount to more than ſixty thouſand; and though the damage in other reſpects cannot be computed, yet you may form ſome idea of it, when I aſſure you, that this extenſive and opulent city, is now nothing but a vaſt heap of ruins, that the rich and poor are at preſent upon a level, ſome thouſands of families which but the day before had been eaſy, in their circumſtances, being now ſcattered about in the fields, wanting every conveniency of life, and finding none able to relieve them.
'A few days after the firſt conſternation was over, I ventured down into the city, by the ſafeſt ways I could pick out, to ſee if there was a poſſibility of getting any thing out of my lodgings, but the ruins were now ſo augmented by the late fire, that I was ſo far from being able to diſtinguish the individual ſpot where the houſe ſtood, that I could not even diſtinguiſh the ſtreet, amidſt the mountains of ſtone and rubbiſh which roſe on every ſide. Some days after, I ventured down again with ſeveral porters, who, having long plied in theſe parts of the town, were well acquainted with the ſituation of particular houſes; by their aſſiſtance, I at laſt diſcovered the ſpot; but was ſoon convinced, that to dig for any thing here, beſides the danger of ſuch an attempt would never anſwer the expence.
'On both the times when I attempted to make this fruitleſs ſearch, eſpecially the first, there came ſuch an intolerable ſtench from the dead bodies, that was ready to faint away, and though it did not ſeem ſo great this laſt time, yes it had nearly been more fatal to me, as contracted a fever by it, but of which, God be praiſed, I ſoon got the better. However, this made me ſo cautious for the ⟨future⟩, that I avoided paſſing near certain places, ⟨where⟩ the ſtench was ſo exceſſive that people began ⟨to⟩ dread an infection: a gentleman told me, that ⟨going⟩ into the town a few days after the earthquake, he ſaw ſeveral bodies lying in the ſtreets, ⟨ſome⟩ horribly mangled, as he ſuppoſed, by the ⟨dogs⟩, others half burnt, ſome quite roaſted; and ⟨that⟩ in certain places, particularly near the doors ⟨of⟩ churches, they lay in vaſt heaps piled one upon ⟨another⟩.'
Extracted from a Volume of Letters, publiſhed a few ⟨years⟩ ago by the Reverend Mr. Davy--See Gregory's ⟨Economy⟩ of Nature vol 2nd. page 396, to 375 incluſive, ſecond edition.
EARTHQUAKES,
In Calabria and Sicily, in 1783.
The year 1783 was fatally marked by the deſolation of ſome of the moſt fertile, moſt beautiful, and ⟨moſt⟩ celebrated provinces of Europe. The two ⟨Calabrias⟩, with a part of Sicily, were doomed to be a ⟨ſcene⟩ of the moſt tremendous, and the moſt fatal ⟨earthquakes⟩ that ever were known, even in thoſe ⟨volcanic⟩ regions. The firſt ſhock happened about ⟨noon⟩, on the 5th of February, and was ſo violent ⟨as⟩ to involve almoſt the whole of Calabria in ruin. ⟨This⟩ was but the commencement of a ſucceſſion of ⟨earthquakes⟩, which beginning from the city of ⟨Amantea⟩, on the coaſt of the Tyrrhene ſea, proceded along the weſtern coaſt to Cape Spartivento, ⟨and⟩ up the eaſtern as far as Cape D Alice, during ⟨the⟩ whole of which ſpace not a town was ⟨left⟩ undeſtroyed.
During two years repeated ſhocks continued to agitate the affrighted minds of the inhabitants ⟨of⟩ Calabria and Sicily, but the principal miſchief aroſe in the months of February and March in ⟨the⟩ firſt year. For ſeveral months the earth continued in an unceaſing tremor, which at certain intervals increaſed to violent ſhocks, ſome of which were beyond deſcription dreadful. Theſe shocks were ſometimes horizontal, whirling like a vortex; and ſometimes by pulſations or beating from the bottom upwards and were at times ſo violent that the heads of the largeſt trees almoſt touched the ground on either ſide. The rains, during a great part of the time were continual and violent, often accompanied with lightning, and furious guſts of wind. All that part of Calabria, which lay between the 38th and 39th degrees, aſſumed new appearance. Houſes, churches, towns, cities, and villages, were buried in one promiſcuous ruin. Mountains were detached from their foundations, and carried to a conſiderable diſtance. Rivers diſappeared from their beds, and again returned and overflowed the adjacent country. Screams of water ſuddenly guſhed out of the ground and ſprang to a conſiderable height. Large pieces of the ſurface of the plain, ſeveral acres in extent were carried five hundred feet from their former ſituation down into the bed of the river, and left ſtanding at nearly the diſtance of a mile, ſurrounded by large plantations of olives and mulberry trees and corn growing as well upon them as upon the ground from which they were ſeparated. Amidſt theſe ſcenes of devaſtation, the eſcapes of ſome of the unhappy ſufferers is extremely wonderful. Some of the inhabitants of houſes which were thrown to a conſiderable diſtance, were dug out from their ruins unhurt. But theſe inſtances were few, and thoſe who were ſo fortunate as to preſerve their lives in ſuch ſituations, were content to purchaſe exiſtence at the expence of broken limbs and the moſt dreadful contuſions.
During this calamitous ſcene, it is impoſſible to conceive the horrors and wretchedneſs of the uphappy inhabitants. The jaws of death were opened to ſwallow them up; ruin had ſeized all their poſſeſſions, and thoſe dear connections to which they might have looked for conſolation in their ſorrows, were for ever buried in the mercileſs abyſs. All was ruin and deſolation Every countenance indicated the extremity of affliction and deſpair; and the whole country formed a wide ſcene of undeſcribable horror.
One of the moſt remarkable towns which was deſtroyed was Caſal Nuova, where the Princeſs Genace Grimaldi, with more than four thouſand of her ſubjects, periſhed in the ſame inſtant. An inhabitant happening to be on the ſummit of a neighbouring hill at the moment of the ſhock, and looking earneſtly back to the reſidence of his family, could ſee no other remains of it than a white cloud which proceeded from the ruins on the houſes. At Bagmara, about three thouſand perſons were killed, and not fewer at Radicina and Palma. At Terra Nueva four thouſand four hundred periſhed, and rather more at Semniari. The inhabitants of Scilla eſcaped from their houſes ou the celebrated rock of that name, and with their prince, descended to a little harbour at the foot of the hill; but, in the courſe of the night a ſtupendous wave, which is ſaid to have been driven three miles over land, on its return ſwept away the unfortunate prince, with two thouſand four hundred and ſeventy-three of his ſubjects: It is computed that not leſs than forty thouſand perſons periſhed by this earthquake.
Greg Econ. of nature, vol. 2nd.
Earthquakes in Scotland.
ALTHO this kingdom is happily free ⟨from⟩ the dreadful calamities experienced ⟨in⟩ many other parts of the world, from theſe ⟨terrible⟩ convulſions of nature, yet occavional ⟨ſhocks⟩ of earthquakes have been felt in Scotland, ⟨within⟩ theſe 13 years. William Creech, Eſq in his ⟨third⟩ letter Sir J. Sinclair, annexed to the ⟨Statiſtical⟩ Account of Edinburgh, (Vol. VI. p. 624) ⟨among⟩ other phyſical phenomena, enumerates the ⟨following⟩: Upon the 10th June, 1786, a ſmart ſhock ⟨of⟩ an earthquake was felt at Whitehaven, in ⟨Cumberland⟩, which extended to the Iſle of Man and ⟨Dublin⟩, and was alſo felt in the SW. parts of Scotland. Upon the 11th of Aug. 1785, a very ⟨alarming⟩ ſhock of an earthquake was felt about two ⟨o'clock⟩ A. M. in the N. of England, viz. Northumberland, Cumberland, and in Scotland, acroſs the ⟨iſland⟩ and as far N. as Argyllſhire; and in all theſe ⟨places⟩ at the ſame inſtant of time. This ſhock ⟨extended⟩ above 150 miles from S. to N. and 100 from ⟨E.--⟩ to W.-- Upon the 25th Jan. 1787, the river ⟨Teviot⟩ became ſuddenly dry, and continued ſo far hours, and then flowed with its uſual fulneſs. "On the 26th Jan. 1787. a ſmart ſhock of ⟨an⟩ earthquake was felt in the parishes of Campſie ⟨and⟩ Strathblane, 10 miles N. of Glaſgow, and about (illegible text) A.M. A ruſhing noiſe was heard to precede ⟨the⟩ ſhock from the SE. The night preceding ⟨the⟩ earthquake, a piece of ground near Alloa, on ⟨which⟩ a mill was built, ſuddenly ſunk a foot and a half" "On Thurſday. 5th Nov. 1789, between 5 and ⟨6⟩ P. M, a ſmart ſhock of an earthquake, was felt ⟨at⟩ Crieff, at Comrie, and for many miles round ⟨the⟩ diſtrict, which is about 55 miles from Edinburgh. "At Mr. Robertſon's houſe of Lawer's, a rumbling noiſe like diſtant thunder had been heard at intervals for two months; and at the time of the ſhock, a noiſe like the diſcharge of diſtant artillery was diſtinctly heard. Nr. Dundas and Mr. Bruce of Edinburgh, were ſtanding before the fire in the drawing room, and they deſcribed the ſhock, as if a great mallet had ſuddenly ſtruck the foundation of the houſe with violence. At the village of Comrie, the inhabitants left their houſes and ran to the open fields."-"On the 11th Nov. A. M. in the ſame place, another shock was felt, which was much more violent than that of the 5th. It was accompanied with a hollow rumbling noiſe. The ice on a piece of water near the houſe of Lavers, was ſhivered to atoms." Mr. Creech, after quoting from the London Chronicle the account of the earthquake at Bergo San Sepulcro, on the 30th of Sept. 1759, adds, "It is very extraordinary, that on the ſame day, near 3 P M. two or three diſtinct ſhocks were felt at the house of Parson's Green, within a mile of Edinburgh. The houſe is ſituated on the N. ſide of Arthur's Seat, which is compoſed of an immenſe blue granite Several viſitors were in the houſe to dine with the family, and the whole company ran down ſtairs from the drawing-room, and at the ſervants from the kitchen, in the lobby, equally alarmed at what had happened. They deſcribed the ſenſation, as if the houſe had received two or three violent blows in the foundation, ſo that all the furniture ſhook."--"On the 10th Nov. 1792 three repeated ſhocks of an earthquake, accompanied with a hollow rumbling noiſe, like that of diſtant thunder, were felt at Loch Rannoch, in Periſhſhire." Mr. Creech concludes his account of theſe and other phyſical phenomena, with an extract of a letter from "Comrie, in Perthſhire," dated "Nov. 30th 1792," from which we ſhall only quote the facts ſtated. We have of late, been greatly alarmed with ſeveral very ſevere ſhocks of an earthquake. ⟨They⟩ were more ſenſible and alarming, than any ⟨felt⟩ formerly, and the noiſe attending them was ⟨uncommonly⟩ loud and tremulous It appeared probably more ſo, from the ſtillneſs of the atmoſphere and the reverberation of the ſurrounding mountains. The houſes were greatly ſhaken, and ⟨the⟩ furniture toſſed from its place. The weather ⟨had⟩ been uncommonly variable, and changed ⟨from⟩ high guſts of wind, to a deep calm, a few days before the ſevereſt ſhocks of the earthquake. The air was moiſt and hazy, and the clouds ſeemed charged with electricity"
Two Shocks of an Earthquake, (ſimilar to thoſe which began at the ſame place ſome years ago) had been lately felt at and near Comrie in Perthſhire, one on the 17th of January, and the other on the 24th of February.
The motion of the Earth was from Weſt to Eaſt and laſted about two ſeconds, but the Subterraneous noiſe which accompanied, it continued much longer.
FINIS.
Awful Phenomena
of Nature
PART SECOND,
VOLCANOS.
AN ACCOUNT
OF TWO
GREAT and DREADFUL
Volcanic Eruptions, &c.
Eruption of Mount Etna in Sicily, 1699.
MANY ſtriking remains of the great eruption in 1669 are ſtill to be ſeen, and will long ⟨continue⟩ as memorials of that dreadful event which overwhelmed Catania, and all the adjacent country. Tremendous earthquakes ſhook the iſland, and loud subterraneous bellowings were heard in the mountain. During ſome weeks, the ſun ceaſed to appear, and the day ſeemed changed into night. Borelli, who was a witneſs to theſe terrible phenomena, ſays, that at length a rent, twelve miles in length, was opened ⟨in⟩ the mountain, in ſome places of which, when ⟨they⟩ threw down ſtones, they could not hear them reach the bottom. Burning rocks, ſixty palms in length, were thrown to the diſtance of a mile, and leſſer ſtones were carried three miles. After the moſt violent ſtruggles, and a ſhaking of the whole iſland, an immenſe torrent of lava guſhed from the rent, and ſprung up into the air to the height of ſixty palms, whence it poured down the mountain and overwhelmed every object in its way in one promiſcuous ruin.
This deſtructive torrent, which burſt from the ſide of Ætna at a place called Ricini, ruſhed impetuouſly againſt the beautiful mountain of Montpelieri, and pierced into the ground to a conſiderable depth; then dividing and ſurrounding the mountain; it united again on the ſouth ſide, and poured deſolation upon the adjacent country. The progreſs of the torrent was at firſt at the rate of ſeven miles a day, but it afterwards took four days ⟨to⟩ travel ſixteen; wherever it directed its courſe, the whole appearance of nature was charged, ⟨ſeveral⟩ hills were formed in places which were formerly valleys, and a large lake was ſo entirely filled ⟨up⟩ by the melted maſs, as not to leave a veſtige remaining. In its courſe it deſcended upon a vineyard, belonging to a convent of Jeſuits, which was formed upon an ancient and probably a very thin layer ⟨of⟩ lava, with a number of cavenrs and crevices under it. The liquid maſs entering into theſe excavation ſoon filled them up, and by degrees bore up the vineyard, which in a ſhort time, to the great aſtoniſhment of the ſpectators, began to move away and was carried by the torrent to a conſiderable diſtance. In 1770 ſome remains of this vineyard were ſtill to be ſeen, but the greater part of it all entirely deſtroyed.
In vain did the terrified inhabitants of Catania recur for protection to the miraculous veil, or expect defence from the lofty walls of their city. After deſtroying ſeveral convents, churches, and villages, this fiery current directed its courſe to Catania, where it poured impetuouſly over the ramparts, which are near ſixty feet in height, and covered up five of its baſtions, with the intervening curtains. After laying waſte a great part of this beautiful city, and entirely deſtroying ſeveral valuable remains of antiquity, its further progreſs was ſtopped by the ocean, over whoſe banks it poured its deſtructive current. In its courſe from the rent in the mountain, till its arrival in the ſea, it is ſaid to have totally deſtroyed the property of near thirty thouſand perſons.
Eruption of Mount Veſuvius in Italy, 1794.
THE mountain had been remarkably quiet for ſeven months before the late eruption, nor did the uſual ſmoke iſſue from its crater, but at times it emitted ſmall clouds of ſmoke that floated in the air in the ſhape of little trees. It was remarked by the Father Antonio di Petrizzi, a capuchin friar (who printed an account of the late eruption) from his convent cloſe to the unfortunate town of Torre del Greco, that for ſome days preceding this eruption, a thick vapour was ſeen to ſurround the mountain, about a quarter of a mile beneath its crater, and it was obſerved by him and others at the ſame time, that both the ſun and the moon had often an unuſual reddiſh caſt,
The water of the great fountain at Torre del Grcco began to decreaſe ſome days before the eruption, ſo that the wheels of a corn mill, worked by that water, moved very ſlowly; it was neceſſary in all the other wells of the town and its neighbourhood to lengthen the ropes daily, in order to reach the water; and ſome of the wells became quite dry. Although most of the inhabitants were ſenſible of this phenomenon, not one of them ſeems to have ſuſpected the true cauſe of it. Eight days alſo before the eruption, a man and two boys being in ⟨a⟩ vineyard above Torre del Greco (aud preciſely on the spot where one of the new mouths opened whence the principal current of lava that deſtroyed the town iſſued) were much alarmed by a ſudden puff of ſmoke which iſſued from the earth cloſe ⟨to⟩ them, and was attended with a ſlight exploſion.
