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 OCTOBER 28th, 1891. 
 
 “Hyogo News” Co. Price 25 sen. 
 
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 in 2017 with funding from 
 Columbia University Libraries 
 
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 Showing area oe Earthquake Disturbance. 
 
 1 Tokyo, 2 Yokohama. I! Shizuoka. 4 Hamamatsu, r> Nagoya, fi 
 Gifu, 7 Fukiii, .S Ot.<u. it Kyoto. 10 Osaka, II Kobe. Black spot.s 
 show where .severe shocks were felt. Ifalf sliailed. les.s fevere. 
 Towns not shaileii, very slight. 
 
Tim Eieal EarllipaitG 
 
 IN 
 
 Japan, 
 
 0c To Get 2 Sl'l\, iSo)i. 
 
 lii'ing a full description of the disasters residtiioj 
 from the recent terrihle catastrophe, taken from the 
 accounts in, the “ JL/ogo f^eirs '' hij its Sjiecial Correspon- 
 dent, and from other sources. 
 
 K O B E : 
 
 Printed and Published at the Office of 
 ‘•The Hyogo News.” 
 
 1 8 ‘J 1 . 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 This account makes no pretensions to being scientific. 
 
 It is simply a record of what I experienced in Kobe, and 
 
 a description of the scenes witnessed in travelling over 
 
 the districts where the most disastrous effects of the 
 
 earthquake of October 28th, 1891, resulted. 
 
 H. TENNANT. 
 
 Ivobe, 12th Noveiiiltei', 1891. 
 

 
 
 
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INTRODUCTION. 
 
 EARTHQUAKES IN JAPAN. 
 
 Earthquakes are frequent in Japan, says 
 J. J. Rein in liis able and interestintr work on 
 this country. Sucli violent disturbances, lie 
 continues, fortunately occur but seldom, that is 
 to say, according to previous experience and 
 expectation, about one in every twenty years. 
 The last destructive earthquake, however, took 
 place in the autumn of 1855, so that already 
 twenty-five years have elapsed without a re- 
 currence, and the old rule apparently no longer 
 holds. This was written in 1880, and although 
 in that year a shock of consideiable violence 
 was felt it was not until the morning of the 
 28th Oct., 1891, that aseismic disturbance of any 
 startling dimensions transpired. That, however, 
 amply atoned for any delay, and by the extent 
 of the area effected, and the terrific devastation 
 wrought, maintained the reputation of Japan for 
 being subject to such fearful visitations. 
 
 Japanese histories teem with incidents of 
 the phenomena. There is a legend that in 
 286 B. C., Fujiyama was formed, as well as 
 Lake Biwa, by one of these subterranean 
 upheavals. The earliest authentic instance is 
 that which occurred in 416 a.d., when the 
 Imperial Palace at Kioto was thrown to the 
 ground. Again in 599, the buildings through- 
 out the province of Yamato were all destroyed, 
 and special prayers were ordered to he offered 
 up to the deity of earthquakes. In 679 
 a tremendous shock caused many fissures, 
 or chasms, to open in the province of Chikuzen 
 and Chikugo, in Kiushiu; the largest of these 
 fissures being four miles in length and 20 ft. 
 in width. In 685 a terrible disturbance occurred. 
 Mountains were toppled over, rivers overflowed 
 
VI. 
 
 and tremendous destruction resulted. In the 
 province of Tosa an area of five million tsulio 
 sunk into the sea. In 8d4 the province of 
 Hi go was devastated, 570 villages disappear- 
 ing, and 280 mountain slips being recorded, the 
 loss of life being immense. In 745 the ground 
 rocked contitiuously for two days and three 
 nights in succession, Mino province, then iis 
 now, suffering terrible disasters. Fifty-two 
 years later Kioto, whicli lias been frequently a 
 sufferer, was almost annihilated, while in 818 
 tlie fatalities in Sagami. Musasiii, Sliimosa, 
 Ilitaclii, Kotsuke, and Sliimotsuke were so 
 numerous lliat the Government iiad to Inirv tlie 
 corpses. Tlie year 827 is also noted for a 
 mighty’ earthf|uake. Tlie first strong shock 
 did greiit damage, lint it was two days later, 
 wlien the most awful disturbance followed. 
 Violent earihquakes also occnrreil in 830 and 
 841, while in the years 850, 856, 8o7, 864, and 
 868 ill-fated Kioto suffered severely. Sometimes 
 these shocks were accompanied by sea-floods, one 
 of these in 869 drowning 1 .000 [lersons in Oshiu. 
 
 ilore recently in 17tt2 the loft-walls of the 
 outside and inside moals of the castle of Yedo 
 were destroyed, tidal waves broke along the 
 coast in the vicinitv, and the road leading 
 through the famous piiss of Ilakone, was closed 
 up by the alteration in the surface of tiie earth. 
 Indeed Tokio has constantly’ been victimized, 
 and fire in neatly every’ instance has siifiple- 
 mented the carastrojihe. In 1703 such a 
 calamity hajipened costing it is estimated the 
 lives altogether of 200,000 persons, and laying 
 the capital in ruins. Echizen was decimated 
 in 1726, and in 1751 Kioto, and Echigo were 
 terrilily aff'ecteil, 16,000 people, being killetl. 
 These instances bv no means exhaust the 
 catiilogue. In 1782, Kwanto was badly shaken 
 and in 1783 t he eruption of Asama-ytima was 
 followed liv violent eartlujuakes, the eruption of 
 Onzenga-take in 1 792, being succeeded by simi lar 
 phenomena. Coming to the early days of the 
 
Vll. 
 
