town, coming down Wappo creek, refembling a column of fmoak and vapour, whose motion was very irregular and tumultuous, and came with great fwiftnefs. The quanThe quantity of vapour which compofed this impetuous column, and its prodigious velocity, gave fuch a furprifing momentum, as to plough Athley river to the bottom, and laid the channel bare: this occafioned fuch a fudden flux and reflux, as to float many boats, pettiaugers, and even floops and fchooners, which were before lying dry, at fome diftance from the tide. When it was coming down Afhley river, it made a noife like conftant thunder; its diameter, at that time, was judged to be about 300 fathoms, and its height about 35 degrees. It was met at White Point by another guft, which came down Cooper's river, but was not equal to the other; but upon their meeting together, the tumultuous agitation of the air was much greater, infomuch that the froth and vapour feemed to be thrown up to the height of 40 degrees, while the clouds that were driving in all directions to this place, feemed to be precipitated, and whirled round at the fame time, with incredible velocity. Jutt after this it fell upon the fhipping in the road, and was fcarce three minutes in its paffage, though the diftance was near two leagues; there were forty-five fail in the road, five of which were funk outright, and his majefty's fhip Dolphin, with eleven others, loft their mafts, &c. The damage done to the fhipping, which is valued at 20,0001. fterling, was done almoft inftantaneously, and fome of thofe that were funk, were buried in the water fo fuddenly, as fcarce to give

time to thofe that were below to get upon deck: and it is remarkable, that but four lives were loft in them. The ftrong guft which came down Cooper's river, checked the progrefs of that pillar of deftruction from Wappo creek, which, had it kept its then direction, muft have driven the town of Charlestown before it like chaff. This tremendous column was firft feen about noon, upwards of fifty miles W. by S. from Charles-town, and has deftroyed, in its course, several houfes, negro huts, &c. on the plantations, and many, both white people and negroes, were killed and hurt; befides many cattle have alfo been found dead in the fields. In feveral parts of its course it left an avenue of a great width, from which every tree and fhrub was torn up: great quantities of branches and limbs of trees were furioufly driven about, and agitated in the body of the column as it pafled along. The fleet lying in the road ready to fail for Europe, was the largeft and richeft that ever cleared out from Charles-town. About four o'clock the wind was quite fallen, the fky clear and ferene, fo that it was fearce credible that fuch a dreadful fcene had been fo recently exhibited, were not the finking and difmafted veffels fo many fhocking and melancholy proofs of it. The finking of the five fhips in the road was fo fudden, that it was a doubt whether it was done by the immenfe weight of this column prefling them inftantaneoufly into the deep, or whether it was done by the water being forced fuddenly from under them, and thereby letting them fink fo low, as to be inmediately covered and ingalphed by the lateral mafs of water. Molt

of

of the difabled fhips were towed up to the town the next day, and captain Scot, of the Scarborough, is appointed to convoy thofe that are able to put to fea, in the room of the Dolphin.

An Account of the death of a woman killed by a sudden and imperceptible eruption from the earth.

A

Woman of the village of Bonne-Vallie, near Ventimillia*, aged about 37 years, was returning with four of her companions, from the foreft of Montenere, each being loaded with a bundle of fmall sticks and leaves, which they had been gathering. As foon as they arrived at a place called Gargan, this woman, two of her companions being before, and two behind her, fuddenly cried out with great vehemence, and immediately fell down with her face towards the ground. The perfon that was neareft to her obferved nothing more than ufual, except a little duft that rofe round her, and a flight motion in fome little ftones that lay upon the fpot; they all ran immediately to her affiftance, but they found her quite dead; her cloaths, and even her fhoes were cut, or rather torn into flips, and fcattered at the diftance of five or fix feet round the body, fo that they were obliged to wrap her up in a cloth, in order to carry her to the village.

Upon infpecting the body, the eyes appeared fixed and livid; there was a wound on the left fide of the os frontis, which left the pericra

nium bare, and there were also many fuperficial scratches upon the face in ftrait lines. The region of the loins was livid, and a wound was difcovered there which had broken the os facrum; at some diftance there was another wound, and both thefe wounds were in right lines, and very deep. On the left groin there was a wound which had divided all the teguments, and penetrated into the peritonæum; the epigastric and hypogaftric regions were livid; the teguments and muscles of the right fide of the abdomen were deftroyed, and had given way to the inteftines; the os pubis was laid bare, and fractured, and the flesh was ftripped off quite to the hip, from whence the head of the os femoris had been broken off, and forced out of the focket, in which it is articulated; the muscles of the buttock and thigh were almost carried away, and what is yet more aftonifhing, notwithstanding this lofs of flesh, which could not be lefs than fix pounds, there was not the leaft drop of blood to be feen upon the fpot where the accident happened, nor the leaft fragment of the flesh that had been torn away.