Had this circumſtance, with that of the ſubterraneous noiſes, heard at Reſina for two days before the eruption (with the additional one of the decreaſe of water in the wells) been communicated ⟨at⟩ the time, it would have required, no great foreſight to have been certain than an eruption of the ⟨volcano⟩ was near at hand, and that its force was directed particularly towards that part of the mountain.
On the 12th of June 1794, in the morning, there was a violent fall of rain, and ſoon after the inhabitants of Reſina, ſituated directly over the ancient town of Herculaneum, were ſenſible of a rumbling ſubterraneous noiſe, which was not heard at Naples.
From the month of January to the month ⟨of⟩ May, the atmoſphere had been generally calm, and there was continued dry weather, In the month of May there was a little rain, but the weather was unuſually ſultry. For ſome days preceding the eruption, the Duke della Torre, a learned and ingenuous nobleman, who publiſhed two letters upon ⟨the⟩ ſubject of the eruption, obſerved by his electrometers, that the atmoſphere was charged in ex (illegible text) with the electric fluid, and continued ſo for ſeveral days during the eruption.
About eleven o'clock on the night of the 12th of June, the inhabitants of Naples were all ſenſible of a violent ſhock of an earthquake; the undulatory motion was evidently from eaſt to weſt, and appeared to have laſted near half a minute. The ſky, which had been quite clear, was ſoon after covered with black clouds. The inhabitants of the towns and villages, which are very numerous at the foot of Veſuvius, felt this earthquake ſtill more ſenſibly, and ſay, that the ſhock at firſt was from the bottom upwards, after which followed the undulation from eaſt to weſt. This earthquake extended all over the Campagna Felice; and the royal palace at Caſerta, which is fifteen miles from Naples, and one of the moſt magnificent and ſolid buildings in Europe (the walls being eighteen feet thick) was ſhaken in ſuch a manner as to cauſe great alarm, and all the chamber bells rang. It was likewiſe much felt at Beneventum, about thirty miles from Naples; and at Ariano in Puglia, which is at a much greater diſtance; both theſe towns; indeed, have been of ten afflicted with earthquakes.
On Sunday the 15th of June, ſoon after ten o'clock at night, another ſhock of an earthquake was felt at Naples, but did not appear to be quite ſo violent as that of the 12th, nor did it laſt ſo long; at the ſame moment a fountain of bright fire, attended with a very black ſmoke and a loud report, was ſeen to iſſue, and riſe to a great height, from about the middle of the cone of Veſuvius; ſoon after another of the ſame kind broke out at ſome little diſtance lower down; then, as is ſuppoſed by the blowing up of a covered channel full of red hot lava, it had the appearance as if the lava had taken its courſe directly up the ſteep cone of of the volcano. Freſh fountains ſucceeded one another haſtily, and all in a direct line tending, for about a mile and a half down, towards the towns of Reſina and Torre del Greco. Sir William Hamilton could count fifteen of them, but believes ⟨there⟩ were others obſcured by the ſmoke. It ſeems probable, that all theſe fountains of fire, from ⟨them⟩ being in ſuch an exact line, proceeded from o(illegible text) and the ſame long fiſſure down the flanks of the mountain, and that the lava and other ⟨volcanic⟩ matter forced its way out of the wideſt parts of the crack, and formed there the little mountains and craters that will be deſcribed in their proper ⟨place.⟩ It is impoſſible that any deſcription can give an ⟨idea⟩ of the blazing ſcene, or of the horrid noiſes that attended this great operation of nature. It was ⟨a⟩ mixture of the loudeſt thunder, with inceſſant reports, like thoſe from a numerous heavy artillery accompanied by a continued hollow murmer, like that of the roaring of the o ean during a violent ſtorm; and, added to there was another blowing noiſe, like that of the aſcending of a large flight of ſky-rockets, or that which is produced by the action of the enormous bellows on the furnace of the Carron iron foundery in Scotland. The frequent falling of the huge ſtones and ſcoriæ, which were thrown up to an incredible height from ſome of the new mouths, one of which having been ſince meaſured by the Abbe Tata was ten feet high, and thirty-five in circumference, contributed undoubtedly to the concuſſion of the earth and air, which kept all the houſes at Naples for ſeveral hours in ⟨a⟩ conſtant tremor, every door and window ſhaking and rattling inceſſantly, and the bells ringing. This was an awful moment! The ſky, from a bright full moon and ſtarlight, began to be obſcured; the moon had preſently the appearance of being in an eclipſe, and ſoon after was totally loft in obſcurity. The murmer of the prayers and lamentations of ⟨a⟩ numerous populace forming various proceſſions and parading in the ſtreets, added to the horror As the lava did not appear to have yet a ſufficient vent, and it was now evident that the earthquakes already felt had been occaſioned by the air and fiery matter confined within the bowels of the mountain, and probably at no ſmall depth (conſidering the extent of thoſe earthquakes) Sir William recommended so the company that was with him. who began to be much alarmed, rather to go and view the mountain at ſome greater diſtance, and in the open air, than to remain in the houſe, which was on the ſea ſide, and in the part of Naples that is neareſt and moſt expoſed to Veſuvius. They accordingly proceeded to Poſilipo, and viewed the conflagration, now become ſtill more conſiderable, from the ſea ſide under that mountain; but whether from the eruption having increaſed, or from the loud reports of the volcanic exploſions being repeated by the mountain behind them, the noiſe was much louder, and more alarming than that they had heard in their firſt poſition, at leaſt a mile nearer to Veſuvius After ſome time, and which was about two o'clock in the morning of the 16th, having observed that the lavas ran in abundance, freely, and with great velocity, having made a conſiderable progreſs toward Reſina, the town which it firſt threatened, and that the fiery vapours which had been confined had now free vent through many parts of a crack of more than a mile and a half in length, as was evident fro a the quantity of inflamed matter and black ſmoke, which continued to iſſue from the new mouths above mentioned, without any interruption, our author concluded that at Naples all danger from earthquakes, which had been his greateſt apprehenſion, was totally removed, and he returned to his former ſtation at St. Lucia at Naples.
All this time there was not the ſmalleſt appearance of fire or ſmoke from the crater on the ſummit Veſuvius; but the black ſmoke and aſhes ⟨iſſued⟩ continually from ſo many new mouths, or ⟨craters⟩ formed an enormous and denſe body of clouds ⟨over⟩ the whole mountain, and which began to give ⟨ſigns⟩ of being replete with the electric fluid, by ⟨exhilerating⟩ flaſhes of that ſort of zig zag lightning, ⟨which⟩ in the volcanic language of the country is ⟨called⟩ ferilli, and which is the conſtant attendant on ⟨the⟩ moſt violent eruptions.
Sir William Hamilton proceeds to remark, ⟨that⟩ during thirty years that he had reſided at ⟨Naples⟩ and in which ſpace of time he had been witneſs ⟨to⟩ many eruptions of Veſuvius, of one ſort or ⟨other,⟩ he never ſaw the cloud of ſmoke replete with ⟨an⟩ electric fire, except in the two great eruptions ⟨of⟩ 1767, that of 1779, and during this more ⟨formidable⟩ one. The electric fire, in the year 17(illegible text) that played conſtantly within the enormous ⟨black⟩ cloud over the crater of Veſuvius, and ſeldom ⟨quitted⟩ it, was exactly ſimilar to that which is produced, on a very ſmall ſcale, by the conductor of ⟨a⟩ electrical machine communicating with an ⟨inſulted⟩ plate of glaſs, thinly ſpread over with metallic ⟨fillings⟩, &c. when the electric matter continues to pl(illegible text) over it in zig zag lines without quitting it. Не ⟨was⟩ not ſenſible of any noiſe attending that operation in 1779; whereas the diſcharge of the electric matter from the volcanic clouds during this eruption, and particularly the ſecond and third day cauſed exploſions like thoſe of the loudeſt thunder and indeed the forms raiſed evidently by the ⟨ſole⟩ power of the volcano, reſembled in every reſpect all other thunder-forms; the lightning falling and deſtroying everything in its courſe. The houſe of the Marquis of Berio at S. Jorio, ſituated at the foot of Veſuvius, during one of theſe volcanic ſtorms was ſtruck with lightning, which having ſhattered many doors and windows, and damaged the furniture, left for ſome time a ſtrong ſmell of ſulphur in the rooms it paſſed through. Out of theſe gigantic and volcanic clouds, beſides the lightning, both during this eruption and that of 1979, the author adds, he had, with many others, ſeen balls of fire iſſue, and ſome of conſiderable magnitude, which burſting in the air, produced nearly the ſame effect as that from the air-baloons in fire-works, the electric fire that came out having the appearance of the ſerpents with which thoſe fire-work baloons are often filled. The day on which Naples was in the greateſt danger from the volcanic clouds, two ſmall balls of fire, joined together by a ſmall link like a chain-ſhot, fell close to his Caſino at Poſilipo; they ſeparated, and one fell in the vineyard above the houſe, and the other in the ſea, ſo cloſe to it that he heard the ſplaſh in the water. The Abbe Tata, in his printed account of this eruption, mentions an enormous ball of this kind which flew out of the crater of Veſuvius while he was ſtanding on the edge of it, and which burſt in the air at ſome diſtance form the mountain, ſoon after which he heard a noiſe like the fall of ſtones, or of a heavy ſhower of hail. During the eruption of the 15th at night, few of the inhabitants of Naples, from the dread of earthquakes, ventured to go to their beds. The common people were either employed in devout proceſſions in the ſtreets, or were ſleeping on the quays and open places; the nobility and gentry, having cauſed their horſes to be taken from their carriages, ſlept in them in the ſquares and open places, or on the high roads just out of the town. For ſeveral days, while the volanic ſtorms of thunder and lightning laſted, the inhabitants at the foot of the volcano, both on the ſea ſide and ⟨the⟩ Somma ſide, were often ſenſible of a tremor in ⟨the⟩ earth, as well as of the concuſſions in the air, ⟨but⟩ at Naples only the earthquakes of the 12th ⟨and⟩ 15th of June were diſtinctly, and univerſally, ⟨felt,⟩ this fair city could not certainly have reſiſted, ⟨had⟩ not thoſe earthquakes been fortunately of a ⟨ſhort⟩ duration Thoughout this eruption, which continued in force about ten days, the fever of ⟨the⟩ mountain, as has been remarked in former eruptions, ſhowed itſelf to be in ſome meaſure periodical and generally was moſt violent at the break of day at noon, and at midnight.
About four o'clock in the morning of the 16th, the crater of Veſuvius began to ſhew ſigns of being open, by ſome black ſmoke iſſuing out of it; and at day-break another ſmoke, tinged with red, iſſuing from an opening near the crater, but on the other ſide of the mountain, and facing the ⟨town⟩ of Ottaiano, ſhewed that a new mouth had opened there from which a conſiderable ſtream of lava iſſued, and ran with great velocity through a wood which it burnt and having run about three miles in a few hours it ſtopped before it had arrived at the vineyards and cultivated lands. The crater, and all the conical part of Veſuvius, was ſoon involved in clouds and darkneſs, and ſo it remained for ſeveral days; but above theſe clouds, although of a great height, freſh columns of ſmoke were ſeen from the crater, riſing furiouſly ſtill higher, until the whole maſs remained in the uſual form of a pine tree; and in that gigantic maſs of heavy clouds the ferilli, or volcanic lightning, was frequently viſible, even in the day time. About five o'clock in the morning of the 16th, the lava which had firſt broken out from the ſeveral new mouths on the ſouth ſide of the mountain, had reached the ſea, and was running into it, having overwhelmed, burnt, and deſtroyed the greateſt part of Torre del Greco, the principal ſtream of lava having taken its courſe through the very center of the town. They obſerved from Naples, that when the lava was in the vineyards in its way to the town, there iſſued often, and in different parts of it, a bright pale flame, and very different from the deep red of the lava; this was occaſioned by the burning of the trees that ſupported the vines.. Soon after the beginning of this eruption, aſhes fell thick at the foot of the mountain, all the way from Portici to the Torre del Greco; and what is remarkable, although there were not at that time any clouds in the air, except thoſe of ſmoke from the mountain, the aſhes were wet, and accompanied with large drops of water, which were to the taſte very ſalt; the road, which is paved, was as wet as it there had been a heavy ſhower of rain. Thoſe aſhes were black and coarſe, like the ſand of the ſea-ſhore, whereas thoſe that fell there, and at Naples ſome days after, were of a light-grey, and as fine as Spaniſh ſnuff, or powder bark. They contained many ſaline particles; whoſe aſhes that lay on the ground, expoſed to the burning ſun, had a coat of the whiteſt powder on their ſurface, which to the taſte was extremely ſalt and pungent. In the printed account of the eruption by Emanuel Scotri, doctor of phyſic and profeſſor of philoſophy in the univerſity of Naples; he ſuppoſes (which appears to be highly probable) that the water which accompanied the fall of the aſhes at the beginning of the eruption, was produced by ⟨the⟩ mixture of the inflammable and dephlogiſticated air.
By the time that the lava had reached the ſea, between five and ſix o'clock in the morning of the 6th, Veſuvius was ſo completely involved in darkneſs, that the violent operation of nature ⟨that⟩ was going on there could no longer be diſcerned, and ſo it remained for ſeveral days, but the dreadful noiſe, and the red tinge on the clouds over the top of the mountain, were evident ſigns of the activity of the fire underneath The lava ran ⟨back⟩ ſlowly at Torre del Greco after it had reached the ſea; and on the 17th of June in the morning, ⟨its⟩ courſe was ſtopped, excepting that at times a little rivulet of liquid fire iſſed from under the ſmoking ſcoriae into the ſea, and cauſed a hiſſing noiſe, and a white ſmoke; at other times, a quantity of large ſcoriae were puſhed off the ſurface of the body ⟨of⟩ the lava into the ſea, diſcovering that it was ⟨redhot⟩ under that ſurface; and even to the latter end ⟨of⟩ Auguſt the center of the thickeſt part of the ⟨lava⟩ that covered the town retained its red heat. ⟨The⟩ breadth of the lava that ran into the ſea, and formed a new promontory there, after having deſroyed the greateſt part of the town of Torre ⟨del⟩ Greco, having been exactly meaſured by the du(illegible text) della Torre, is of Engliſh feet 1204. Its height ⟨above⟩ the ſea is twelve feet, and as many feet under water; ſo that its whole height is twenty-four feet; ⟨it⟩ extends into the ſea 626 feet. The ſea water was boiling as in a cauldron, where it waſhed the fo(illegible text) of this new formed promontory: and although c(illegible text) author was at leaſt a hundred yards from it, obſerving that the ſea ſmoaked near his boat, he put ⟨his⟩ hand into the water, which was literally ſcalded and by this time his boatmen obſerved that ⟨the⟩ pitch from the bottom of the boat was melting ⟨faſt⟩ and floating on the ſurface of the ſea, and that ⟨the⟩ boat began to leak; he therefore retired haſtily from this ſpot, and landed at ſome diſtance from ⟨the⟩ hot lava. The town of Torre del Greco ⟨containing⟩ about 18,000 inhabitants, all of whom (except about 15, who from either age or infirmity could not be moved, and were overwhelmed by the lava in their houſes) eſcaped either to Caſtel-a-mare, which was the ancient Stabiae, or to Naples; but the rapid progreſs of the lava was ſuch, after it had altered its courſe from Reſina; which town it firſt threatened, and had joined a freſh lava that iſſued from one of the new mouths in a vineyard, about a mile from the town, that it ran like a torrent over the town of Torre del Greco, allowing the unfortunate inhabitants ſcarcely time to ſave their lives; their goods and effects were totally abandoned, and indeed ſeveral of the inhabitants, whoſe houſes had been ſurounded with lava while they remained in them, eſcaped from them, and ſaved their lives the following day, by coming out of the tops of their houſes, and walking over the ſcoriae on the ſurface of the redhot lava. Five or ſix old nuns were taken out of a convent in this manner, on the 16th of June, and carried over the hot lava; their ſtupidity was ſuch, as not to have been the leaſt alarmed, or ſenſible of their danger: one of upwards of ninety years of age was found actually warming herſelf at a point of redhot lava, which touched the window of her cell, and which ſhe ſaid was very comfortable; and though now apprized of their danger, they were ſtill very unwilling to leave the convent, in which the had been ſhut up almoſt from their infancy, their ideas being as limited as the ſpace they inhabited. Having been deſired to pack up whatever they had that was moſt valuable, they all loaded themſelves with biſcuits and ſweetmeats, and it was but by accident it was diſcovered that they had left a ſum of money behind them, which was recovered for them.