 present century Dewa was the theatre of 
 repeated concussions in 1804, and in 1822 
 1.50 sliocks weie felt in Edo in the course of 
 three days. Once more in 1828 an earthquake 
 occurred in Echii^o, and .Sfl.OOO men, women 
 and (diildren were destroyed. Two years later 
 Kioto was again aillicied. The Tokngawa 
 palace. Kijo, was timotig the Imildings over- 
 thrown w’hile the nnmlier of [)eople slain was 
 described as itititttnerable. It was not otie 
 shock, l)tit three followitig each other it) rapid 
 sticcessioti at four iti the afternoon, the ground 
 rocking like waves. The allVighted people 
 were too terror-sfricket) to do anythitig, and it 
 wiis (hiys before their senses rcittrtieil to them. 
 'I'lie shocks occurred on the 18th Atignst, 1880. 
 From that (hitc to September ord, llie shocks 
 were con i innons. ami t heti atiot her d isttirbance 
 caused the sea to itinmhite the contilry. catising 
 still greater loss of life. The ptiliice of Sendai 
 was laid in rnitis in 188.5, ttnd some lOU or 500 
 hottses swept itito the sea, while in 1847 in the 
 province of Shinatto mountains were thrown 
 down, rivers were changed, tind districts 
 flooded, the loss of life licitig .‘iiiptillititr. In 
 18.54 the provinces of Snrnga, Mikawa. Totomi. 
 Ise, Igii, Settsn and Harima as well tis the whole 
 of Shikoku were severely shttken. It was this 
 earthquake which destroyed the town of 
 Shitnoda, iti the ])rovitice of Izti, which had 
 been opened as a foreigt) jiort in Japan, while a 
 Hnssian frigate the Diana, h itig iti h.arhonr at 
 the time wtis so severely damaged by the shock, 
 atid the waves which if raised, that she h.ad to 
 he .abandoned. 
 
 The last great catastrojihe, prior to the ]»re- 
 setit year, was iti 18-5.5. It was ahotit the same 
 date occtirring on Xovetiiher lOth. It may 
 not be amiss to describe it ,a little fttllv, and I 
 again tpiote Air. Ileiti’s work, frotn whitdi most 
 of these facts are gle:ined. “'Fhe last great 
 eartlnpiakc in the ctijiital, 'Fokio, w'tis thtit of 
 18.5.5. Its horrors still live in the recollection 
 
IVlll. 
 
 of the people, and they fear nothing more thaii 
 a repetition of the occnrrence. Altogether 
 eighty shocks M-ere felt within a month, the 
 most ^■iolent of them on the night of the 10th. 
 No^embe^. Yedo wms s])eedily tnrned into a 
 rnhliish heap, and fire broke out simnltaneonsly 
 in thirty ditlerent j)laces. It was as light a.s 
 by day, and the black clouds of smoke covered 
 the whole sky. d'bose of Ihe inhabitants who 
 had not previously thought of saving them- 
 selves, mostly ])erisbed under beams and rnins; 
 others fell a jirey to the flames. The survivors 
 had taken i-efnge in the streets. The distur- 
 bances continued almost nninterrnptedly until 
 the 1 1 th, November. From time to time the 
 shocks were repeate<l, but Avere continually 
 weaker until the end of this eai thquake arrived 
 on the 28th ^November. The number of fallen 
 houses in Yedo was 14,241, of fallen ware- 
 houses l,t)4;). But this refers only to the totvn 
 jtroper, not to the dwellings of the Daimio and 
 Samurai. I(i4,()00 persons are said to have 
 perished. \'ery striking in proportion to the 
 violence of the earthrpiake was its very limited 
 area. On Xakasendo it was felt only as far as 
 Takasaki; on Koshiukaido as far as Ilachioji; 
 on Tokaido as far as Ilodogaya: Oshiukaido, as 
 far as Utsunomiya: in Shimosa as far as 
 Sakasai. The })lain of Kwanto was the 
 hearth and Tokio the centre of this earthquake.” 
 
 In nearly all of these cases it is noteworthy 
 that there Avas only one princi])al shock, the 
 preceding or successive oscillations being com- 
 paratiA'ely mild. This is so I'reciuent as to 
 appear to be almost a fixed law, and the obvious 
 dednertion should greatly reassure the alarmed 
 people, both foreigners and Japanese, Avho fear 
 that the recent terrible shock is but the pre- 
 decessor of some still more dreadful cataclysm. 
 Fp to the time of writing (Nov. 11th) the 
 shocks have been continuous, though gradually 
 less frequent, and loss severe. A'e may Avell 
 assume therefore, that the Avorst is past. 
 
THE EARTHQUAKE. 
 
 ITS EFFECTS IX KOBE. 
 
 TERRIBLE DISASTER AT OSAKA. 
 
 On October 28tli, 1891, Kolie residents were 
 startled by the most severe slirndt of e!irth((iiake 
 felt since the opening of tlie poi t. Chimneys 
 were thrown down, houses cracked and people 
 rushed into the streets in their night-clothes, 
 while the dogs in their kennels howled ])iteonsly. 
 The next morning tlie following account ap- 
 peared in the Hyogo News ; — 
 
 ‘•Last night Kobe was visited by a series of 
 earthquake shocks culminating this morning 
 in the most severe seismic disturbance felt here 
 for a long time. It commenced as nearly as 
 possible at about twenty minutes to seven 
 o’clock. My boy bad just called me, when 
 suddenly I felt the house quiver as if struck 
 by a tremendous squall. Then followed a 
 series of violent vibrations, seemingly travelling 
 from northeast to southwest, causing every 
 door and window to rattle, while the bed 
 heaved to and fro in similar fashion to a boat 
 rocking in a choppy sea. The furniture shook 
 and swayed so much that the wash-basin was 
 partially emptied of its contents, and a box 
 was thrown from tlie dressing table. The 
 sensation was a very curious one, the trembling 
 and rocking of the house, and the motion 
 of everything seemed like a delusion of the 
 senses. The shocks continued for nearly two 
 minutes, and then ceased abruptly, but after- 
 wards, and up to the time of going to press, 
 there were several mild repetitions. 
 
