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boats and shipping, all plunged into eternity. Not one of the one thousand human beings thus engulfed, nor a sign of boat or vessel of the fleets swallowed reappeared above the surface; but over the spot still stands the waters, six hundred feet deep, leaving no trace of the life, bustle, and wealth of this doomed and desolate region. The shock that thus caused such devastation shook an area four times as great as all of Europe. It was felt at once in the Alps and along the coast of Sweden. The thermal springs of Töplitz, Germany, for a time disappeared. Loch Lomond and other lakes in Scotland rose and fell by the agitation. Along the shores of Barbadoes, Antigua, and Martinique the tide rose suddenly more than twenty feet, and the sea was of inky blackness. The waters of Lake Ontario were agitated; and on the shores of Massachusetts the sea roared and was fearfully agitated, water-spouts burst forth, and springs which still run were opened. Chimneys in Boston were thrown down, and houses disjointed and cracked.

Naples, in December, 1857, was threatened with total destruction by violent shakes; while Mount Vesuvius continued to emit clouds of smoke accompanied with loud reports like the roar of cannon. At this time the destruction in the surrounding provinces was terrible. Potenza, the capital of Basilicata, was left without a single house inhabited. Marsico Nuovo, Tito, Laurenzana, Polla, and other places were reduced to ruins: from twenty-five to forty thousand lives were lost, it is estimated.

On the 19th of June, 1858, an earthquake of great severity visited Mexico, destroying many houses in the

capital and the aqueduct supplying the city with water, and levelling churches and buildings throughout many parts of the country. On the 22d of March, 1859, the city of Quito, in Ecuador, was almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake: several thousand persons perished.

Throughout the greater part of Africa and in the region of Greenland no record is made of any earthquakes having occurred. In the Atlantic ocean, midway between Guinea and Brazil, near the equator, eruptions are almost constantly occurring, passing ships experiencing their effects and also observing the variations in soundings and the great irregularity of the bottom of the sea. That this is the seat of active volcanoes cannot be doubted.

CHAPTER XIX.

Zoology-Relics of antiquity-Animals-Birds-Fishes-Bull and bear fights-Reptiles-Bees-Horned toad-Whales.

CALIFORNIA in her zoological department exhibits. many interesting and entirely new specimens of beasts, birds, and fishes, many of which are of great size, beauty, and value, either on account of their meat or fur; and to the sportsman they present a field of great attraction. The discovery of the bones of immense animals at a great depth in the earth, and of a size larger than any specimens now known upon the continent, assures us that, at some remote period, animals of enormous size and of a species unknown to the present age roamed the hills and valleys of California.

The bones of Indians, Indian arrows, and stone mortars have also been found at a great depth in the earth, showing that man existed in the country before the great convulsion of nature which pushed up the Sierras and elevated the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys above their ancient levels.

ANIMALS.

The grizzly bear and elk are the two largest animals of California. The grizzly is confined to the regions. west of the Rocky mountains, and is to be found throughout the Sierras, foot-hills, and Coast Range. In early days, these bears were very numerous, but are now comparatively scarce and seldom molest man; although there have been many desperate fights between the grizzly and hunters. Their great size, strength,

ན ང བར བྱས 1:|: * ***

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