The lava paſſed over the center and beſt part of the town; no part of the cathedral remained above it, except the upper part of a ſquare brick tower, in which were the bells; and it is a curious circumſtance, that thoſe bells, although they were neither cracked nor melted, were deprived of their tone as much as if they had been cracked. When the lava firſt entered the ſea it threw up the water to a prodigious height and particularly when two points of lava met and incloſed a pool of water, that water was thrown up with great violence, and a loud report: at this time, as well as the day after alſo. a great many boiled fiſh were ſeen floating on the ſurface of the ſea.
The lava over the cathedral, and in other parts of the town, is ſaid to be upwards of forty feet in thickneſs; the general height of the lava during its whole courſe was about twelve feet, and in ſome parts not leſs than a mile in breadth.
When Sir William Hamilton viſited it on the 17th of June, the tops of the houſes were juſt viſible here and there in ſome parts, and the timbers within ſtill burning cauſed a bright flame to iſſue out of the ſurface; in other parts, the ſuplhur and ſalts exhaled in a white ſmoke from the lava, forming a white or yellow cruſt on the ſtoriae round the ſpots where it iſſued with the greateſt force. He often heard little exploſions, and ſaw that there blew up like little mines, fragments of the ſcoriae and aſhes into the air; theſe he ſuppoſes to have been occaſioned either by rarefied air in confined cellars, or, perhaps, by ſmall portions of guopowder taking fire, as few in that country are without a gun and ſome little portion of gunpowder in their houſes. As the church feaſts there are uſually attended with fireworks and crackers, a firework-maker of the town had a very great quantity of fireworks ready made for an approaching feaſt, and ſome gunpowder, all of which had been ſhut up in his houſe by the lava a part of which, had even entered one of the rooms; yet he actually ſaved all his fireworks and gunpowder ſome days after, by carrying them ſafely over the ſcoriae of the lava, while it was red hot underneath. The heat in the ſtreets of the town, at this time, was ſo great as to riſe the thermometer to very near one hundred degrees, and close to the hot lava it roſe much higher. Sir William remarked in his way home, that there was a much greater quantity of the petroleum floating on the ſurface of the ſea, and diffuſing a very ſtrong and offenſive ſmell, than was uſual; for at all times in calms, patches of this bituminous oil are to be ſeen floating on the ſurface of the ſea between Portici and Naples, and particularly oppoſite a village called Pietra Bianca. The minute aſhes continued falling at Naples; and the mountain, totally obſcured by them, continued to alarm the inhabitants with repeated loud exploſions.
On Wedneſday June 18, the wind having for a ſhort ſpace of time cleared away the thick cloud from the top of Veſuvius, it was now diſcovered that a great part of its crater, particularly on the weſt ſide oppoſite Naples, had fallen in, which it probably did about four o'clock in the morning of that day, as a violent ſhock of an earthquake was felt at that moment at Reſina, and other parts ſituated at the foot of the volcano. The clouds of ſmoke, mixed with the aſhes, were of ſuch a denſity as to appear to have the greateſt difficulty in forcing their paſſage out of the now widly extended mouth of Veſuvius, which, ſince the top fell in, is deſcribed as not much ſhort of two miles in circumference. One cloud heaped on another, and ſucceeding one another inceſſantly; formed in a few hours ſuch a gigantic and elevated column of the darkeſt hue over the mountain, as ſeemed to threaten Naples with immediate deſtruction, ⟨having⟩ at one time been bent over the city, and ⟨appearing⟩ to be much too maſive and ponderous to ⟨remain⟩ long ſuſpended in the air; it was, beſides, ⟨replete⟩ with the ferilli, or volcanic lightning, which ⟨was⟩ ſtronger than common lightning.
Veſuvius was at this time completely covered, ⟨it⟩ were all the old black lavas, with a thick coat ⟨of⟩ thoſe fine light grey aſhes already fallen, which ⟨gave⟩ it a cold and horrid appearance; and in compariſon of the abovementioned enormous maſs of clouds which certainly, however it may contradict our ⟨idea⟩ of the extenſion of our atmoſphere, roſe many miles above the mountain, it appeared like a molehill although the perpendicular height of Veſuvius from the level of the ſea, is more than three thouſand ſix hundered feet. The abbe Braccini, as appears in his printed account of the eruption ⟨of⟩ Mount Veſuvius in 1631, meaſured with a quadrant the elevation of a maſs of clouds of the ſame nature which was formed over Veſuvius during that great eruption, and found it to exceed thirty miles ⟨in⟩ height. Dr. Scotti, in his printed account of this eruption, ſays, that the height of this threatning cloud of ſmoke and aſhes, meaſured from Naples, was found to be of an elevation of thirty degrees.
The forms of thunder and lightning, attended at tin's with heavy falls of rain and aſhes, cauſing the most deſtructive torrents of water and glutinous mud, mixed with huge ſtones, and trees torn up by the roots, continued more or leſs to afflict the inhabitants on both ſides of the volcano until the 7th of July, when the laſt torrent deſtroyed many hundred acres of cultivated land, between the towns of Torre del Greco and Torre dell' Annunziata. Some of theſe torrents, both on the ſea ſide and the ⟨Somma⟩ ſide of the mountain, came down with a horrid ruſhing noiſe; and ſome of them, after having forced their way through the narrow gullies of the mountain, roſe to the height of more than twenty feet, and were near half a mile in extent. The mind, of which the torrents were compoſed, being a kind of natural mortar, completely caſed up and ruined ſome thouſand acres of rich vineyards; for it ſoon becomes ſo hard, that nothing leſs than a pickaxe can break it up.
The laudable curioſity of our author induced him to go upon Mount Veſuvius, as ſoon as it was conſiſtent with any degree of prudence, which was not until the 30th of June, and even then it was attended with ſome riſk. The crater of Veſuvius, except at ſhort intervals, had been continually obſcured by the volcanic clouds from 10th, and was ſo on that day, with frequent flaſhes of lightning playing in thoſe clouds, and attended as uſual with a noiſe like thunder; and the fine aſhes were ſtill falling on Veſuvius, but ſtill more on the mountain of Somma. Sir William went up the uſual way by Reſina, and obſerved, in his way through that village, that many of the ſtones of the pavement had been looſened, and were deranged by the earthquakes, particularly by that of the 18th, which attended the falling in of the crater of the volcano, and which had been ſo violent as to throw many people down, and obliged all the inhabitants of Reſina to quit their houſes haſtily, to which they did not dare return for two days. The leaves of all the vines were burnt by the aſhes that had fallen on them; and many of the vines themſelves were buried under the aſhes, and great branches of the trees that ſupported them had been torn out by their weight. In ſhort, nothing but ruin and deſolation was to be ſeen. The aſhes at the foot of the mountain were about ten or ⟨twelve⟩ inches thick on the ſurface of the earth, but ⟨in⟩ proportion as he aſcended, their thickneſs increaſed to ſeveral feet, no leſs than nine or zen in ⟨ſome⟩ parts; ſo that the ſurface of the old rugged lava that before was almoſt impraticable, was now become a perfect plain. over which he walked ⟨with⟩ the greateſt eaſe. The aſhes were of a light ⟨grey⟩ colour, and exceedingly fine, ſo that by the ⟨foot⟩ ſteps being marked on them as on ſnow, he learns that three ſmall parties had been up before him. He ſaw likewiſe the track of a fox, which appeared ⟨to⟩ have been quite bewildered, to judge from the many turns he had made. Even the traces of lizard and other little animals, and of inſects, were viſible on theſe fine aſhes. Sir William and his company on aſcended to the ſpot whence the lava of the 15th firſt iſſued, and followed the courſe of it, which was ſtill very hot (although covered with ſuch a thick coat of aſhes) quite down to the ſea at Torre del Greco, which is more than five miles. It was not poſſible to get up to the great crater of Veſuvius nor had any one yet attempted it. The horrid chaſms that exiſted from the foot were the late eruption firſt took place, in a ſtrait line for near two miles towards the ſea, cannot be imagined. They formed vallies more than two hundred feet deep, and from half a mile to a mile wide; and where the fountains of fiery matter exiſted during the eruption, were little mountains with deep craters. Ten thouſand men, in as many years, could not make ſuch an alteration on the face of Veſuvius. Except the exhalations of ſulphurous and vitriolic vapours, which broke out from different ſpots of the line abovementioned, and tinged the ſurface of the aſhes and ſcoriae in thoſe parts with either a deep or pale-yellow, with a reddiſh ⟨ochre⟩ colour, or a bright white and in ſome parts with a deep green and azure blue (ſo that is whole ⟨together⟩ had the effect of an iris) all had the appearance of a ſandy deſert. Our adventurers then ⟨went⟩ on the top of ſeven of the moſt considerable of the new formed mountains, and locked into their ⟨craters⟩, which on ſome of them appeared to be little ſhort of half a mile in circumference; and although the exterior perpendicular heigh of any of them did not exceed two hundred feet, the depth of their inverted one within was three times as great. It would not have been poſſible to have ⟨breathed⟩ on theſe new mountains near their craters, if they had not taken the precaution of tying a double handkerchief over their mouths and noſtrils; and even with that precaution they could not reſiſt long, the fumes of the vitriolic acid were ſo exceedingly penetrating, ⟨and⟩ of ſuch a ſuffocating quality. They found in one a double crater, like ⟨two⟩ funnels joined together; and in all there was ſome little ſmoke and depoſitions of ſalts and ſulphurs, of the various colours abovementioned, juſt as is commonly ſeen adhering to the inner walls of the principal crater of Veſuvius.
Two or three days after they had been there, one of the new mouths, into which they had locked, ſuddenly made a great exploſion of ſtones, ſmoke, and aſhes, which would certainly have proved fatal to any one who might unfortunately have been there at the time of the exploſion. We read of a ſimilar accident having proved fatal to more than twenty people who had the curioſity to look into the crater of the Monte Nuovo, near Puzzuoli, a few days after its formation, in the year 1538. The 15th of Auguſt, Sir William ſaw a ſudden exploſion of ſmoke and aſhes thrown to an extreme height out of the great crater of Veſuvius, that muſt have deſtroyed anyone within half a mile of it: and (illegible text) on the 19th of July a party not only had viſited the crater, but had deſcended 170 feet within it. Which they were on the mountain, two whirlwinds, exactly like thoſe that form water-ſpouts at ſea, made their appearance; and one of them, which was very near, made a ſtrange ruſhing noiſe, and having taken up a great quantity of the fine aſhes, formed them into an elevated ſpiral column, which, with ⟨a⟩ whirling motion and great rapidity, was carried towards the mountain of Somma, where it broken and was diſperſed. One of our author's ſervants, employed in collecting of ſulphur, or ſal ammoniac, which cryſtalizies near the ſumaroli, as they are called (and which are the ſpots whence the hot vapour iſſues out of the freſh lava) found to his great ſurprize, an exceeding cold wind iſſue from a fiſſure very near the hot ſumaroli upon his leg. In a vineyard not in the ſame line with the new-formed mountains juſt deſcribed, but in a right line from them, at the diſtance of little more than a mile from Torre del Greco, they found three or four more of theſe new-formed mountains with craters out of which the lava flowed, and by uniting with the ſtreams that came from the higher mouths, and adding to their heat and fluidity, enabled the whole current to make ſo rapid a progreſs over the unfortunate town, as ſcarcely to allow its inhabitants ſufficient time to eſcape with their lives. The rich vineyards belonging to the Torre del Greco, and which produced the wine called Lacrima Chrifti, that were buried and totally deſtroyed by this lava, conſiſted of more than three thouſand acres; but the deſtruction of the vineyards by the torrents of mud and water, at the foot of the mountain of Somma, was much more extenſive.
In that part of the country, the firſt ſigns of a ⟨torrent⟩ that our author met with, was near the village of the Madonna dell' Arco, and he paſſed ſeveral ⟨others⟩ between that and the town of Ottaieno; one ⟨near⟩ Trochia, and two near the town of Somma, ⟨were⟩ the moſt conſiderable, and not leſs than a ⟨quarter⟩ of a mile in breadth; and, according to the ⟨teſtimony⟩ of eye witneſſes, when they poured down ⟨from⟩ from the mountain of Somma, they were from ⟨twenty⟩ to thirty feet high; the matter of theſe torrents was a liquid glutinous mud, compoſed of ⟨ſcoriae⟩, aſhes, ſtones (ſome of an enormous ſize) mixed with trees that had been torn up by the roots. ⟨Such⟩ torrents, as it may well be imagined, were irreſiſtable, and carried off every thing before them; ⟨houſes⟩, walls, trees, and not leſs than four thouſand ſheep and other cattle. At Somma, a team ⟨of⟩ eight oxen, which were drawing a large timber ⟨tree⟩ were at once carried off, and never were heard ⟨of⟩ more.
The appearance of theſe torrents was like that ⟨of⟩ all other torrents in mountainous countries, except that what had been mud was become a perfect ⟨cement⟩, on which nothing leſs than a pickaxe could ⟨make⟩ any impreſſion. The vineyards and cultivated ⟨lands⟩ were here much more ruined; and the limbs ⟨of⟩ the trees much more torn by the weight of the ⟨aſhes⟩, then thoſe which have been already deſcribed on the ſea ſide of the volcano.
The abbe Tata, in his printed account of this ⟨eruption⟩, has given a good idea of the abundance, ⟨the⟩ great weight, and glutinous quality of theſe aſhes, when he ſays, that having taken a branch from ⟨a⟩ fig-tree ſtill ſtanding near the town of Somma, on ⟨which⟩ were only ſix leaves, and two little unripe figs, ⟨and⟩ having weighed it with the aſhes attached to it, ⟨and⟩ I found it to be thirty one ounces; when having waſhed off the volcanic matter, it ſcarcely weighed three.