X, 
 
 “At No. 10. tlie wall of a stone godown fell 
 down, while the ehiinneys at the Hongkong 
 and Shangliai Bank, the llyogo Hotel, and 
 the Hotel des Colonies collapsed, doing more 
 or less damage. (In the Hill a large number 
 of chimneys are reported to have fallen. The 
 shop of Messrs. Thomjison & Co. was wrecked, 
 and j)resented a most dismal appearance. 
 Bottles and j)ackages had been thrown from. 
 their shelves, and, crashing through glass 
 cases had smashed many valuable articles, be- 
 sides causing confusion in the strange admix- 
 ture of drugs. One case of moulded glass it 
 will l)e imjtossihle to have repaired iu Japan. 
 lh'ol)ahly the curio stores have suffered most. 
 The Musctim Art Co.’s store had a very 
 large number of valuable vases thrown down 
 and a great many pieces of valuable wnre 
 hrokeii. But what was most curious was 
 that more damage was not done. Large 
 vases fell from a height of ten feet, and yet 
 were nuiiijiired. Others fell in the cases 
 ])ell-mell oii each other and had not a daw. 
 The loss is estimated at about JJodO. 
 
 “ IMessrs. Ohashi estimates damages at about 
 $;U)(), IMessi's. Hamada a similar sum, hut 
 IMessrs. Echigoya have only suffered ' slightly. 
 Oi'cat loss, however, is said to be caused to 
 owuei's of crockery shops throughout the 
 town. Many of the walls in the interior of 
 the Hyogo Hotel are very badly cracked. 
 
 “The last earthquake of anything like a 
 similar magnitude was that of 1^53. The 
 most violent shocks to-ilay were experienced 
 at 6.40, 7, 7 11, and 7.40, the one at 6.40 
 causing the damage.” 
 
 But much more terrible news was to follow. 
 The same issue contained the following tele- 
 grams : — 
 
 “ Osaka, 28th Oct. 
 
 “Great eai’tlupiake. 4'wo mills wrecked, 
 ilauy lives lost. Concession has suffered 
 severely. — A. N. Hausell.” 
 
XI. 
 
 Messrs. Lucas &■ Co. have received a 
 telegram from Osaka as follows : “Earth- 
 quake. Demho Mill (Xaiiiwa) roof collaj)sed. 
 Many killed.” 
 
 The ////cc/c AVu'.v at once dispatched a 
 re])reseiitative to ().saka, and the ])a]ici' of 
 October 29th, contained the following narra- 
 tive: — 
 
 “Our brief report of yesterday by no means 
 conveyed an adequate idea of the extent of the 
 damage caused bv the great eartlnjuake of 
 yesterilay moruing. In Kolie, a chimney fell at 
 the Hotel des Colonies, crashing through the 
 verandah, while the interior of the hotel 
 was cracked. A chimtiev at the Oriental Hotel 
 also fell, M hile another fell through the roof of 
 the Masonic Hall, doing t ery soiiotis damage to 
 the building. The most serious j)ersonal in- 
 cident was the case of a lady on the hill, the 
 shock producing premature coiiHiiemeiit. and 
 consequent ileatb of tiie child. Mr. Woolley’s 
 bouse is very ladly damaged, and numerous 
 articles thrown about, while Air. Lucas’s re- 
 sidence is also injured and the walls cracked. 
 People rushed from their bouses without stop- 
 ping to array themselves, and in one esse a 
 young man w'as seen in the centre of the settle- 
 ment with only a singlet on. 1 be shock was 
 fell, on the ships lying in the htirbour, the 
 Captain of the dismasted J/n/quis of Lome 
 informing ns that everything on the vessel 
 shook like an aspen leaf. He saw two simill 
 waves approaching the vessel, and the shock 
 was coincident with these striking the vessel. 
 He further stated that he had never previously 
 felt a simikir shaking. I he ptissengers oti the 
 Saikio-muru also felt the vifiralions on their 
 way down from Yokohama. 
 
 During yestenhiy afternoon there were two 
 or three mild shocks, one at (i 95(1, and a rather 
 prolonged one this morning at about 2 a.m. 
 
 But, as a brief telegram in our yester- 
 day’s issue indicated, it was at Osaka where 
 
XIV. 
 
 fieoplo nnaccomited for. 'I'wo or tljree mar- 
 vellous e.scapes are rejiorltd. lii one case a 
 cliild cronclied under a macliine, and a rafter 
 falline over her, she was laken out alive, wliile 
 not three feet away was the niiineled body of 
 her juvenile eonipanion. Another instance was 
 that of !i very tall yoiiiie fellow who stood in 
 tlio window of the third story. lie was shot 
 out amongst the falling hri(dvs, and, although 
 falling such a lieight, and amongst such a mass 
 of hricks, tiles, and hetiins, with the exception 
 of a sciiitch on the ftit^e, and a retit or two in 
 the trousers esctiped injury. Such an escape 
 borders on the miraculous. The number of 
 actual dead may he set dow'ii at 30, but the 
 liirge number of serious injuries will probably 
 largely supplement this total. 
 
