“South America”
Date
5-20-1812
Newspaper
The Georgia Journal
Page and Column
Page 1, Column 2 and 3
Newspaper Location
Milledgeville, Georgia
Serial Number
607
Abstract
Report on Caribbean earthquake at La Guria in March 1812. Long account
Transcript
SOUTH AMERICA. Extract of a letter received per sch'r Independence from La Guira. A few days prior to our arrival, this town was almost destroyed by an Earthquake; it commenced about 4 o'clock, P. M. on Thursday the 26th March; its duration was about 4 minutes, and its effects horribly destructive; since my arrival, there have been a few shocks, but no material damage done. Such is the alarm of the inhabitants that the town is entirely deserted, and they are now living without the walls, beneath little tents and huts, which are erected merely to shelter them from the rain and heat of the sun. "It is not within the compass of my ability to describe to you the misery of those people; fear and despair, grief and ruin, have completely overwhelmed them. Parents have escaped with the loss of their children; children with the loss of their parents, and very few without the loss of their property. Already 500 persons have been found, and the probability is, that a greater number still remain buried beneath the ruins. The destruction at Carracas is much greater; 2500 bodies have been thrown upon the funeral pile, and burned already, and it is supposed, that from 5 to 10,000 souls were lost. Out of 40 Churches in that place, two convents only remain standing. Such is the lamentable situation of these two places, that it will be a long time before they can be reinstated. No business of any nature is doing. All the Americans here will go to Porto Cabello."
Recommended Citation
"“South America”" (1812). New Madrid Compendium Far-Field Database. 595.
https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/cas-ceri-new-madrid-compendium/595