In the town of Somma, our author found ⟨ſome⟩ churches and about ſeventy houſes without roofs, ⟨and⟩ full of aſhes. The great damage on that ſide of ⟨the⟩ mountain, by the fall of the aſhes and the torrent happened on the 18th, 19thth, and 20th of June, and on the 12th of July. The 19th, the aſhes ⟨fell⟩ ſo thick at Somma, that unleſs a perſon kept in motion, he was ſoon fixed to the ground by then. This fall of aſhes was accompanied alſo with loud reports, and frequent flaſhes of the volcanic lightning, ſo that, ſurrounded by ſo many horrors, it was impoſſible for the inhabitants to remain in the town and they all fled; the darkneſs was ſuch, although was mid-day, that even with the help of torches was ſcarcely poſſible to keep in the high road. On the 16th of July, ſignor Guiſeppe Sacco went up in the crater, and, according to his account, which had been printed at Naples, the crater is of an irregular oval form, and as he ſuppoſes (nor having been able to meaſure it) of about a mile and a half in circumference; the inſide, as uſual, in the ſhape of an inverted cone, the inner walls of which on the eaſtern ſide are perpendicular; but on the weſtern ſide ⟨of⟩ the crater, which is much lower, the deſcent was practicable, and Sacco with ſome of his companions actually went down one hundred and ſeventy-ſix palms from which ſpot, having lowered a cord with a ſtone tied to it, they found the whole depth of the crate to be about five hundred palms. But ſuch obſervations on the crater of Veſuvius are of little conſequence, as both its form and apparent depth are ſubject to great alterations from day to day.
Greg. Econ. of Nature,
Vol. 2nd page 331.--333
Awful Phenomena
of Nature
PART THIRD,
SEASTORMS.
MELANCHOLY CONSEQUENCES
OF TWO
Sea Storms, &c.
IT was now the eightenth of May when we ſailed from Goa. The hemiſphere had been ſome days overcaſt with clouds: ſome light ⟨ſhowers⟩ of rain had fallen; and it certainly did not (illegible text)d d to raiſe my ſpirits, and free me from my ominous apprehenſions, to hear that thoſe circumſtances ⟨indicated⟩ an approaching gale of wind. I obſerved, moreover, that the veſſel was much too deep in the ⟨crater⟩, being greatly overloaded—that ſhe was in ⟨many⟩ reſpects defective, and, as the ſeamen ſay, ill-⟨wind⟩, and, and in ſhort very unfit to encounter a gale ⟨of⟩ wind of any violence. I ſcorned, however, to yield to thoſe unite impreſſions, and determine to proceed.
"On the nineteenth, the ſky was obſcured ⟨by⟩ immenſe fleeces of clouds, ſurcharged with inflammable matter; and in the evening, the rain ⟨came⟩ in torrents, the firmament darkened apace, ⟨ſudden⟩ night came on, and the horrors or extreme ⟨darkneſs⟩ were rendered ſtill more horrible be the peals ⟨of⟩ thunder which rent the air, and the frequent flaſhes of lightning, which ſerved only to ſhew ⟨the⟩ horror of our ſituation, and leave us in ⟨increaſed⟩ darkneſs mean time the wind came more ⟨violent⟩ blowing on the ſhore; and a heavy ſea, raiſed ⟨all⟩ its force, united with it to make our ſtate more ⟨formidable.⟩
"By day light on the morning of the ⟨twentieth⟩ the gale had increaſed to a furious tempeſt; and ⟨the⟩ ſea, keeping pace with it, ran mountain high; ⟨and⟩ at it kept invariably to the ſame point, the ⟨captain⟩ and officers became ſeriouſly alarmed, and alſo perſuaded that the ſouth-weſt monſoon had ſ(illegible text) which, if it were ſo, would render it ⟨abſolutely⟩ impoſſible for us to weather the coaſt. All ⟨that⟩ day, however, we kept as cloſe as the violence ⟨of⟩ the weather would allow us to the wind; but ⟨the⟩ ſea canted her head ſo to leeward, that ſhe ⟨ran⟩ more lee than head-way; and the rigging was ſtrained with the work, that we had little hope ⟨of⟩ keeping off the ſhore, unleſs the wind charged, which there was not now the ſmalleſt ⟨probability.⟩ During the night there was no intermiſſion of ⟨the⟩ ſtorm: many of the ſails blew into ribbonds; ⟨ſome⟩ of the rigging was carried away, and ſuch ⟨eruptions⟩ were made, that, before morning, every ⟨thing⟩ that could poſſibly be ſtruck was down upon ⟨the⟩ deck.
"About ſeven o'clock on the morning of ⟨the⟩ ⟨twenty⟩-firſt, I was alarmed by an unuſual noiſe upon the deck, and running upon, perceived that every remaining fail in the veſſel, the fore ſail ⟨alone⟩ excepted, was totally carried away. The ſight ⟨was⟩ horrible, and the whole veſſel preſented a ſpectacle as dreadful to the feelings as mortifying to human pride. Fear had produced, not only all the helpleſſneſs of deſpondency, but all the miſchievous ⟨freaks⟩ of inſanity. In one place ſtood the captain, ⟨raving⟩, ſtamping, and tearing his hair in handfuls ⟨from⟩ his head--here, ſome of the crew were caſt upon their knees, claſping their hands, and praying, with all the extravagance of horror painted in their faces--there, others were flogging their images with all their might, calling upon them to allay the ſtorm. One of our paſſengers, who was purſer of an Engliſh Eaſt Indianan, had got hold of a caſe-bottle of rum, and with an air of diſtraction and deep diſpair imprinted in his face, was ſtalking about in his ſhirt. I perceived him to be on the point of ſerving it about, in large tumblers, to the ⟨now⟩ undiſmayed people; and well convinced, that, ⟨ſo⟩ far from alleviating, it would ſharpen the horrors of their mind; I went forward, and with much difficult prevented him
"Having accompliſhed this point, I applied myſelf to the captain, and endeavoured to bring him ⟨back⟩ (if poſſible) to his recollection, and to a ſenſe of what he owed to his duty as a commander, and ⟨to⟩ his dignity as a man: I exhorted him to encourage the ſailors by his example; and ſtrove to raiſe his ſpirits, by ſaying that the ſtorm did not appear ⟨to⟩ me by any means ſo terrible as ſome I had before experienced.
"While I was thus employed, we ſhipped a ſea on the ſtarboard ſide, which I really thought would have ſent us down. The veſſel ſeemed to ſink beneath its weight, ſhivered, and remained motiveleſs--it was a moment of critical suſpenſe: ſa(illegible text) made me think I felt her gradually deſcending--I gave myſelf up as gone, and ſummoned ⟨all⟩ my fortitude to bear approaching death with ⟨my⟩ coming manhood.
"Juſt at this criſis, the water, which ⟨ruſhed⟩ with incredible force though all parts of the veſſel brought it out floating, and nearly ſuffocated, and ⟨other⟩ Engliſh paſſenger, who was endeavouring ⟨to⟩ take a little repoſe in a ſmall cabin boarded off from the deck: he was a very ſtout young man, and ⟨ſo⟩ of true ſpirit. Finding that the veſſel was not, ⟨as he⟩ had thought, going immediately down, he ⟨joined⟩ me in exhorting the captain to his duty: we perſuaded him to throw the guns overboard, as well ⟨as⟩ a number of trunks and packages with which ⟨the⟩ veſſel was much encumbered; and with ſome ⟨little⟩ exertion, we got the pumps ſet a going."
The name of the Engliſh paſſenger juſt mentioned was Hall. He was a young man of a moſt amiable diſpoſition, and with it poſſeſſed all that ⟨manly⟩ ſpirit that gives preſence of mind in exigences ⟨of⟩ danger. He and Capt. Campbell having, ⟨with⟩ great difficulty, got ſome hands to ſtick to ⟨the⟩ pumps, ſtood at the wheel, at once to aſſiſt ⟨the⟩ men, and prevent them from quitting it and ⟨although⟩ hopeleſs, determined that no effort practicable on their parts ſhould be wanting to the preſervation of the veſſel. The water, however, gained upon the pumps, notwithſtanding every ⟨effort⟩ and it evidently appeared that they could not ⟨keep⟩ her long above water.
At ten o'clock the wind ſeemed to increaſe, ⟨and⟩ amounted to a downright hurricane: the ſky ⟨was⟩ ſo entirely obſcured with black clouds, and the ⟨rain⟩ fell ſo thick, that objects were not diſcernable from the wheel to the ſhip's head. Soon the pumps were choaked, and could no longer be worked: ⟨when⟩ diſmay ſeized on all--nothing but unutterable deſpair, ſilent anguiſh, and horror, wrought up to frenzy, was to be ſeen; not a ſingle ſoul was capable of an effort to be uſeful--all ſeemed more deſirous to extinguiſh their calamities by embracing death, than willing, by a painful exertion, to avoid it.
At about eleven o'clock they could plainly diſtinguiſh a dreadful roaring noiſe, reſembling that of waves rolling againſt rocks; but the darkneſs of the day, and the accompanying rains, prevented them from ſeeing any distance; and if it were a rock, they might be actually daſhed to pieces on it before they could perceive it. At twelve o'clock, however, the weather cleared up a little, and both the wind and the ſea ſeemed to have abated: the very expanſion of the proſpect round the ſhip was exhilarating; and as the weather grew better, and the ſea leſs furious, the ſenſes of the people returned, and the general ſtupefaction began to decreaſe.
The weather continuing to clear up, they in ſome time diſcovered breakers and large rocks without ſide of them: ſo that it appeared they muſt have paſſed quite cloſe to them, and were now fairly hemmed in between them and the land.
"In this very critical juncture," lays our traveller, "the captain, entirely contrary to my opinion, adopted the dangerous reſolution of letting go an anchor, to bring her up with her head to the ſea: but, though no ſeaman, my common ſenſe told me that he could never ride it out, but muſt directly go down. The event nearly juſtified my judgment; for ſhe had ſcarcely been at anchor before an enormous ſea rolling over her, overwhelmed and filled her with water, and every one on ⟨board⟩ concluded that ſhe was certainly ſinking. On ⟨the⟩ inſtant, a Laſcar, with a preſence of mind ⟨worthy⟩ an old Engliſh mariner, took an axe, ran forward and cut the cable."
On finding herſelf free, the veſſel again ⟨floated⟩ and made an effort to right herſelf; but ſhe was ⟨almoſt⟩ completely water-logged, and heeled to larboard ſo much, that the gunnel lay under water. They then endeavoured to ſteer as faſt as they ⟨could⟩ for the land, which they knew could not be at ⟨any⟩ great diſtance, though they were unable to ⟨diſcover⟩ it through the hazy weather: the fore-ſail was looſened; by great efforts in bailing, ſhe righted ⟨a⟩ little, her gunnel was got above water, and ⟨ſhe⟩ ſcudded as well as they could before the wind which ſtill blew hard on ſhore; and about two o'clock the land appeared at a ſmall diſtance ⟨ahead⟩.
The love of life countervails all other conſiderations in the mind of man. The uncertainty they were under with regard to the ſhore before them which they had reaſon to believe was part of Hyde Alli's dominions, where they ſhould meet with the moſt rigorous treatment, if not ultimate death, was forgotten in the joyful hope of ſaving life, and they ſcudded towards the ſhore in all the exulting tranſports of a people juſt ſnatched from the jaws of death.
This gleam of happineſs, however, continued not long: a tremendous ſea rolling after them, broke over their ſtern, tore every thing before it, ſtove in the ſteerage, carried away the rudder, ſhivered the wheel to pieces, and tore up the very ring-bolts of the deck-conveyed the men who ſtood at the wheel forward, and ſwept them overboard. Captain C.mpbell was ſtanding, at the time, near ⟨the⟩ wheel, and fortunately had hold of the taffarel, which enabled him to reſiſt in part the weight of ⟨the⟩ wave. he was, however, ſwept off his feet, ⟨and⟩ daſhed againſt the main-maſt. The jerk from ⟨the⟩ taffarel, which he held very tenaciouſly, ſeemed as if it would have diſlocated his arms: it broke, however the impetus of his notion, and in all probability ſaved him from being daſhed to pieces againſt the maſt.
"I floundered about," ſays he, "in the water ⟨of⟩ the foot of the maſt, till at length I got on my ⟨feet⟩, and ſeized a rope, which I held in a ſtate of great embaraſſment, dubious what I ſhould do to extricate myſelf. At this inſtant I perceived that Mr. Hall had got upon the capſtern, and was waving his hand to me to follow his example: this I wiſhed to do, though it was an enterpriſe of ſome riſk and difficulty; for, if I loſt the hold I had, a ⟨ſingle⟩ motion of the veſſel, or a full wave, would certainly carry me overboard. I made a bold puſh, however, and fortunately accompliſhed it. Having attained this ſtation, I could the better ſurvey the wreck, and ſaw that the water was nearly breaſt-high on the quarter deck (for the veſſel was deep-waiſted) and I perceived the unfortunate Engliſh purſer ſtanding where the water was moſt ſhallow, as if watching with patient expectation its riſing, and awaiting death: I called to him to come to us, but he ſhook his herd in diſpair, and ſaid, in a lamentable tone, "it is all over with us! God have mercy upon us!"--then ſeated himſelf with ſeeming compoſure on a chair which happened to be rolling about in the wreck of the deck, and in a few minutes afterwards was waſhed into the ſea along with it, where he was ſpeedily releaſed from a ſtate ten thouſand times worſe than death.
"During this univerſal wreck of things, the horror I was in could not prevent me from obſerving a very curious circumſtance, which at any ⟨other⟩ time would have excited laughter, though now ⟨it⟩ produced no other emotion than ſurpriſe. We happened to be in part laden with mangoes, of ⟨which⟩ the iſland of Goa is known to produce the finest ⟨in⟩ the world, ſome of them lay in baſkets on the po(illegible text), a little black boy in the moment of greateſt danger, had got ſeated by them, devouring them voraciouſly, and crying all the time moſt bitterly at ⟨the⟩ horrors of his ſituation!
"The veſſel now got completely water-logged and Mr. Hal and I were employed in forming conjectural calculations how many minutes ſhe ⟨could⟩ keep above water, and conſoling one another on ⟨the⟩ unfortunate circumſtances under which we met, lamenting that fate had thus brought us ⟨acquainted⟩ only to make us witneſſes of each other's ⟨miſery⟩ and then to ſee one another no more.
"As the larboard ſide of the veſſel was ⟨gradually⟩ going down, the deck, and of courſe the capſtern became too nearly perpendicular for us to continue on it: we therefore forſaw the neceſſity of quitting it, and got upon the ſtarboard ſide, holding faſt ⟨to⟩ the gunnel, and allowing our bodies and legs ⟨to⟩ yield to the ſea as it broke over us. Thus we continued for ſome time: at length the ſeverity of the labour ſo entirely exhauſted our ſtrength and ſpirit that our beſt hope ſeemed to be a ſpeedy concluſion to our painful death; and we began to have ſerious intentions of leting go our hold, and yielding ourſelves up at once to the fury of the waves.
"The veſſel, which all this time drifted with the ſea and wind, gradually approximated the ſhore and at length ſtruck the ground, which for an inſtant revived our almoſt departed hopes; but we ſoon found that it did not in the ſmallest degree better our ſituation. Again I began to yield to utter r deſpair--again I thought of letting go my hold, and ſinking at once: it is impoſſible, thought I, even to eſcape--why, then, prolong, for a few minutes, a painful exiſtance that muſt at laſt be given up? Yet, yet, the all-ſubduing love of life ſuggeſted, that many things apparently impoſſible had come to paſs; and I ſaid to myſelf, If life is to be loſt, why not loſe it in a glorious ſtruggle? Should I ſurvive it by accident, life will be rendered doubly ſweet to me, and I ſtill more worthy of it by perſevering fortitude.