It was fuppofed that this poor woman was killed by the eruption of a fubterraneous vapour, which iffued from the ground direily under her; a conjecture which feems the more probable, as, in the fummit of the mountain Montenore, there are two chinks, from which fmoke frequently iffues, and at the foot of the mountain there is a fulphureous fpring. It may cafily be

conceived

conceived that an exhalation, thrown off from the fire that burns under the mountain with great force, would make its way through the ground, and might produce the death of this unhappy perfon, with all its extraordinary appearances. Perhaps the eruption of thefe exhalations are more frequent than is generally imagined, and we have been igno, rant of them only becaufe no fubject has happened to be prefent, upon which their effects could appear.

This mo extraordinary relation was communicated by M. Morand, to the royal academy of fciences in Paris, by whom it has been made public.

An Account of the late Earthquakes in Syria. In a letter from Dr. Patrick Russel, dated the 7th of December 1759. From the Philosophical Transactions.

HE

Tuffering of this year was

unufually dry, the fummer temperate, and the autumn, though the rains came on towards the end of September, might be efteemed much drier than in other years. The Aleppo river has been very low all the fummer; and its bed, from the first to the fecond mill, is, I believe, even now, ftill without water. This phænomenon I at first thought remarkable; but have been informed that the scarcity of water complained of during all the fummer, was occafioned by driving the river in to fome rice grounds lately formed toward Antab.

On the morning of June 10, a flight fhock of an earthquake was felt here, and, as ufual, foon forgot; having, fo far as we know,

been felt in no other place, in any degree of feverity.

October the 30th, about four in the morning, we had a pretty severe fhock (indeed the moft violent I ever felt) which lafted fomewhat more than a minute, but did no damage in Aleppo. In about ten minutes after this first, there was a fecond fhock; but the tremulous motion was lefs violent, and did not laft above 15 feconds. It had rained a little in the preceding evening; and when the earthquake happened, the weft wind blew freth, the fky was cloudy, and it lightened.

This earthquake occafioned a little alarm amongst the natives, and even with the Europeans was the topic only for a day. But the fubject was foon revived, by letters from Damafcus, where the fame fhock was felt as by us at Aleppo, and feveral other fucceffive ones, had done confiderable damage. From this time, we had daily accounts of earthquakes from Damafcus, Tripoly, Seidon, Acri, and along the coaft of Syria; but fo exaggerated in fome circumstances, and fo inaccurate in all, that we only knew in general, that Damafcus, Acri, and Seidon, had fuffered injury from the earthquake, though lefs than was at first given out.

Such ftories circulating among the people, rendered them more fufceptible of alarm; and an occafion foon offered, where they feared, that the worft of their apprehenfions were to be realized.

This happened the 25th of November. The morning had been ferene, fome clouds arofe after noon, and the evening was remarkably hazy, with little or no wind. About half an hour after

feven at night, the earthquake came on: the motion, at first, was gently tremulous, increafing by degrees, till the vibrations became more diftinct, and, at the fame time, fo ftrong as to shake the walls of the houfe with confiderable violence; they again became more gentle, and thus changed alternately feveral times during the fhock, which lafted in all about two minutes. In about eight minutes after this was over, a flight fhock, of a few feconds duration, fucceeded. The thermometer was at 50, and the barometer ftood at 28 9, the mercury fuffering no alteration. There was little or no wind in the night, the fky clear, excepting fome heavy clouds, that hung about the moon. At a quarter after four next morning, we had another fhock, which lafted fomewhat lefs than a minute, and was hardly fo ftrong as that of the preceding night. The night of the 26th was rainy and cloudy. At nine o'clock we had a flight fhock, of a few feconds. The motion here appeared to be very deep, and was rather undulatory than tremulous. The 27th, cloudy and rainy. From midnight of the 25th, belides thefe now mentioned, four or five flighter' fhocks were felt; but I myself was fenfible of none, till the morning of the 28th, when wo had a fhort pulfatory fhock. The fame day, at two o'clock, we had a pretty fmart fhock, lafting about forty foconds. From this time I was fenfible of no more, though others cither felt or imagined feveral flight vibrations every day.