 Mr. Tsuznki, the foremtin of the mill, saiil: — 
 Usually 1 am here every morning at 6 a.m., but 
 this morning I was detained in the house later. 
 Just before 1 reached the mill I felt the 
 shiiking. atid saw the wotk-people rusliing out. 
 1 looked up and saw the wall swaying, and 
 then it ctime down with a crash. One of the 
 officers was badly injured. My engineer told 
 me that the smoke stack, 150 feet high, which 
 you notice is hadlv cracked, rocked at the top 
 fully eight feet. If it had happened at six 
 o’clo(d<, when the night hands go off, and the 
 day hands come on the loss of life must have 
 been fearful. There were 70U pei'ple iti the 
 building at the time. 
 
 Mr. Easthiiin, the English engineer, who has 
 been superintending the erectioti of the machi- 
 nery, inaile the following statement: — I left mv' 
 house— just at the side of mill — at tilauit 0.46, 
 and Wits walking just around the bitikling when 
 1 felt myself stagger like a drtinken matt. I 
 heard a stratige rituihliug noise, and, ttirning to 
 see what it was, I noticed the tnill beginning 
 to rock. It rocked two or three times, and 
 then I saw the roof collapse, atij the walls give 
 
SV. 
 
 way at the third story. After the crash there 
 was a sudden silence, a silence whicli could l)e 
 felt. Part of the wall fell on iny cook’s quarters 
 demolisiied them, and killing instantaneously 
 both the cook and his wife. I went around the 
 building, and by the time I arrived there the 
 employes were already at the work of rescue, 
 and they worked like demons. I should have 
 finished my work on Friiiay next, and had 
 booked my passage on the P. & O. Had I 
 l>een 20 seconds later leaving the house I must 
 have been killed. 
 
 Great injury was done to houses in the 
 Concession, but, with the exception of the 
 accident to the house of the Yen. Archdeacon 
 Warren, we must refrain fi'om giving details 
 till to-morrow because of want of space. With 
 the Archdeacon at the time was staving the 
 Bishop of Exeter, and his son Bishop Biekersteth, 
 as well as the wife and daughter of the prelate 
 of Exon. Two chimneys were thrown down, 
 one crashing through the roof, and utterly 
 wrecking the drawing-room, smashing the table 
 into splinters. Said the Archdeacon: “I was 
 dressing at the time of the earthquake, and 
 having before exj)erienced shocks, did not at 
 first run out. But hearing my daughter scream, 
 and the others hurrying, I also ran out, as did 
 Bishop JBckersteth. Just as wo got outside 
 the chimney fell. On returning, Ave found that 
 the Bishop of Exeter and his wife had taken a 
 stand under the arched doorway of their 
 bedroom, his lordshi[) deeming that the safest 
 place. Although, of coitrse, much alarmed, he 
 did not exhibit much fright. Had the chimney 
 fallen toAvards the line of movement, instead of 
 with it, it must have fallen into the Bishop’s 
 bedroom. In the course of a brief coiiA’ersation his 
 lordship, who expressed himself greatly pleased 
 with Japan, said that the shock much alarmed 
 him, ami that he considered his escape Pro- 
 vidential. A cabinet in Miss Warren’s bedroom, 
 used as a clothes repository, Avas not only 
 
XVI. 
 
 thrown to the floor, bnt precipitated some 
 eighteen inches into the room. One chimney 
 is so badly damaged that it has to be carefully 
 removed brick by brick. The Archdeacon 
 stated that in future he would only have iron 
 pipes and not brick chimneys.” 
 
 'I'lie shock was also severely felt in Kyoto 
 and a correspondent wrote: — 
 
 Kyoto, Oct. 28, 1891. 
 
 Sir, — The western capital is far less favoured 
 with seismic visitations than its eastern sister^ 
 One never opens a Yokohama weekly without 
 c.xpecting to find tlie record of an earthquake. 
 Onring the last five years there ha\'e been only 
 four or live which -were noticeable at Kyoto 
 without the aid of a seismograph. The last 
 came this morning at about 6.40, when the 
 first shock was perceived, lasting between two 
 and three minutes, and producing a most ])ro- 
 nounceJ rocking. The timbers creaked in a 
 way that suggested the desirability of a turn 
 or two in the vard. before sitting dow'ii to 
 breakfast. Outside, the ground moved snfli- 
 ciently to call one's attention to the fact that 
 the great dragon beneath was uneasy. Several 
 chimiiev-caps and some Kabe cornices fell at the 
 foreign houses. Breakfast tallies were gene- 
 rously covered with soot, and Kabe dust was 
 sprinkled abotit promiscuously. No serious 
 damage MU'is done, but this was the longest and 
 most severe (with perhaps one exception) of 
 the shocks experienced during five years. 
 Siiortly after, two other slight shocks were 
 felt, and during the chapel service at the Doslii- 
 slia (7.30-8) three more came — the last 
 shaking the cbapcd considerably and caus- 
 ing the 400 students to rise en masse and 
 start for the exits. It was soon over, 
 ami the students itnmediately resumed their 
 seats in a most orderly way, so that 
 after a minute or two of confusion, the 
 speaker was enabled to cotitinue his remarks. 
 
xvii. 
 
 It was a source of no little gratification to see 
 Ijow reasonably tills large body of young meti 
 conducted tbeinsel ves. 
 
 At 10.38 there was a third shock, severe 
 enough to start some of the students from the 
 recitation hall. Slight shocks have continued at 
 intervals up to the present (12 noon), as many 
 as thirty having beeti noticed, if we may trust 
 the experience of one of the studetits. A 
 foreign friend had noticed ten at 8 o’clock. 
 
