"..the earth was horribly torn to pieces - the surface of hundreds of acres, was, from time to time, covered over, in various depths, by the sand which issued from the fissures, which were made in great numbers all over this country, some of which closed up immediately after they had vomited forth their sand and water..."
Eye witness writing the day of the quake:.
"There was a great shaking of the earth this morning. Tables and chairs turned over and knocked around - all of us knocked out of bed. The roar I thught would leave us deaf if we lived. It was not a storm. when you could hear, all you cold hear was screams from people and animals. It was the worst thing that I have ever wittnesed. It was still dark and you could not see nothng. I thought the shaking and the loud roaring sound would never stop. You could not hold onto nothing neither man or woman was strong enough - the shaking would knock you lose like knocking hicror nuts out of a tree. I don't know how we lived through it. None of us was killed - we was all banged up and some of us knocked out for awile and blood was every where."
They say thirty feet tall groundwaves. Just like shaking a rug. Mile after mile of every tree knocked down. The whole business was pretty amazing.
I had to drive into work that morning to appraise the damage to our systems . . . the entire face of our eight story building had fallen off into the Blvd. below. I could share more but just sharing this much is starting to creep me out . . . I think the most powerful earthquake is the last one we survived. IMHO.