However violent this earthquake was, or rather by the frightened people of Aleppo, imagined to be,

VOL. IV.

it is certain, that excepting a very few old walls, the city bears no freth marks of ruin; none of the oldeft minoretst have fuffered. Its effects at Antioch were more for midable; many houfes have been thrown down, and fome few people killed.

December 7. The earthquake of the evening of the 25th, has proved fatal to Damafcus; one-third of the city was thrown down, and of the people numbers yet unknown perifhed in the ruins. The greater part of the furviving inhabitants fled to the fields, where they still continued, being hourly alarmed by flighter fhocks, which deterred them from re-entering the city, or attempting the relief of fuch as might yet be faved, by clearing away the rubbish. Such was the purport of a letter I read this day, which was wrote from Damafcus three days after the earthquake. Other accounts we have at this place, make the lofs of the inhabitants amount to 30,000; but, in circumftances of fuch general horror and confufion, little accuracy can be expected, and the eaftern difpofition to exaggeration reigns," at prefent, univerfally.

Tripoly has fuffered rather more than Aleppo; three minorets, and two or three houfes, were thrown down, while the walls of numbers of the houfes were rent. The Franks, and many of the natives, have deferted the city, and remain' in the fields.

At Seidon, great part of the' Frank kane was overthrown, and fome of the Europeans narrowly efcaped with, their lives. Acri and Latakea have fuffered little, befides rents in fome of the walls; but

Saphet

Saphet (eight hours from Acri) was totally deftroyed, together with the greater part of the inhabitants.

Such are the most authentic accounts we have from abroad; how much they contribute to calm the minds of the people at Aleppo, you may easily imagine. Since the af ternoon of the 28th, feveral flight fhocks have been every day felt, and many more formed by the pow-' er of imagination for my own part, I have fince that time perceived none, excepting one, the evening of the 5th, which was pretty firong, but lafted not above twenty feconds. The weather, for thefe two days, has been gloomy and rainy; a change which people are willing to flatter themselves is favourable. It often lightens in the night, and thunder is heard at a great diftance.

Extract of another letter from Dr. Patrick Russel, to Dr. Alexander Russel, dated at Aleppo, 29 March, 1760.

I

N my laft, of the 7th of December, I gave you full account of the earthquakes, which have occafioned an univerfal panic all over Syria. There were feveral other fhocks in December, and a few very flight ones in January: fince which time, all has been quiet.

Excepting a few.old houses, none of the buildings in Aleppo were actually thrown down; but the walls of a confiderable number of houfes have been rent.

We have had the wetteft winter I ever faw in this country. The Coic has every where overflowed its banks, and is juft now much higher than it has been known to rife for many years.

An Account of the dreadful earthquakes and eruptions, which happened last April 1761, in the island of Terceira, one of the Azores. In a letter from Mr. James Fearnes, his majesty's consul there. To which are added, Dr. Mitchell's conjectures concerning the cause of earthquakes and volcanos in general.

SINCE

INCE the laft of November we have felt feveral earthquakes, and on the 31st of March the fea role to a great height, and fell again fo low, that the quays were left dry; all the lighters and fishingboats that were hauled up into Porto Rico, were carried down into the bay, and broke to pieces upon the rocks. On the 14th of April, we had four small earthquakes; and on the 15th, about one in the morning, we were all raised out of our beds by a violent fhock; from which time, the earth was almoft continually trembling, till the evening of the 17th, when we had two other violent fhocks, attended with noifes like the difcharging of can non. Thefe, though they increafed our fear, yet they feemed to have a good effect upon the earth; for afterwards tremblings were not fo frequent. The next morning news was brought that there was a great fmoke feen about 3 leagues to the N. W. of this city, which was foon confirmed by noifes like thunder at a diftance, which feemed to proceed from the fame place. Several people were fent to examine it, but fo great were the tremblings of the earth, and the fmoke and the noifes, that they durft not approach near enough to give a regular account. This continued three days, in which we were continually alarmed with earthquakes, or the faid dreadful noifes. On the 20.h

we