 Yours, &c.. 
 Tremor. 
 
 Dr. Learned, of the Doshislia College, who 
 was telegraphed to, wrote; — 
 
 “I cannot report anything veiy thrilling. So 
 far as I can leartt, no damage of consequence 
 was done to buildings; only a few chimneys 
 were injured, and the like. At Kitikozan’s, a 
 well-known porcelain store, the damage through 
 breakage of porcelain is estimated at tw'o 
 thousand yen. At Nishiniura’s silk store it is 
 said that seven hundred screens were ilamaged. 
 A curious result in my house was the blowing 
 out of a great quantity of soot from the chimneys 
 into the rooms. What the force was that threw 
 out the soot so violently, is a mystery to me.” 
 
 On October 30th, the following telegrams 
 appeared : — 
 
 Yokohama, •29th Oct., 1891. 
 
 Earthquake felt here and at Tokyo. Duration 
 seven minutes, the severest experienceil since the 
 foundimr of the Observatory. The damage done 
 is small, but the fright was great. The smoke 
 stack -of the Electric Light Works here has lieen 
 demolished, but no personal injuries sustained. 
 Near Hamamatsu the railway is reported to have 
 sunk several inches for the distance of a mile. 
 Near Maizaka the line sunk one foot over a 
 distance of five miles. 
 
xviii. 
 
 Nagoya, 29tli Oct., 5.30 p.in. 
 
 Severe earthquake yesleniay morning. 1,533 
 persons killed, ai d 436 injured. 5,475 houses 
 drsiroyed. Conflagration at ten places, wiiich 
 is not yet extingnislied. — Kivanzei Nippo. 
 
 Rumour says that tlie Ihukiyaraa of Omi was 
 roaring some ten day since, and it lias become 
 louder from the 28rh. At Ogaki 3,000 lioiises 
 were destroj’ed and burnt, and at Gifu about 
 seven-ten tlis of the whole town were eitlier 
 thrown over or burnt. 
 
 Tiie deaths at Ogaki are estimated at close 
 upon 1,000, and at Gifu at 2,000. 
 
 A telegram in the Asahi from Tokyo states 
 that the tire at Nagoya has resulted in the 
 total destruction of the city. 
 
 Tliese indicated that tlie real force of the 
 shock was felt between I'arui and Kagoya, and 
 a corresptmdent \vas im ned lately sent otf to 
 traverse tbe whole district. 
 
THE EARTHQUAKE. 
 
 {By the '•'•Byogo Beics" Special Correspondent.) 
 
 Tarui, 31st October. 
 
 We arrived at Otsu last night at about 8.30, 
 and put up at the Miiiaraiiei, a very comfortable 
 liotel under a beauiiful ridge overlooking Lake 
 Biwa. Otsu scarcely felt the eartluiuake, only 
 the Kencbo buildings and one chimney exhibit- 
 ing any traces of the shock. But the most 
 alarming rumours were current as to catas- 
 trophe beyond Tarui. We intended at first 
 making direct for Nagoya, by way of Yokkaicbi, 
 but learnt that Friday’s shocks bad upset the 
 branch line and there was no help for it but to 
 proceed to Tarui, and to get overland by the 
 best means possible. 
 
 At Maibara we heard the most thrilling news 
 of more shocks, and the frightful destruction 
 prevailitig. I immediately attempted to tele- 
 graph, but the lines were interrupted, and I 
 therefore had only just lime to despatch the 
 note you have no doubt already received. 
 Tiiere is little to add to the details there given. 
 The road from here to Nagoya is so bad that 
 the kuruma-men refuse to agree to take us be- 
 yond Ogaki, and we shall have to foot it. Not 
 only so, but the houses are so demolished that 
 the people have to camp out, and so must ^ye. 
 How long it will take me to do the trip I can- 
 not estimate, liut there is no communication 
 from Nagoya, either by rail or telegraph to 
 Yokohama or Kobe. The scenes as depicted 
 l)y the Japanese must be dreadful. Only the 
 Kencho buildings and a mission stand at Gifu, 
 
( 2 ) 
 
 and (lie intermediate villages between Ogaki 
 and Nagoya, though around Tarui itself only 
 thirty houses have been overihrown, resulting 
 in the deaths of twen ly-two jiersons. Between 
 Otsu and here the traces of earthquake are ex- 
 ceedingly slight, the lovely conniry, which, but 
 for the fearful catastrophe, it would have been 
 delightful to dilate upon, looking most peaceful 
 and exceedingly heautiful in its wealth of 
 autumnal tints. The courteous policeman, who 
 is deeply interested in us, states that at Nagoya 
 the dead already total 4,000, and the houses 
 demolished 9,000. 
 
 The train was crowded with eager passengers, 
 many of them relatives of persons residing in 
 the ill-fated towns. All of them come provided 
 with hlaukets, which we have not got, and 
 cannot obtain, in this little village. If to-night 
 is as cobl as last, our experience will he none of 
 the pleasantest. I have taken a little food, and 
 we are supplementing it hy obtaining eggs and 
 chicken. From Ogaki we must walk, and hope 
 to obtain coolies to carry our luggage. The 
 shocks are incessant and another mountain, 
 Tadoyama, is said to be rumbling ominously. 
 Coming up in the train we have felt a shock, 
 and the tremors are continuous. Whether these 
 are merely the reaction of the principal shock, 
 or the premonitory symptoms of an awful 
 catacl^’sm we cannot pretend to predict, but the 
 people here are almost paralysed with terror. 
 