"While I was employed in this train of reflection, I perceived ſome of the people collecting together, talking, and holding a conſultation: it immediately occurred to me, that they were deviſing ſome plan for eſcaping from the wreck, and getting on ſhore: and, ſo natural is it for man to cling to his fellow creature for ſupport in difficult or dangerous exigences, that I propoſed to Mr. Hall to join them, and take a ſhare in the execution of the plan--obſerving to him at the ſame time, that I was determined at all events to quit the veſſel, and truſt to the protection and guidance of a ſuperintending Providence for the reſt.
"As prodigality of life is, in ſome caſes, the exceſs of virtue and courage--ſo there are others in which it is vice, meanneſs and cowardice. True courage is, according to the circumſtances under which it is to operate, as rigidly tenacious and vigilant of life in one caſe, as it is indifferent and regardleſs in another; and I think it is a very ſtrange contradiction in the human heart (although it often happens), that a man who has the moſt unbounded courage, ſeeking death even in the canon's mouth, ſhall yet want the neceſſary reſolution to make exertions to ſave his life in caſes of ordinary danger. The unfortunate Engliſh purſer could ⟨not⟩ collect courage ſufficient to make an effort to ⟨ſave⟩ himſelf; and yet I think it probable that he ⟨would⟩ hsve faced a battery of artillery, or expoſed himſelf to a piſtol ſhot, if occaſion required, as ſoon ⟨as⟩ any other man. Thus it appears at firſt view: ⟨but⟩ may not this ſeeming in congruity be explained ⟨by⟩ ſaying, that perſonal courage and fortitude are different qualities of the mind and body, and ⟨depend⟩ upon the exerciſe of entirely different functions.
"Be that as it may, I argued with myſelf, in the height of my calamitous ſituation, upon the ſubject of fortitude and dejection, courage and cowardice and, notwithſtanding the ſerious aſpect of affairs, found myſelf liſtening to the ſuggeſtions of pride what a paltry thing to yield, while ſtrength is ⟨left⟩ to ſtruggle! Vanity herſelf had her hint, and whiſpered, "Should I eſcape by an effort of my own what a glorious theme of exultation!" There were I confeſs, tranſitory images in my mind, which co operating with the natural attachment to ſelf preſervation, made me perſevere, and reſolve to do ſo while one veſtige of hope was left for the mind to dwell on.
"Obſerving as I ſaid before, the people conſulting together, and reſolving to join them, I made an effort to get to the lee ſhrouds, where they were ſtanding, or rather clinging; but before I could accompliſh it, I loſt my hold, fell down the hatchway (the gratings having been carried away with the long boat), and was for ſome minutes entangled there among a heap of packages, which the violent fluctuations of the water had collected on the lea ſide. As the veſſel moved with the ſea, and the water flowed in, the packages and I were rolled together--ſometimes one, ſometimes another uppermoſt; ſo that I began to be apprehenſive I ſhould not be able to extricate myſelf: by the mereſt accident, however, I graſped ſomething that lay in my way, made a vigorous ſpring, and gained the lee ſhrouds. Mr. Hall who followed me, in ſeizing the roads, was driven againſt me with ſuch violence, that I could ſcarcely retain my hold of the rigging.
"Compelled by the perilous ſituation in which I ſtood, I called out to him for God's ſake to keep off, for that I was rendered quite breathleſs and worn out: he generouſly endeavoured to make way for me, and, in so doing, unfortunately loſt his hold, and went down under the ſhip's ſide. Never, never ſhall forget my ſenſations, at this melancholy incident-I would have given millions of worlds that could have recalled the words which made him move; my mind was wound up to the laſt pitch of anguish: I may truly ſay, that this was the moſt bitter of all the bitter moments of my life, compared with which the other circumstances of the ſhip-wreck ſeemed leſſened- for I had inſenſibly acquired an unuſual eſteem and warm attachment for him, and was doubtful whether, after being even the innocent occaſion of his falling, I ought to take further pains to preſerve my own life. All thoſe ſenſations were paſſing with the rapidity of lightning through my thoughts, when, as much to my aſtoniſhment as to my joy, I ſaw him borne by a returning wave, and thrown among the very packages from which I had but juſt before, with ſuch labour and difficulty, extricated myſelf. In the end he proved equally fortunate, but, after a much longer and harder ſtruggle, and after ſuſtaining much more injury.
"I once more changed my ſtation, and made my way to the poop, where I found myſelf rather is more ſheltered--I earneſtly wiſhed Mr. Hall to be with me, whatever might be my ultimate fate, and beckoned him to come near me; but he ⟨only⟩ anſwered by ſhaking his head, in a feeble, deſponding manner--ſtaring at the ſame time wildly ⟨above⟩ him: even his ſpirit was ſubdued; and deſpair, ⟨I⟩ perceived, had begun to take poſſeſſion of his mind.
"Being a little more at eaſe in my new ſtation than I had been before, I had more time to deliberate, and more power to judge. I recollected, that according to the courſe of time, the day was ⟨far⟩ gone and the night quickly approaching; I reflected, that for any enterprize whatever day was much preferable to night; and above all I conſidered, ⟨that⟩ the veſſel could not hold long together--therefore thought, that the beſt mode I could adopt ⟨would⟩ be, to take to the water with the firſt buoyant thing I could ſee; and, as the wind and water both ſeemed to run to the ſhore, to take my chance in that ⟨way⟩ of reaching it. In purſuance of this reſolution, ⟨I⟩ tore off my ſhirt, having before that thrown of ⟨the⟩ other parts of my dreſs--I looked at my ſleeve buttons, in which was ſet the hair of my departed children--and, by an involuntary act of the imagination, asked myſelf the queſtion, "Shall I be happy enough to meet them where I am now about ⟨to⟩ go?--Shall thoſe dear laſt remains, too, become prey to the devouring deep?"--In that inſtant, reaſon, ſuſpended by the horrors of the ſcene, ⟨gave⟩ way to inſtinct. and I rolled my ſhirt up, and ⟨very⟩ carefully thruſt it into a hole between decks, ⟨with⟩ the wild hopes that the ſleeve buttons might ⟨yet⟩ eſcape untouched. Watching my opportunity, ⟨I⟩ ſaw a log of wood floating near the veſſel, and waving my hand to Mr. Hall as a laſt adieu, jumped after it. Here, again, I was doomed to aggravated hardſhips--I had ſcarcely touched the ⟨log⟩ when a great ſea ſnatched it from my hold: ſtill it came near me, I graſped at it inefectually. till at laſt it was completely carried away, but not before it had cut and battered and bruiſed me in ſeveral places, and in a manner that at any other time I ſhould have thought dreadful.
"Death ſeemed inevitable; and all that occurred to me now to do, was to accelerate it, and get out of its pangs as ſpeedily as poſſible: for, though I knew how to ſwim; the tremendous ſurf rendered ſwimming uſeless, and all hope from it would have been ridiculous. I therefore began to ſwallow as much water as poſſible; yet, ſtill riſing by the buoyant principle of the waves to the ſurface, my former thoughts began to recur; and whether it was that, or natural inſtomct, which ſurvived the temporary impreſſions of deſpair, I know not; but I endeavoured to ſwim, which I had not done long, when I again diſcovered the log of wood. I had loſt floating near me, and with ſome difficulty caught it: hardly had it been an inſtant in my hands, when, by the ſame unlucky means I loſt it again. I had of heard it ſaid in Scotland, that if a man will throw himſelf flat on his back in the water, he quite ſtraight and ſtiff, and ſuffer himſelf to ſink till the water gets into his ears, he will continue to float ſo for ever: this occurred to me now, and I determined to try the experiment; ſo I threw myſelf on my back in the manner I have deſcribed, and left myſelf to the diſpoſal of Providence; nor was it long before I found the truth of the ſaying--for I floated with hardly an effort, and began for the firſt time to conceive ſomething like hopes of preſervation,
"After lying in this manner, committed to the diſcretion of the tides, I ſoon ſaw the veſſel--ſaw that it was at a conſiderable diſtance behind me. Livelieſt hope began to play about my heart, and joy fluttered with a thouſand gay fancies in my mind; I began to form the favourable concluſion, that the tide was carrying me rapidly to land ⟨from⟩ the veſſel, and that I ſhould ſoon once more touch terra firma
"This expectation was a cordial that revived my exhauſted spirits: I took courage, and left myſelf ſtill to the ſame all-directing Power that had hitherto preſerved me, ſcarcely doubting that I ſhould ſoon reach the land. Nor was I miſtaken; for, in a ſhort time more, without effort or exertion, and without once turning from off my back, I found myſelf ſtrike againſt the ſandy beach. Overjoyed to the higheſt pitch of tranſport at my providential deliverance, I made a convulſive ſpring, and ran up a little distance on the ſhore; but was ſo weary and worn down by fatigue, and ſo unable to clear my ſtomach of the ſalt water with which it was loaded, that I ſuddenly grew deadly ſick, and apprehended that I had only exchange one death for another, and in a minute or two fainted away."
India, Page 159-176.
Narrative of the Loſs of the Half well Eaſt Indiaman, on the coaſt of Dorſetſhire, January 1786.
THE Halſewell Eaſt-Indiamen, of 758 tons burthen, commanded by Richard Pierce Eſq; ſailed through the Downs on Sunday the 1ſt of January, 1786, and the next morning being a breaſt of Dunnoſe, it fell calm.
Monday the 2d of January. at three in the afternoon, a breeze ſprung up from the South, when they ran in ſhore to land the pilot, but very thick weather coming on in the evening, and the wind baffling, at nine in the evening they were obliged to anchor in eighteen fathom water, furled their topſails, but could not furl their courſes, the ſnow falling thick, and freezing as it fell.
Tueſday the 3d, at four in the morning, a ⟨ſtrong⟩ gale came on from Eaſt-Nore-Eaſt, and the ſhip driving, they were obliged to cut their cables, and run off to ſea. At noon, they ſpoke with a brig bound to Dublin, and having put their pilot on board her, bore down Channel immediately. At eight in the evening, the wind freſhening and coming to the Southward, they reefed ſuch ſails as were judged neceſſary. At ten at night it blew a violent gale of wind at South, and they were obliged to carry a preſs of ſail to keep the ſhip off ſhore, in doing which the hawſe plugs, which according to a new improvement were put inſide, were waſhed in, and the hawſe bags waſhed away, in conſequence of which they ſhipped a large quantity of water on the gun deck.
On founding the well, and finding the ſhip had ſprung a leak, and had five feet water in her hold, they clued the main top ſail up, hauled up the main-ſail, and immediately endeavoured to furl both, but could not effect--All the pumps were ſet to work on diſcovering the leak.
Wedneſday the 5, at two in the morning, they endeavoured to wear the ſhip, but without ſucceſs, and judging it neceſſary to cut away the mizen-maſt it was immediately done, and a ſecond attempt made to wear the ſhip, which ſucceeded no better than the former; and the ſhip having now ſeven feet water in her hold, and gaining faſt on the pumps, it was thought expedient. for the preſervation of the ſhip, to cut away the mainmaſt, the ſhip appearing to be in immediate danger of foundering.
At ten in the morning the wind abated conſiderably, and the ſhip labouring extremely, rolled the fore top-maſt over on the larboard ſide, in the fall, the wreck went through the fore-ſail, and tore it to pieces. At eleven in the forenoon, the wind ⟨came⟩ to the Weſt-ward, and the weather clearing up, ⟨the⟩ Berry-head was diſtinguiſhable bearing North ⟨and⟩ by Eaſt, diſtant four or five leagues; they ⟨now⟩ immediately bent at other fore ſail, erected a ju(illegible text) main-maſt, and ſet a top-gallant ſail for a ⟨main⟩ ſail, under which ſail they bore up for Portſmouth and employed the remainder of the day in getting up a jury mizen-maſt.
About two in the morning on Friday the 6th, the ſhip ſtill driving, and approaching very faſt ⟨to⟩ the ſhore, Mr. Henry Meriton, went into the cuddy, where the Captain then was, and a converſation took place, Captain Pierce expreſſing extreme anxiety for the preſervation of his beloved daughters, and earneſtly aſking the officer if ⟨he⟩ could deviſe any means of ſaving them, and on ⟨his⟩ anſwering with great concern that he feared it would be impoſſible, but that their only chance would ⟨be⟩ to wait for the morning, the Captain lifted up ⟨his⟩ hands in ſilent and diſtreſsful ejaculation.
At this dreadful moment the ſhip ſtruck with ſuch violence as to daſh the heads of thoſe who were ſtanding in the cuddy, againſt the deck above them, and the fatal blow was accompanied by ⟨a⟩ ſhriek of horror, which burſt at one inſtant from every quarter of the ship.
Mr. Meriton, the officer, whom we have already mentioned, at this criſis of horror, offered to the deſponding crew, the beſt advice which could poſſibly be given to them; he recommended their coming all to that ſide of the ſhip which lay loweſt on the rocks, and ſingly to take the opportunities which might then offer of eſcaping to the ſhore. And having thus provided to the utmoſt of his power for their ſafety, he returned to the round-houſe where by this time all the paſſengers, and moſt ⟨of⟩ ⟨the⟩ officers were aſſembled, the latter employed in offering conſolation to the unfortunate ladies, and with unparalleled magnanimity, ſuffering their compaſſion to the fair and amiable companions of their misfortunes, to get the better of the ſenſe of their own danger, and the dread of almoſt inevitable annihiliation, at this moment, what muſt be the feelings of a Father--of ſuch a Father as Captain Pierce!
The ſhip ſtruck on the rocks at or near Seacombe, on the iſland of Purbeck, between Peverel Point, and St. Alban's head, at a part of the ſhore where the cliff is of a vaſt height, and riſes almoſt perpendicular from its baſe.
But at this particular ſpot the cliff is excavated at the foot, and preſents a cavern of ten or twelve yards in depth, and of breadth equal to the length of a large ſhip, the ſides of the cavern ſo nearly up-right as to be extremely difficult of acceſs, the roof formed of the ſtupendous cliff, and the bottom of it ſtrewed with ſharp and uneven rocks, which ſeem to have been rent from above by ſome convulſion of Nature.
It was at the mouth of this cavern that the unfortunate wreck lay ſtretched almoſt from ſide to ſide of it, and offering her broadſide to the horrid chaſin.
But at the time the ſhip ſtruck it was too dark to diſcover the extent of their danger, and the extreme horror of their ſituation; even Mr. Meriton himſelf conceived a hope that ſhe might keep together till daylight, and endeavoured to chear his drooping friends, and in particular the unhappy ladies, with this comfortable expectation, as an anſwer to the Captain's enquiries, how they went on, or what he thought of their ſituation.
In addition, the company already in the round-houſe, they had admitted three black women, ⟨and⟩ two ſoldiers wives, who with the huſband of one ⟨of⟩ them had been permitted to come in, though ⟨a⟩ ſeamen who had tumultuouſly demanded entrance to get the lights, had been oppoſed, and kept ⟨off⟩ by Mr. Rogers, the third Mate, and Mr. Brimer ⟨the⟩ fifth, ſo that the numbers there were now increaſed to near fifty; Captain Pierce ſitting on a chair, c(illegible text) or ſome other moveable, with a daughter on each ⟨ſide⟩ of him, each of whom he alternately preſſed to his affectionate boſom; the reſt of the melancholy aſſembly were ſeated on the deck, which was ſtrewed with muſical inſtruments, and the wreck of furniture trunks, boxes and pakages.
And here alſo Mr. Meriton, having previouſly cut ſeveral wax candles into pieces, and ſtuck them up in various parts of the round-houſe, and lighted up all the glaſs lanthorns he could find, took her ſeat, intending to wait the happy dawn, that might preſent to him the means of effecting his own eſcape, and afford him an opportunity of giving aſſiſtance to the partners of his danger; but obſerving that the poor ladies appeared parched and exhauſted, he fetched a baſket of oranges from ſome parts of the round houſe, a prevailed on ſome of them to refreſh themſelves by ſucking a little of the juice. At this time they were all tolerably compoſed, except Miſs Manſel, who was in hyſteric ſits on the floor deck of the round-houſe.