 Beyond Ogaki the road is said to be torn up, 
 and pierced with fissures. The wtiysitle houses 
 ])resent a pitiful spectacle, lying in heaps with 
 their dead beneath them. The horrors of Gifu 
 jirobably no pen can give an adequate descrip- 
 tion of. We shall reach Ogaki about one 
 o’clock and then tramp to Gifu, and, if jjossible, 
 reach ten miles beyond, thus co^■eriug half the 
 distance to Nagoya. If tii’ed out, we shall have 
 to slec]) by the wayside, but we shall not adopt 
 more of that form of roughing it than we can 
 possibly hel 2 >. 
 
( 3 ) 
 
 Ogaki, 31st Oct, 
 
 Leaving Taiaii the road curves ])ast a 
 magnificent s\vee]i of lulls, wooded almost to 
 the summit, with Ihukiyama looming up in 
 the distance. We had not proceeded far 
 before we discovered that the kurtnna-meu, 
 alarmed at the earth-cracks, were taking ns 
 direct to Gifu, instead of to Ogaki. AV^e 
 remonstrated, and for a time they were 
 obstinate ; but finally gave way. A short 
 ride through a charming coppice brought ns 
 on to the Ogakikaido, and directly afterwards 
 we passed a hamlet, where the first really 
 disastrous effects of the eartlnpiake were 
 visible. Some ten or a dozen houses wore 
 demolished, in some instances the roofs 
 having fallen bodily on the unfortumite 
 inmates, while others were broken into 
 fragments, many of those still standing having 
 been shored up, and in a tottering condition. 
 A small temple had been knocked over and 
 lay at an angle of fort^'-five degrees, Xatnre 
 evidently being no respecter of the Gods. 
 The frightened survivors had constructed 
 tents of tatcmi by the roadside, preferring the 
 security of the ground to the instability of 
 their rickety tenements. The next hamlet 
 told a similar tale, and then we came to a 
 bridge badly cracked at both sides, a long 
 transverse fissure running through it, and 
 some distance on the solid road Ijeyoud. A 
 little farther a group of half a dozen houses 
 lay prostrate, and beyond them a string of 
 some seven or eight two-storied cottages 
 on the left-hand side of the road, while 
 those or the right-hand side were com- 
 paratively uninjured. Large fields of 
 rice stood waiting the reapers, but many 
 of the peasants are themselves felled by 
 the Greater lleaper, and as their erstwhile 
 
( 4 ) 
 
 neighbours are either busy on the ruins, or 
 too affrighted to resume tlieir wonted avoca- 
 tions, the fields are deserted. Later, in the 
 centre of the roadway we came to another 
 deep fissure, about twenty feet long and six 
 inches wide, the Jinrikisha-men exhibiting 
 great hesitancy in passing it. Parallel with 
 the railway used to be the village of Shiota,- 
 now an indescribable mass of mud, plaster, 
 shattered tiles, and broken beams over which 
 we had to pick our way. Only one or two 
 of the more solid structures remained, while 
 the temple was in ruins. A bridge over a 
 small stream brought us to Ogaki. The 
 bridge was badly wrecked and half-broken, 
 and the road leading to it deeply fissured, 
 Osjaki was a loner stiaororling town, consisting 
 mainly of one winding street. We entered 
 the western portion, and a scene of unutter- 
 able desolation presented itself. The first 
 part was entirely desolated and in ruins. 
 iShops of all kinds could be detected by the 
 dibris. Here a porcelain store, there a 
 cabinet-makers, next a curio shop, and again 
 an ii'onmongers. Over all hung a cloud of 
 dust caused by the working of the labourers 
 in their search for dead bodies. Now and 
 then we saw them being taken out, some an 
 unrecognizable battered mass of flesh, clothes, 
 and dust; others just slightly disfigured. 
 Farther on we came to the end of the burn- 
 ing portion, walking through which we 
 were sensible of the sickening odour of 
 burnt human flesh. 
 
 I may mention an amusing incident. 
 Our hnruma-xwGn at Ogaki demanded eighty- 
 five cents, the proper fare was fifteen. 
 Fortunately a policeman arrived and quickly 
 settled the dispute by awarding twenty-five 
 cents. He secured for me a coolie to carry 
 
O G A KX. 
 
 1 Castle, 2 Police .Station, .t |.,-is„„. t I-ost an,l Telegraph Office 5 
 Ra.lway Stat.on, The sh.a„le,l portion „e„otes the part .lestrov'e,! 
 
( 5 ) 
 
 my bag to Grifu, an undertaking for which 
 the exorbitant kuruma-mm demanded three 
 
 yem 
 
 The destitution is dreadful, and we are 
 constantly being beseeched for assistance. 
 There are also some heartrending stories to 
 tell. A little girl informs us that she lost 
 her father, mother, and sister, and was 
 injured in the head herself. Others give 
 records of miraculous escapes and mournful 
 losses. 
 
 Gifu, olst Octolter, 1891. 
 