Put on his return to the company, he perceived a conſiderable alteration in the appearance of the ſhip, the ſides were viſibly giving way, the deck ſeemed to be lifting, and be diſcovered other ſtrong ſymptoms that the could not hold together ⟨much⟩ longer, he therefore attempted to go forward ⟨to⟩ look out, but immediately ſaw that the ſhip was ſeparated in the middle, and that the fore part had changed its poſition, and lay rather farther out towards the ſea; and in this emergency, when the next moment might be charged with his fate, he detetermined to ſeize the preſent, and follow the example of the crew, and the ſoldiers, who were now quitting the ſhip in numbers, and making their way to a ſhore, of which they knew not yet the horrors.
Mr. Meriton diſcovered a ſpar, which appeared to be laid from the ſhip's ſide to the rocks, and on this ſpar he determined to attempt his eſcape.
He accordingly laid him down on it, and thruſt himſelf forward, but he ſoon found the ſpar had no communication with the rock, he reached the end of it, and then ſlipped off, receiving a very violent bruiſe in his fail, and before he could recover his legs, he was waſhed off by the ſurge, in which he ſupported himſelf by ſwimming, till the returning wave daſhed him againſt the back part of the cavern, where he laid hold of a ſmall projecting piece of the rock, but was ſo benumbed, that he was on the point of quitting it, when a ſeaman who had already gained a footing, extended his hand, and aſſiſted him till he could ſecure himſelf on a little ſhelf of the rock, from which he clambered ſtill higher, till he was out of the reach of the ſurf.
Mr. Rogers the third mate, remained with the Captain, and the unfortunate ladies, and their companions, near 20 minutes after Mr. Meriton had quitted the ſhip.
At this time the ſea was breaking in at the fore part of the ſhip, and reached as far as the main-maſt, and Captain Pierce gave Mr Rogers a nod, and they took a lamp, and went together into the ſtern gallery, and after viewing the rocks for ſome time, Captain Pierce aſked Mr. Rogers, if he thought there was any poſſibility of ſaving the girls, to which he replied, he feared there was not, ⟨for⟩ they could only diſcover the black face of the perpendicular rock, and not the cavern which afforded ſhelter to thoſe who eſcaped; they then returned to the round houſe, and Mr. Rogers hung up the lamp, and Captain Pierce, with his great ⟨coat⟩ on, ſat down between his two daughters, and ſtruggled to ſuppreſs the parental tear which then ⟨burſt⟩ into his eye.
The ſea continuing to break in very faſt, Mr M'Manus, a midſhipman, and Mr. Schutz, a paſſenger, aſked Mr. Rogers what they could do to eſcape, who replied, "follow me." and they then all went into the ſtern gallery, and from thence by the weather upper quarter gallery upon the poop, and whilſt they were there a very heavy fez fell on board and the round-houſe gave way, and he heard the ladies shriek at intervals, as if the water had reached them, the noiſe of the ſea at other times drowning their voices.
Mr. Brimer had followed Mr. Rogers to the poop, where they had remained together about five minutes, when on the coming on of the laſt mentioned ſea, they jointly ſeized a hen-coop, and the ſame wave which he apprehended proved fatal to ſome of thoſe who remained below, happily carried him and his companion to the rock, on which they were daſhed with ſuch violence as to be miſerably bruiſed and hurt.
Mr. Rogers and Mr. Brimer both however reached the cavern, and ſcrambled up the rock; on narrow ſhelves of which they fixed themſelves, Mr. Rogers got ſo near to his friend Mr. Meriton as to exchange congratulations with him, but he was prevented from joining him by at leaſt 20 men who were between them, neither of whom could move without immediate peril of his life,
They now found that a very conſiderable number ⟨of⟩ the crew, ſeamen, ſoldiers, and ſome petty ⟨officers⟩ were in the ſame ſituation with themſelves, ⟨though⟩ many who had reached the rocks below, had ⟨periſhed⟩, in attempting to aſcend; what that ſituation was they were ſtill to learn; at preſent they had ⟨eſcaped⟩ immediate death, but they were yet to encounter cold, nakedneſs, wind, rain, and the perpetual heating of the ſpray of the ſea, for a difficult, ⟨precarious⟩, and doubtful chance of eſcape.
In a very few minutes after Mr. Rogers had gained the rock, an univerſal ſhriek, which ſtill vibrates ⟨in⟩ their ears, and, in which, the voice of female ⟨diſtreſs⟩ was lamentably diſtinguiſhable, announced ⟨the⟩ dreadful cataſtrophe; in a few moments all was ⟨cruſhed⟩, except the warring winds, and beating waves; ⟨the⟩ wreck was buried in remorſeleſs deep, and not an atom of her was ever after diſcoverable,
Thus periſhed the Halſewell.
What an aggravation of woe was this dreadful, his tremendous blow, to the yet trembling, and ⟨ſcarcely⟩ haſt ſaved wretches, who were hanging about the ſides of the horrid cavern.
After the bittereſt three hours which miſery ever ⟨lengthened⟩ into ages, the day, broke on them; they now found that had the country been alarmed by the guns of diſtreſs which they had continued to ⟨fire⟩ for many hours before the ſhip ſtruck, but which from the violence of the ſtorm were unheard, they could neither be obſerved by the people from above, as they were completely ingulphed in the cavern, and over hung by the cliff, nor did any part of the wreck remain to point out their probable place of refuge; below, no boat could live to ſearch them out, and had it been poſſible to have acquainted thoſe who would wiſh, to aſſiſt them, with their exact ſituation, no ropes could be conveyed into the cavi(illegible text); to facilitate their eſcape,
The only proſpect which offered, was to creep ⟨along⟩ the ſide of the cavern, to its outward extremity, and on a ledge ſcarcely as broad as a man's hand to turn the corner, and endeavour to clamber the almoſt perpendicular precipice, whoſe ⟨ſummit⟩ was near two hundred feet from the baſe.
And in this deſperate effort did ſome ſucceed whilſt others, trembling with terror, and the ſtrength exhauſted by mental and bodily fatigue loſt their precarious footing, and periſhed in the ⟨attempt.⟩
The firſt men who gained the ſummit of the ⟨cliff⟩ were the Cook, and James Thompſon, a Quarter-maſter, by their own exertions they made their way to the land, and the moment they reached it, haſtened to the neareſt houſe, and made known the ⟨ſituation⟩ of their fellow ſufferers
The houſe at which they firſt arrived was Eaſtington the preſent habitation of Mr. Garland, ſteward or agent to the proprietors of the Purbeck ⟨Quarries⟩ who immediately got together the workmen under his direction, and with the moſt zealous and animated humanity, exerted every effort for the preſervation of the ſurviving crew of this unfortunate ſhip; ⟨ropes⟩ were procured with all poſſible diſpatch, and every precaution taken that aſſiſtance ſhould be ſpeedily and effectually given.
As the day advanced, more aſſiſtance was obtained, and as the life-preſerving efforts of the ſurvived would admit, they crawled to the extremities of ⟨the⟩ cavern, and preſented themſelves to their preſervers above, who ſtood prepared with the means which the ſituation would permit them to exerciſe, to ⟨head⟩ them to the ſummit.
Awful Phenomena
of Nature
PART FIRST,
HURRICANES,&c.
AN ACCOUNT
OF A
Dreadful Hurricane, &c.
Hurricane in Jamaica, October, 1780.
A more general deſtruction in the extent of a given proportion of land, hath rarely happened; and the hurricane of 1780, will be ever acknowledged as a viſitation that deſcends but once in a century, and that ſerves as a ſcourge to correct the vanity, to humble the pride, and to chaſtiſe the imprudence and arrogan e of men.
The following deſcription, which immediately and naturally aroſe from the melancholy ſubject; when the facts were freſh, and the ruins, as it were, before my eyes, will not, I truſt, be deemed foreign to the general tendency of theſe remarks; and I ſhall be, I hope, excuſed, if I endeavour to awaken the recollection of calamities paſt, particularly as in thoſe calamities the poor negroes had likewiſe their portion of diſappointment and affliction.
This deſtructive hurricane began by gentle and almoſt unperceptible degrees, between twelve and one o'clock, on the morn of the 3d of October, and in the year 1780. There fell, at firſt, a trifling rain, which continued, without increaſe, until ten o'clock; about which time the wind aroſe, and the ſea began to roar in a moſt tremendous and uncommon manner. As yet, we had not any pre-ſentiment of the diſtreſs and danger which it was ſoon afterwards our unhappy fortune to encounter and although between two and three o'clock in the afternoon, we ſaw the ſubordinat buildings begin to totter and fall around us; yet we did not think it neceſſary to provide, at that time, for our preſent or future ſafety. We now obſerved, with ſome motion and concern, a poor pigeon ⟨endeavoured⟩ with fruitleſs ſtruggle, to regain its neſt: it ſtuttered long in the air; and was ſo weakened at laſt that it was driven away by the wind, and in almoſt a moment was carried entirely out of ſight.
As great events are ſometimes the conſequence of ſmall beginnings, and as ſimple occurences are often as ſtriking as great concerns, I could not help dwelling with commiſeration upon what I had ſeen and of anticipating, in ſome meaſure, the loſs and inconvenience, though not the real destruction, of what ſoon afterwards enſued.
A poor diſcouraged ewe, intimidated by the terrors of the night, had found its way into the diſtant quarter of the houſe, which, at the time of her retreat, muſt have been wholly neglected; but to which it was afterwards, as our laſt reſort, our unfortunate deſtiny to repair. She lay with patient cold, and fearful trembling, an amidſt the joiſts, not could ſhe be diſplaced by the importunity of kick and cuffs that were inceſſantly dealt around her. She became a pathetic ſufferer in the ſucceeding calamity; and he muſt have been a brute, indeed and more deſerving of the appellation ſhe bare, who could have perſevered in forcing her from ſuch a ſeeming protection, or could have been envious of that ſafety, which; from her unwillingneſs to remove, it was natural to think that ſhe at that time enjoyed. I muſt confeſs, that I tried to diſpoſſeſs her, but I tried in vain; and I have ſince reflected, that her preſervation was as dear to her as mine was to me and I feel a real comfort in repeating whoſe exquiſitely humane and tender lines of Ovid, which are ſo feelingly deſcriptive of the fate of this moſt uſeful and patient animal.
Every thing claims a kindred in misfortune; it revels like death; but death, alas! to ſome comes too late; and to others it comes too early. In a ſhort time, perhaps, it was the fate of the poor meek creature above diſcribed, to feel its ſtroke, I might have cauſed, unknowingly, its execution; and might have feaſted upon its fleſh. The very idea chills my blood, and brings to my mind the remembrance of the dreadful ſituation of Pierce Viand.
An act of dire neceſſity may be certainly excuſed; but to deſtroy (for the gratification of an appetite which we have in common with brutes) that which has been uſed to live in a domeſtic and in a cheriſhed ſtate around us, would argue an inſenſibility, from which every feeling mind muſt naturally ⟨avoid⟩: and I ſhould hope, that there are but few people who could eat of that (illegible text)id, which they had ſeen lick the butcher's hand at the very moment that the knife was about to deprive its innocence of exiſtence; and when it ſupplicated, with an almoſt human cry, its preservation of life, and with a blandiſhment ſo particularly expreſſive of tenderneſs and pity.
From the morning until four o'clock in the afternoon, the wind continued to blow with increaſing violence from the north and eaſt: but from that time, having collected all its powers of devaſtation, it rushed with irreſiſtable violence from the ſouth; and in about an hour and half after that period, to general and perſevering were is accumulted effects, that it ſcarcely left a plantain tree, a cane, or building, uninjured in the parish. At about four o'clock, we found it, impoſſible to ſecure the houſe againſt the increaſing impetuoſity of the wind, which began to diſplace the ſhingles, uplift the roof, to force the windows, and to gain an entrance on every ſide: and its haſty deſtruction but too fully proved how ſoon, and how univerſally, it ſucceeded! We were now driven from the appartments above, to take ſhelter in the rooms below: but there we were followed by freſh dangers, and ſtupified by freſh alarms. The demon of deſtruction was waſted in the winds, and not a corner could eſcape its malignant devaſtation. While we were looking with apprehenſion and terror around us, the roof, rafters, plates, and walls of ſix apartments fell in, and immediately above our heads: and the horrid craſhes of glaſſes, furniture, and floors, occaſioned a noiſe and uproar, that may be more eaſily felt, than the weakneſs of my pen can poſſibly deſcribe.
I will not attempt (indeed my abilities and language are unequal to the talk) to awaken the ſenſibility of others, by dwelling upon private misfortune, when the loſſes of many are entitled to ſuprior regard: but egotiſm may be ſurley allowed in a narrative of this kind, where general compariſons muſt in ſome meaſure deſcribe individual ſufferings, and where what one has felt, has been the lot of numbers: and where a perſon has indenticall ſeen , and been involved in the ſame deſtruction, it is difficult to keep clear of expreſſions that do not immediately apply to, and ſpeak the language of, ſelf.
The ſituation of the unhappy negroes who poured in upon us ſo ſoon as their houſes were deſtroyed, and whoſe terrors ſeemed to have deprived them of ſenſe and motion, not only very particularly augmented the confuſion of the time, but very conſiderably added, by their whiſpers and diſtreſs, to the ſcene of general ſuſpenſe, and the fluctuations of hope and alarm. Some lamented by anticipation, the lots of their wives and children, of which their fears had deprived them; while others regretted the downfall of their houſes, of which they had ſo lately been the unfortunate ſpectators.
It will be difficult to conceive a ſituation more ⟨terrible⟩ than what my houſe afforded from four o'clock in the afternoon until ſix o'clock the enſuing morning. Driven, as we were, from room to room, while the roofs, the floors, and the walls, were tumbling over head, or falling around us; the wind blowing with a noiſe and violence that cannot even now be reflected upon without alarm; the rain pouring down in torrents; and the night which ſeemed to fall, as it were in a moment, uncommonly dark, and the gloom of which we had not a ſingle ray to enliven, and the length of which we had not either ſpirits or reſolution, by converſation, to cheer! The negro huts, as I before obſerved, were at this time deſtroyed; and the miſerable ſufferers ruſhed into the houſe, and began ſuch complaints and lamentations, as added very conſiderably to the diſcomforts, and much increaſed the almoſt before unſpeakable diſtreſſes, of the ſcene. One poor woman in particular (if real philanthrophy would not disdain to make a diſcrimination of colour, was, in a very particular and ſenſible manner, entitled to pity, Her child and that a favourite, was nearly buried in the ruins of her houſe that fell around her: ſhe ſnatched it, with all the inconſiderate impatience of maternal fondneſs, from the expectation of a ſudden fate: the ſtrained it to ⟨her⟩ arms in ſimple love and unaſſiſted protection, ⟨and⟩ flew to depoſit her tender burden in the retreat ⟨of⟩ diſtant ſafety: ſhe flew in vain: the tempeſt reached her and ſwept the child, unconſcious of danger from her folding arms, and daſhed her hopes are comforts to the ground. She recovered, and to her boſom reſtored the pleaſing charge: ſhe endeavoured to ſooth it with her voice; but it was ſilent, ſhe felt it, and the found it cold: ſhe ſcreamed, ſhe lamented, and ſhe curled: not could our ſympathy conſole her ſorrows, our remonſtrances reſtrain her violence, nor our authority ſuppreſs her execrations. She felt like a mother, although an apathi(illegible text) might ſay ſhe did not feel like a Christian. What a cold and illiberal diſtinction! Give a Negro religion, and eſtabliſh him in either the principles of obedience, or the knowledge of endurance, and he will not diſgrace that tenet which ſhall be recommended by practice. Her lamentations were natural, and of conſequence affecting, and give additional deſpondency to a night that was already took miſerable to bear an augmentation of ſorrow.