 We have just reached Gifu at 6 p.ui., 
 having tiani])e(l the whole distance over scenes 
 of horror which mock descrij)tiou. iVIj former 
 letter was very brief only touching on, not 
 detailing, the incidents which a volume could 
 not exhaust. Ogaki used to lie on a level 
 plain on the hanks of a small river whose 
 tneandering course is marked hy fertile rice 
 fields now laden with crops. The railway runs 
 at the northern side. Pen cannot dejnct the 
 frightful devastation the town now exhibits. 
 It is “ magniticent rniu.” A tributary of the 
 8hioda-gawa intersects the town, and marks 
 two forms of destruction, one a blackened mass 
 of tiles with large heaps still smouldering, and 
 emitting the pungent exhalations of hnman 
 bodies slowly incinerating, the other a distorted 
 mass of debris and tottering fabrics. We 
 entered at the southern side where the earth- 
 quake alone was responsible for the damage. 
 It was complete: fire might consume the 
 remains, it is no exaggeration to say it could 
 not have increased the destruction. Indeed, 
 Ogaki felt the shock more than any other 
 town. The houses simply collapsed wholesale, 
 and the large number of deaths, over a thousand, 
 according to the record which an othcial at the 
 hospital kindly totalled for us, shows how 
 sudden was the catastrophe. The number 
 
( 6 ) 
 
 badly injured, 637, is smaller than that of those 
 killed, for the simple reason that those inside 
 the houses were ernshed to a jelly. In many 
 instances the houses had fallen right across the 
 street with the dead nnder them. Over these 
 still shaking masses one could not help wali5]hg 
 with a feeling of awe. In the spaces aclon 
 the streets the survivors of the calam gtydni - 
 erected little tents wliit portions of shoji, tatami, 
 and other remnants. Already what conld he 
 recovered from the sho])s was being offered for 
 sale, and one such erection contained many 
 bales of cloths and di-apery. A little temple 
 on onr left bad been precipitated at a con- 
 siderable angle, tlie roof still intact, tbe supports 
 and interior all smashed. Tbe granite col mnns 
 at the approach bad been overtitrned, and one 
 was leaning on a lam|) stand apparently ready 
 to fall at tbe slightest movement. Tbe sluggish 
 waters of the Sbioda-gawa were choked with 
 rubbish, tbe banks cracked and spilt open, and 
 tbe bridges thrown about in most fantastic 
 style. 
 
 Crossing tbe tiny stream or ditch, which 
 feeds the Sbioda-gawa, we came upon a scene 
 wbitdi might well appal tbe stoutest heart. 
 Over an area of some .lOO yards long, by 300 
 yards wide, tbe lire fieml bad raged unchecked. 
 
 A gloomy mass of smoke-liegrimed tiles, two 
 or three tire-proof godowns, and a tall bamboo 
 used at jnatsuri, were all that remained of 
 nearly two ibonsand bouses. ]\Iany of tbe 
 people were wandering over tbe desolate waste, 
 turning up tbe fragments in a hopeless searcti. 
 But they were not depressed. They bad to lie 
 on tlie liare ground, they bad not saved any 
 (atnmi, o.nly possessing what they stood 
 upright in, but they were cheerfully at work 
 marking out sites for new houses, with green 
 bamljoos, having little pieces of paper with 
 cabalistic signs atlaclied. Farther back tbe 
 men working in tbe overturned bouses were 
 jesting as they worked, and sufficiently light- 
 
( 7 ) 
 
 hearted to make jokes about the appearance of 
 the foreigners. One girl called her friend or 
 sister, say ing she bad made a find. We looked 
 rather curiously and saw a packet of toothpicks. 
 We saw another girl turning up the woodwork, 
 and she informed us that her mother, father, 
 and sister were buried beneath. Prisoners 
 were working under the superintendence of 
 police. 
 
 Passing close to the river bank over the 
 burnt embers, we came into view of the castle 
 and the school, the intervening space being the 
 place where had stood the prostitute quarter, 
 and beyond in a grove of blistered trees the 
 remains of the East Honganji temple. In the 
 latter at an early hour on the fateful morning 
 three hundred people had congregated at a 
 special inatsuri service in connection with the 
 harvest. The huge edifice, which a spectator 
 the day previous had estimated from its solidity 
 and massive appearance would last a thousand 
 years, had crashed down, and massacred the 
 whole of the devoted worshippers, whose corpses 
 were afterwards calcined by the huge conflagra- 
 tion. The fire originated in a dyeing works, 
 the half-a-dozen iron crucibles still markin<j the 
 spot. 
 
 Turning the corner of the castle wall, in 
 which huge rents appeared, and where the 
 watch towers in their dilaf>idated appearance 
 betrayed signs of their transit through an 
 ordeal compared with which the strongest 
 shock of arms it ever had to undergo was 
 mere play. Farther on was the school, wliich, 
 although cracked and sliattered, still stood 
 well. This had been transformed into a hos- 
 pital and here were brought the injured 
 sufferers. It was a melancholy sight. A 
 sad procession a[)proaehed the gates. Women 
 leaning on the necks of their friends, with faces 
 battered and heads bandaged, just aide to reach 
 the enclosure. Others under the futons in a 
 hastily-constructed ambulance, pale and ghastly 
 
( 8 ) 
 
 to look upon. Insiile the moans of the injured, 
 and the sickening spectacle of bandages and 
 blanched faces. Inside a number of doctors 
 with their very limited appliances and almost 
 entire aljsence of lint, where one woman was 
 just having an arm amjjiitated at the shoulder, 
 another having an ugly wound in the leg 
 stitched. 'I’he official gave us the number of 
 deaths at 1,0U0, and the wounded at 687. The 
 police corps suffered severely, many of them 
 being killed. 
 
 Here we must put in a word for the sufferers. 
 Hunger has follow'ed the eartliquake, and the 
 fire, and probably even yet pestilence will 
 work dire havoc, if a seemingly imminent 
 eruption does not demolish the whole district 
 and every living thing upon it. But the 
 hunger is a real and present terror, and the 
 prompt action of the Germans cannot be too 
 liighly commended. Whatever relief is given 
 sliould be immediate. Any eye-witnesses cati- 
 not fail to be moved by the piteous sight of the 
 foodless, homeless creatures, and if written 
 descriptions do not elicit responsive sympathy, 
 it is because the writer’s pen is incompetent to 
 vividly pourtray the extent of the misery. 
 