The darkneſs of the night, the howling of the winds, the growling of the thunder, and the partial flaſhes of the lightning that darted through the murky cloud, which ſometimes burſt forth with a plenitude of light, and at others hardly give ſufficient lumination to brighten the terrified aſpect of the negroes; that, with cold and fear, were trembling around; the cries of the children who were expoſed to the weather, and who (poor innocents!) had loſt their mothers in the darkness and confuſion of the night; and the great uncertainty of general and private ſituation combined; could not fail to ſtrike the ſoul with as deep as it was an unaccuſtomed horror. In the midſt of danger, in the awful moments of ſuſpence, and when almoſt ſunk by deſpair, we prayed for more frequent lightning to gild the walls, for more heavy thunder to out-roar the blaſt, in the philoſophic conſolation that they might purge the atmoſphere, and diſperſe the ſtorm: but alas! they were but ſeldom ſeen, or feebly heard, as if afraid of combining the influence of light with the deſtruction of found, and of raiſing upon the ground of terror, the ſuperſtructure of deſpair!
When the night was past, and our minds hung ſuſpended between the danger we had eſcaped, and the anticipation of what we might expect to enſue; when the dawn appeared as if unwilling to diſcloſe the devaſtation that the night had cauſed; when the ſun beams peeped above the hills, and illuminated the ſcene around-juſt God! what a contraſt was there exhibited between that morning and the day before! a day which ſeemed to ſmile upon Nature, and to take delight in the proſpects of plenty that waved around, and which produced, wherever the eye could gaze, the charms of cultivation, and the promiſe of abundance; but which fallacious appearances, alas! were to be at once annihilated by that extenſive and melancholy view of deſolation and deſpair, in which the expectations of the moderate, and the wiſhes of the ſanguine, were to be ſo ſoon ingulphed. The horrors of the day were much augmented by the melancholy exclamation of every voice, and the energetic expreſſion every hand: ſome of which were uplifted in acts of execration; ſome wiped the tears that were flowing from the eye: while ſome, conſidering from whence the viſitation came, were ſeen to ſtrike their breaſts, as if to chide the groans which it was impoſſible to reſtrain An uncommon ſilence reigned around: ⟨it⟩ was the pauſe of conſternation: it was a dumb oratory, that ſaid more, much more, than any ⟨tongue⟩ could utter. The firſt ſounds proceeded from ⟨the⟩ mouths of the moſt patient of Nature's creatures from the melancholy cow that had loſt its calf, ⟨and⟩ with frequent lowings invited its return; from ⟨the⟩ brother eves, that with frequent bleedings recall their lambs, which were friſking out of ſight, conſcious of danger and unmindful of food: ⟨and⟩ which ſolemn and pathetic invitations, after ſuch ⟨a⟩ night, the contemplation of ſuch a ſcene, and ⟨the⟩ diſpoſition of the mind to receive pathetic impreſſions, came home with full effect to thoſe who had ſuffered, but who wiſhed not to complain! If the diſtreſſes of the feathered tribe be taken into the deſcription, their natural timidity, their uncertainty of food, of ſhelter, and domeſtic protection, ⟨tho'⟩ duly conſidered trifling as theſe obſervations ⟨may⟩ appear, they certainly help to ſwell the ⟨catalogue⟩ of diſtreſs, to awaken the ſigh of ſenſibility, and ⟨they⟩ teach us that their exiſtence and their end are ⟨in⟩ the hands of the ſame Creator.
The morning of the 4th of October preſented ⟨us⟩ with a proſpect, dreary beyond deſcription, and a moſt melancholy beyond example; and deformed with ſuch blaſted ſigns of nakedneſs and ruin, ⟨and⟩ calamity, in its moſt awful and deſtructive moments, has ſeldom offered to the deſponding obſervations of mankind. The face of the country ſeemed to be entirely changed: the vallies and the plains, the mountains and the forests, that were only the day before most beautifully clothed with every venture, were now deſpoiled of every charm; and ⟨there⟩ an expected abundance and ſuperfluity of gain, ⟨in⟩ a few hours ſucceeded ſterility and want; and ⟨every⟩ proſpect, as far as the eye could ſtretch, was viſibly ſtricken blank with deſolation and with horror. The powers of vegetation appeared to be an ⟨once⟩ ſuſp nded; and inſtead of Nature and her works, the mind was petrified by the ſeeming approach of fate and chaos. The country looked as if it had been lately viſited by fire and the ſword; as if the Tornado had rifled Africa of its lands, to depoſit their contents upon the denuded boſom of the hills; as if AEtna had ſcorched the mountains, and a volcano had taken poſſeſſion of every height. The trees were up rooted, the dwellings deſtroyed; and in ſome places, not a ſtone was left to indicate the uſe to which it was once applied. Thoſe who had houſes, could hardly diſtinguish their ruins; and the proprietor knew not where to fix the ſituation of his former poſſeſſions. The very beaſts of all deſcriptions, were conſcious of the calamity: the birds, particularly the domeſtic pigeons, were moſt of them deſtroyed; and the fiſh were driven from thoſe rivers, and thoſe ſeas, of which they had before been the peaceful inhabitants. New ſtreams aroſe, and extenſive lakes were ſpread, where rills were ſcarcely ſeen to trickle before; and ferry-boats were obliged to ply, where carriages were uſed to travel with ſafety and convenience. The roads were for a long time impaſſable among the mountains the low lands were overflowed, and numbers of cattle were carried away by the depth and impetuoſity of the torrents; while the boundries of the different plantations were ſunk beneath the accumulated preſſure of the innundition.
To give you at once a more general idea of this tremendous hurricane, I shall obſerve, that not a ſingle houſe was left undamaged in the pariſh; not a ſingle ſet of works, traſh-houſe, or other ſubordinat building, that was not greatly injured, or entirely deſtroyed. Not a ſingle wharf, ſtore houſe, or ſhed, for the depoſit of goods, was left ſtanding they were all ſwept away at once by the billows of the ſea; and hardly left behind, the traces ⟨of⟩ their foundations. The negro houſes were, ⟨and I⟩ believe without a ſingle exception, univerſally ⟨blown⟩ down and this reflection opens a large field for ⟨the⟩ philanthropiſt, whoſe feelings will pity, at ⟨least⟩ thoſe miſeries which he would have been happy ⟨to⟩ have had the power to relieve. Hardly a tree shrub, a vegetable, or a blade of graſs an inch long was to be ſeen ſtanding up and uninjured, the enſuing morning, nay, the very bark was whipt from the logwood hedges, as they lay upon the ground and the whole proſpect had the appearance of a comfort, over which the burning winds of Africa ⟨had⟩ lately paſt
At Savanna-la Mar, there was not even a ⟨veſtige⟩ of a town (the parts only of two or three ⟨houſes⟩ having in partial ruin remained, as if to ⟨indicate⟩ the ſituation and extent of the calamity): the ⟨very⟩ materials of which it had been compoſed, had ⟨been⟩ carried away by the reſiſtleſs fury of the ⟨waves⟩ which finally completed what the wind began. ⟨A⟩ very great proportion of the poor inhahitants ⟨were⟩ cruſhed to death, or drowned, and in one hour alone, it was computed that forty, out of one and forty ſouls, unhappily and prematurely periſhed. The ſea drove with progreſſive violence for more than a mile into the country; and carried terror as it left deſtruction, wherever it paſſed. Two large ſhips and a ſchooner were at anchor in the bay, but here driven a conſiderable diſtance from the ſhore, and totally wrecked among the mango trees upon land.
Were I to dwell upon the numberleſs ſingularities of accidents that this dreadful ſtorm occaſioned, both among the mountains and on the plains over which is paſſed; were I to mention its particularities and caprices, and the variety of contingencies which ſeemed impoſſible to happen, which imagination might trifle with, but which reaſon would ſcarcely believe; in ſhort, were I to mention, what I myſelf ſaw, and what numbers could witneſs; I ſhould be afraid to offer them to the ſerious regard of my readers, in the dread that I might be thought to inſult their underſtandings, and to advance as fiction, what it would be very difficult, indeed, to credit as truth.
The diſtreſſes of the miſerable inhabitants of Savanna-la-Mar, during the period, and for a long time after the ceſſation; of the form, muſt have exceeded the moſt nervous, as they would have ſurpaſſed the moſt melancholy powers of deſcription They were ſuch as ought to have affected (if public loſſes and private ſufferings can ever affect the ſtony boſoms of the rapacious, and the icy bowels of the intereſted), they were ſuch, I ſay, as could almoſt have melted the unfeeling, and have ſoftend the obdurate: but, alas! they could not, in too many inſtances, divert the rigid purpoſe, and withhold the rigorous hand of the man of buſineſs. Thoſe who the day before were poſſeſſed, not only of every domeſtic comfort, but of every reaſonable luxury of life, were now obliged to ſeek for ſhelter upon a board; and were expoſed, in ſickneſs and affliction, unſheltered and unprovided, to the noiſy intrusions of the wind and the cold, and the frequent viſitations of the ſhower.
Were I to enumerate private afflictions in this ſcene of general devaſtation and deſpair, I ſhould require the pathetic pen of that accompliſhed writer who has given a charm to grief, and a dignity to ſuffering, in the tender parts of Emma Corbet: and who could ſo well have expreſſed by correſponding ſentiment, by flowing language, and glowing truth, thoſe mighty ſorrows which the father endured for the death of a ſon, which wife ſuſtained for the loſs of her huſband, and all thoſe minor ties of conſanguinity and ⟨friendſhip⟩ which were, at this unhappy and awful period, generally diſolved.
When we conſider how very ſoon the gay ⟨purſuits⟩ and flattering appearances of life are deſtroyed; how uncertain are our poſſeſſions, and ⟨how⟩ ſubject to hopes, and how embittered by diſappointments, are our purſuits; it is ſomewhat extraordinary, that we ſhould be ſo much attached ⟨to⟩ the world, ſhould entruſt the ſun-ſhine of our ⟨days⟩ and without ſuſpicion of a change, to every ⟨cloud,⟩ ſhould commit our preſent happineſs to the inſtability of climate, to the viciſſitudes of cold and ⟨heat⟩ to the terrors of the tempeſt, or the peſtilent dangers of the calm:-it is aſtoniſhing, I again ⟨repeat⟩, that we ſhould repoſe all our comforts, ⟨and⟩ all our expectations, upon a world ſo full of mortification, diſappointment, and affliction; when ⟨we⟩ muſt be conſcious that we muſt ſo ſoon leave ⟨the⟩ world and all its empty deluſions behind. ⟨When⟩ we look around, and ſee people who thought themſelves above the reach of want, and reclining, ⟨after⟩ a long apprenticeſhip of patient induſtry and perſevering toil, upon the lap of late-earned independency and honeſt repoſe; when we ſee them ⟨by⟩ the fruits of exertions thus made, and of ⟨comforts⟩ thus enjoyed, in one fatal and deſtructive our,--⟨what⟩ an awful leſſon does this reflection awaken in ⟨our⟩ minds! and how much does it not warn us againſt building upon a foundation ſo very precarious ⟨at⟩ beſt, and at the beſt deceitful! But then to ⟨see⟩ them reduced to this ſituation, and ſtruggling ⟨with⟩ infirmities, without the vigour of youth, or ⟨the⟩ exertions of manhood-without ſhelter from ⟨the⟩ weather, protection from power, or meat ⟨and⟩ drink to comfort the calls of declining nature, or intereſt enough to reſcue them from the impending horrors of a gaol;--the accumulation of ſuch misfortunes, is more than ſufficient to excite compaſſion, but not always ſufficient, as we find by melancholy example, to obtain relief.
So ſudden an alteration, is enough to ſhake a philoſophy that has not before been tried; and ſuch a change is ſufficient to excite thoſe complaints which are cauſed by diſappointment, but which may be born with patience, and finaly overcome by calmneſs and reſignation. If we meet with affliction, are we alone unfortunate? If we loſe our all, are we the only beggars. How many are reduced to penury who cannot work! what numbers periſh without help, or are entombed alive without pity! and yet how many emerge from diſtreſs and want, by a manly fortitude, and ſteady perſeverence of conduct! The hand of power may oppreſs; but innocence has its peculiar triumph, as miſery cannot reach the grave; for that is the retreat of Virtue, her conſummation, and her end.
I can hardly prevail upon myſelf to believe, that the united violence of ail the winds that ruſh from the heavens, blown through one tub, and directed to one ſpot, could have occaſioned ſuch deſtruction, and in ſo ſhort a ſpace of time, as that of which I was an unfortunate witneſs, and of which I am now become the feeble recorder. If we even conclude it poſſible that the ruins of our buildings could have been occaſioned by the concentration of its fury, how are we to account for ſome phænomena of which were the ſuffering and aſtoniſhed ſpectators? How account for the ſudden irruption of rivers, the lapſes of earth, the diſunion of rocks, the fiſſures of mountains, and for other objects of the ſublime and terrible, which have changed and disfigured the face of the country? How ⟨account⟩ for the hollow roarings of the ſea, and for the ⟨instability⟩ of the climate for many months ⟨before⟩ and for the dreadful pauſes that were obſerved ⟨to⟩ take place, before the buildings were entirely over-turned? It can hardly be doubted but that ⟨heaven⟩ and earth were combined in compleating our deſtruction. One element alone has been hardly ⟨ever⟩ known to occaſion ſo extenſive a devaſtation; ⟨are⟩ the ſudden ſwelling and raging of the ſea, we m⟨most⟩ reaſonably attribute to the heavings of the earthquake; to which likewiſe the general ruin of ⟨our⟩ houſes may be in ſome meaſure attributed.
I have ſeen the ruins of Liſbon; and if it ⟨would⟩ not almoſt amount to folly to compare, in ⟨the⟩ place, great things with ſmall, I ſhould ſay ⟨that⟩ the deſtruction there, great and melancholy as ⟨it⟩ was, could only have been, by compariſon of buildings and extent of population, more dreadful ⟨that⟩ that calamity which I have now the preſumption ⟨to⟩ deſcribe. The earthquake a Liſbon happened ⟨in⟩ the morning and although it almoſt ⟨univerſally⟩ affected its buildings, yet the productions of ⟨the⟩ earth received, in conſequence, tut little damage, whereas the hurricane in Jamaica continued throughout the night, which has its particular terrors, independently of water, and of wind; and not ⟨only⟩ blew down every thing within its ſweep, but ⟨ſpread⟩ deſolation through the country round, and I ⟨am⟩ apt to believe, that the peculiar diſtreſſes of ⟨the⟩ unhappy ſufferers of Savanna-la-Mar, muſt ⟨have⟩ equalled every thing (i ſtill mean by compariſon) that is to be met with in the moſt melancholy annals of human misfortunes.
To this calamity, another unfortunately ſucceeded; and the conſequences of which were ſtill ⟨more⟩ fatal to the lives of thoſe who had ſurvived the ⟨storm⟩. The ſtench that aroſe from the putrefaction of the dead bodies, which remained for many ⟨weeks⟩ without interment (and to numbers of which ⟨the⟩ rites of burial could not be adminiſtered), occaſioned a kind of peſtilence, that ſwept away a ⟨great⟩ proportion of thoſe who had providentially ⟨eſcaped⟩ the firſt deſtruction. Almoſt every perſon ⟨in⟩ the town and neighbourhood was affected; and ⟨the⟩ faculty were rendered incapable, through, ⟨weakneſs⟩, to attend their patients, many of whom ⟨perished⟩ from the inclemency of the weather, from ⟨want⟩ of attendance, or ſupply of food; and to add ⟨to⟩ the general apprehenſion, the negroes poured ⟨down⟩ in troops to the ſcene of devaſtation (and, I ⟨am⟩ ſorry to obſerve, that many white people were ⟨detected⟩, opon the ſpot, of promiſcuous plunder); ⟨and⟩ having made free with the rum that was floating in the inundations, began to grow inſolent and ⟨unruly⟩; and, by their threats and conduct, occaſioned an alarm which it was found neceſſary, by exertion and caution, at once to ſupprefs: and what the ⟨conſequences⟩, at ſuch a time of general confuſion ⟨and⟩ dread, might have been, had not the puncheons been immediately ſtaved, can hardly, even at ⟨this⟩ diſtance of time, be reflected upon without ⟨horrour⟩.
That the unenlightened negroes ſhould be led to ⟨plunder⟩, when they could do it with ſafety, ⟨and without⟩ the curbs of morality and religion to restrain them, is a circumſtance not to be wondered ⟨at⟩; as it is conſiſtent with the common depravity of ⟨human⟩ nature; but that thole who ought to be a ⟨check⟩ upon that licentiouſneſs which they themselves perhaps have taught, ſhould ſtand forward to ⟨diveſt⟩ miſery of its laſt ſupport, and even plunder ⟨penury⟩ itſelf of is utmoſt farthing, is a reflection ⟨upon⟩ thoſe who can diſtinguiſh black from white in the colour of the human ſkin, but who ⟨cannot⟩ diſcriminate what is black from white in the ⟨integral⟩ conduct of man to man. To take advantage ⟨of⟩ misfortune, in the time of public calamity and ⟨private⟩ affliction, and to raiſe a ſuperſtructure, however ſmall, upon the ruins of others; is what, ⟨also⟩ has been too often practiſed without ⟨chaſtiſement⟩ and enjoyed without ſhame: and if thoſe who ⟨are⟩ in authority over negroes, and to whom they ⟨are⟩ taught to look up for the theory as well the ⟨practise⟩ of integrity, ſhall ſet en example of worldly ⟨injuſtice⟩, of rapacity and plunder-the negro who ⟨follows⟩ this infamous example, unconſcious of ⟨wrong⟩ is neither a principal, nor an acceſſary, altho ⟨he⟩ may poſſibly be convicted of both; while the ⟨real⟩ delinquent, who grows rich from infamy, is ⟨ſuffered⟩ to eſcape without trial, and conſequently ⟨without⟩ a puniſhment. I muſt therefore from ⟨facts⟩ conclude, that a reformation in practical ⟨manners⟩ muſt begin with the white people in the ⟨colonies⟩ before any humane inſtitutions for the relief of ⟨the⟩ ſlaves can either be carried into full, or even ⟨into⟩ partial effect; and this preliminary I ſhall ⟨hereafter⟩ endeavour to ſupport by corollaries drawn ⟨from⟩ fact and experience.
The congratulations of the morning that ſucceeded the dreadful viſitation which has been ⟨the⟩ ſubject of theſe pages, were ſuch as ſeemed ⟨the⟩ ſpontaneous effects of what the boſom felt from ⟨the⟩ relief of ſupereminent dangers: the fall ⟨occasion⟩ ſeemed to create new ideas in the mind, and to ⟨give⟩ pangs to feeling, of which the heart was before unconſcious. Many people thought that the day ⟨of⟩ final judgment was come; and felt it as if it was then too late to reflect upon danger: for danger which implies uncertainty, wou'd then have been a pleaſing idea, inaſmuch as chance is a contraſt ⟨to⟩ (illegible text)al deſpair. It is the natural province of man to (illegible text)er; it is an appendage of his condition: but it ⟨requires⟩ a ſomething more to learn to ſubmit, and ⟨patient⟩ ſubmiſsion, without complaint, to bear. ⟨It⟩ is natural to ſuppoſe that the ſtorm above ⟨deſcended⟩, muſt have given riſe to many diſtreſſing ⟨and⟩ pathetic ſcenes; muſt upon ſome occaſions have ⟨growed⟩ up the foul, and upon others, have in(illegible text)ed a tenderneſs and pity. Huſbands and wives, ⟨and⟩ parents and children, were in many places (illegible text)erated by the terrors of the night and ⟨ſeparated⟩, as before obſerved, to meet no more: but ⟨upon⟩ theſe dreadful ſcenes I ſhall not attempt to ⟨dwell⟩ as their remembrance will ſurvive the ⟨description⟩ of my pen, in the melancholy perpetuity ⟨of⟩ domestics afflictions; and which numberleſs ſa(illegible text)ies, more or leſs, to the deſtruction of their (illegible text)es, and the diſcomfort of their lives, will long, ⟨very⟩ long, have cauſe to lament.
⟨I⟩ ſhall never forget the deſolate appearance my caſe made immediately after this cataſtrophe, nor ⟨the⟩ many circumſtances of diſtreſs and commiſerations that alternatly ſhocked and ſoftened the mind. ⟨Here⟩ a poor infant was ſeen extracted from the ⟨ruins⟩, and its lifeleſs body confined to the care and ⟨lamentations⟩ of its deſponding parents; there ſat a ⟨group⟩ of negroes bewailing with heavineſs of heart, ⟨and⟩ all the ſilent eloquence of ſtreaming eyes; and ⟨reached⟩-out hands, the total deſtruction of their (illegible text)e fortunes, in the wrecks of their houſes, the (illegible text)n of their effects, and the demolition of their ⟨grounds⟩; while others ran confuſedly here and ⟨there⟩, without knowing upon what errand they ⟨were⟩ bent, or where to begin, or how to ſet about ⟨the⟩ reſtoration of their loſſes, or by what ⟨philoſophy⟩ to conſole their minds.
There were many who wiſhed to be employed ⟨in rendering⟩ our ſituations more comfortable, but who, from want of method, and from that hurry which is its conſtant attendant, were always in the way, and conſequently did more harm than good, Some, indeed ſucceeded in their exertions; and I ſhould little deſerve thoſe comforts I ſo ſoon found, in compariſon to many others, did I not bear witneſs to the willing induſtry and unremitting application of the tradeſmen and other negroes who were employed in the reparation of the offices, and in making tight thoſe parts of our temporary dwellings which were deſtined to the accommodation of ourſelves and friends.
Another Hurricane in Jamaica, 1781.
IN adition to the forementioned calamity, the inhabitants of the iſland of Jamaica, where again viſited by this dreadful ſcourge of Humanity, within leſs than a twelvemonth after it happened--as appears from the following extract.
About eight o'clock on Wedneſday evening, the 1ſt inſt. a hard gale of wind cane on from the ſouthward, but ſoon after veered to different points of the compaſs; before nine it increaſed to a perfect hurricane, and continued to rage tiil near eleven, greateſt part of the tine blowing from the ſouth-eaſt, accompanied by a heavy and inceſſant rain; nor did the ſtorm altogether ſubſide till about two in the morning: 73. ſail of veſſels, including ſloops, ſchooners and ſhallops were on ſhore between Ruſſel's hulks and the wharf of John Vernon, Eſq; and Co. and ſeveral others to the weſtward of the town, but being moſtly light veſſels, the greateſt part of them either have been, or will be got off, ⟨though⟩ not without conſiderable damage. The ⟨water⟩ in the harbour is ſuppoſed to have riſen ⟨between⟩ four and five feet perpendicular, the ⟨planks⟩ of the wharfs in general being torn up, and ⟨many⟩ heavy articles that were upon them entirely ⟨carried⟩ away; of Meſſrs. Law and Hargreave's ⟨wharf⟩, ſcarce the veſtiges remain.-The greateſt ⟨part⟩ of the returned fleet being at Port Royal, the ⟨accounts⟩ from thence are ſtill more deplorable, to ⟨loaded⟩ ſhips being either ſunk or overſet, and 24 ⟨run⟩ on ſhore between Salt Ponds and Muſquito ⟨Point⟩.
Many houſes and piazzas in this town were blown ⟨down⟩, and two negroes found drowned in the ⟨streets⟩, in which torrents of water for ſeveral hours ⟨ran⟩ down with great rapidity.
His Majeſty's ſhip Pelican was drove upon Mo(illegible text)nr Key, and ſuppoſed to be totally loſt; the ſhip's ⟨company⟩, excepting four; were providentially ſaved.
Three veſſels were drove aſhore in the harbour ⟨at⟩ Martha Brae; the ſhip Robuck, of New-York, ⟨the⟩ ſloop Beaver, and a ſloop belonging to ⟨Kingston⟩; the firſt is totally loſt, the other two will be ⟨got⟩ off.
The ſhip Orarge Bay, which went aſhore near ⟨the⟩ Twelve Apoſtles, contrary to all expectation, ⟨has⟩ been got off. A conſiderable part of the ⟨cargoes⟩ of ſeveral other veſſels, that were drove on ⟨shore⟩ near that place, has been ſaved.
His Majeſty's ſhip Southampton, after having had ⟨an⟩ engagement with a French frigate off Cape Francois, was by the late ſtorm diſmafted and driven to ⟨Wreck⟩ Riff, to the leewerd of Port Royal, where ⟨ſhe⟩ now remains; the Vaughan and ſeveral other ⟨vessels⟩ are gone to her aſſiſtance.
The ſtorm very unfortunately proves to have been ⟨general⟩ throughout the iſland, though not equally violent: in Weſtmoreland, St. Ann's, and St. ⟨Mary's⟩ the canes have received conſiderable damage, the plantain walks, together with the ripening o(illegible text) have been totally deſtroyed; the other pa(illegible text) particularly thoſe to windward, have ſuffered ⟨to⟩ much leſs degree.
The ſtorm on Wedneſday the 1ſt of Auguſt ⟨has⟩ done much damage to our ſhipping; it has ⟨driven⟩ aſhore two ſhips, the Chriſtina and Juno, a ⟨ſmall⟩ veſſel of Niel's, and a brig belonging to Capt. A(illegible text) Hamilton, is totally loſt, and himſelf and ⟨many⟩ drowned: M'Kay's wharf is carried away: Drs Pi(illegible text)ney and Ruecaſtle, Meſſrs. Blake and Ingles's (illegible text)houſes and ſtores are thrown down; all the ⟨profuſion⟩ and fine crops of corn are deſtroyed; the ⟨canes⟩ are all laid flat, and there is hardly an eſtate ⟨in⟩ Weſtmoreland but has ſuffered in buildings, (illegible text) Ulyſſes. which come here from Kingſton ⟨was⟩ 20,000l. a part of the parliamentary grant to ſufferers by the ſtorm in October laſt, has ⟨been⟩ drove to ſea, together with a brig out of Bluefie(illegible text) and, through the whole pariſh of St. Eliſabeth, proviſions in general are deſtroyed, and the ⟨canes⟩ greatly damaged."
The accounts from Hanover are equally unfavourable,
St. Mary's, St. Ann's, and Trelawny, have ſuffered very conſiderably in their proviſions ⟨and⟩ canes.
On Sunday laſt the ſhip Ulyſſes,———⟨Thomas⟩ Eſq; commander, went into Lucea harbour ⟨under⟩ jury maſts, with the loſs of her bowſprit, being the damage we underſtand ſhe has ſuſtained.
Letters received from St. Elizabeth ⟨mention⟩ that the ſcarcity of proviſions for the ⟨negroes⟩ is ſo great, in conſequence of the laſt ſtorm, ⟨that⟩ ⟨many⟩ of the inhabitants are obliged to purchaſe ⟨corn⟩ at the exhorbitant price of a bit for ſix ears, ⟨meerly⟩ to keep their ſlaves from periſhing until ⟨other⟩ proviſions can be procured.
It is yet impoſſible to ſay what number of lives ⟨have⟩ been loſt in this dreadful calamity; but they ⟨muſt⟩ be numerous; in one plantain boat only, ⟨the⟩ perſons periſhed; as did the crew of the Ruby's ⟨boat⟩, at Port Reval, in endeavouring to aſſiſt a ⟨veſſel⟩ in diſtreſs ſoon after the ſtorm came on.
Tornado in Scotlund, July, 1799.
TOrnado. The following intereſting account of this awful phænomenon, which took place at ⟨Whitelaw⟩, in the pariſh of Ednam, Berwickſhire, ⟨of⟩ the 3d curt. we copy from the Kelſo Mail.
"The weather through the day had been calm, ⟨with⟩ ſoft ſhowers. At ſeven o'clock in the evening there was obſerved by many people, a little to ⟨the⟩ ſouth-weſt of Mr. Tod's houſe at Whitelaw, ⟨a⟩ denſe light coloured cloud of a very uncommon ⟨appearance⟩. It reſembled an inverted cone, ⟨reaching⟩ from the ground to a conſiderable height in the ⟨atmoſphere⟩. Its motion towards the houſe was ſlow ⟨and⟩ majeſtic. a perſon of no great agility on ſeeing ⟨its⟩ approach could eaſily have eſcaped from it. It ⟨began⟩ at length to whirl round with great rapidity, ⟨accompanied⟩ with a loud, rattling noiſe. The effect ⟨of its⟩ amazing power was firſt exhibited upon a large ⟨sack⟩ of ſtraw in the barn-yard, which it raiſed in ⟨one⟩ maſs to a conſiderable height in the air. A ⟨beam⟩ of timber, lying flat on the ground, was ⟨hurled⟩ from its place ſeveral feet; and it will be thought oft to exceed credibility when it is mentioned, ⟨that⟩ this beam was thirty-three feet long! Small ⟨stones⟩ were heaped together in mounds as if by (illegible text)ood. The farm-offices were materially injured; ſome of them, indeed, were almoſt entirely ſtript ⟨of⟩ their tiles.
"Human ſtrength was mere weakneſs when ⟨expoſed⟩ to this war of elements. A ſtout young ⟨fellow⟩, who had witneſsed the ſcene in the barn-⟨yard⟩ from an apprehenſion that the houſe muſt neceſsarily be tumbled down, run out for ſafety. The ⟨reſiſtleſs⟩ enemy, however, lifted him over a wall ⟨four⟩ feet high, and carried him forwards for thirty ⟨of⟩ forty yards!-Several of the ſervants were ⟨forcibly⟩ driven about, ſome in one direction and ſome in ⟨another⟩, according to the eddy. The horſes ⟨and⟩ cattle upon the farm exhibited the livelieſt ſymptoms of alarm and agitation.
6. The dwelling houſe at Whitelaw, in which ⟨a⟩ family reſided at the time, ſhook with ſuch ⟨violence⟩ as to threaten its deſtruction and theirs. Providentially, however, amidſt all the devaſtation, no perſon was materially hurt; and, what renders this more remarkable is, that the tiles which were ⟨torn⟩ from the ſurrounding offices fell from an ⟨immense⟩ height, in vaſt numbers, among the people ⟨expoſed⟩ to the ſtorm.
"Before the cloud reached the farm houſe it ⟨had⟩ fortunately divided, and the two parts taking ⟨different⟩ directions, only one of them ſtruck the ⟨building.⟩ Had the whole collected force discharged itſelf ⟨at⟩ once, few, it is probable, would have ſurvived relate the particulars.
"There was little rain at Whitelaw either ⟨immediately⟩ before or after the whirlwind; but in ⟨the⟩ adjacent country, to the north and eat, owing, ⟨it is⟩ ſuppoſed, to the violent concuſſion of the ⟨clouds⟩ there was a torrent of rain, and in ſome places b(illegible text) for a few minutes, as had not been obſerved in memory of man.- Edinburgh Weekly Journal, No. (illegible text)
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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- ↑ This happened in 1764.