 Leaving the town we next proceeded towards 
 Gifu. W^e learnt that the railway and the road 
 had both been badly served. The road was 
 reported to be in indescribable confusion, and 
 the railway equally knocked about. Thinking 
 the railway of more importance, 1 selected the 
 line, and walked the whole distance, some 
 thirteen miles, while one member of the party 
 went by the road. It was worth the walking. 
 The towns may dis()lay the worst horrors, but 
 that line gives the most perfect picture of the 
 gigantic impetus of the shock anywhere obtain- 
 tible. Ogaki Station simply does not exist. 
 Tlje ruins of it tire there, but the contorted 
 rails, twisted and curved, the collapsed soil, 
 the ruined sheds, the destroyed water tank are 
 all grim evidences of the earthquake’s awful force_ 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 Leaving the station we I'olloweJ tlie (rack 
 for the first four hmuired yards, ineefitig witli 
 notliing (0 attract notice. At length we reached 
 a small bridge. The rails just Itefore nearing 
 it were of a serpentine order. Some of the 
 sleepers had risen, and others were de[)ressed. 
 The solid masonry of the structure, however, 
 was standing uninjured, though the ground had 
 given way on each side for a distance of about 
 a couple of feet. From there to Gifu there were 
 at least a hundred of these bridges, but this one 
 was a type of all the others. The ground had given 
 way around all of them, in some cases as much 
 as ten or twelve feet, Init, with only one 
 exception, the masonry remained almost intact, 
 speaking volumes for the solidity of construc- 
 tion and the excellent mortar used. As to the 
 rails, we never noticed them liroken in a^single 
 spot. Some places they were supporting 
 bridges of many tons, at others were twisted, 
 curved, and strangely distorted, but never in a 
 single instance bad they broken, though in one 
 case the rivets bad given out, and the joints 
 parted. The men who laid tliat permanent 
 way laid every j)art with the greatest care. 
 The exception to (he little bridge was 
 curious. One of the walls had moved bodily 
 around, making half a right angle with 
 the line of its former position, while the 
 opposite side had fallen backwards a couple 
 of feet. The rails here were a singular sight. 
 They curved on approaching the bridge like a 
 figure S. Beyond it they went up and down like 
 magnified plough ruts, and the earth benealh in 
 places bad subsided some ten or twelve feet. 
 
 The shock wdiich thus pulled those rails so 
 tremendously out of their natural position must 
 have been awful, and we were ([uite pircpared 
 to hear a peasant tell ns that it bounded up a 
 foot or eighteen inches. Meanwhile, along both 
 sides of the railway', evidences were painfully' 
 numerous. Hamlets and temples, solitary farm- 
 
( 10 ) 
 
 houses and outhuildiiigs, had sliared a common 
 fate. Ill one little a ullage of a dozen houses 
 only one made any ])retence of standing, and 
 that was so very shaky that it was dangerous 
 to go near it. The people were living in the 
 hamboo groves, and the fields were deserted. 
 From Ogaki to Nagoya, which we reached next 
 day, travelling in and out over something 
 like seventy more odd miles, we only counted 
 thirty-two people at work in the fields, which ' 
 had all ripened for the harvest. Between the 
 Ifiraningawa and tlie Nagaragawa we observed 
 a strange fact. There was a little hamlet of 
 some twelve or fourteen houses lying close up 
 to the Nagaragawa’s banks. The shock there 
 had not been less severe. Indeed, as we shall 
 see, its effects were more terrible than hitherto 
 recorded, yet only one of those houses had 
 fallen. Tliis is what we considered the reason. 
 They all had slate roofs, not tiles, but small 
 slates, and the eaves projected only slightly 
 beyond the walls. The house was thus light 
 and compact, and would oscillate to a third of a 
 right angle, and perhaps considerably more, 
 before the centre of gravity got outside the 
 perpendicular, ctiusing it to lose its equilibrium. 
 On the other hand, the massive roofs of thatcli 
 projectitig for a couple of feet would easily 
 swing outside the centre of gravity when once 
 they rocked. But be the reason what it may, 
 the houses stood uninjured mid ruin. 
 
 Reaching the Hiraniugawa bridge, a magni- 
 ficent iron structure on brick piles, we had to 
 tread carefully over the vibrating sleepers. 
 We could not see the rails all the way looking 
 at the bridge from 300 yards. 'I'here were 
 bills and valleys in the erstwhile straight line, 
 marking the alternations of subsidetice atid 
 upheaval. The bridge had stood nobly. It 
 was an arched structure of iron, and, though the 
 rails were twisted ititocurves,sleei)erssplintered, 
 and rivets snapped, the bridge itself had no 
 signs of the tremendous shaking it had under- 
 
( 11 ) 
 
 gone. Not so the supports. Tliey were built 
 of brick and close down to the river bed were 
 lateral arches at right angles to the How of the 
 river. These }uoved the weakest spots. 'I'he 
 first pier stood intact amidst the wreck of 
 destruction. The second had cracked at the 
 base of the stem just where the little arch 
 divided the erection. The ominous red streak 
 in the white mortar ran all round the column. 
 Tlie next pile was equally as harshly served, 
 while the one nearest the opposite bank was 
 worse treated. It had cracked and sunk, and 
 will require rebuilding. 
 
 Tliiit en.biinkment, built with so much care 
 on the Iliriiiiiiigawa, hits been frightfullv 
 damaged. The precipitation was not so exces- 
 sive as at the btinks of the Nagartigawa, but 
 they were sufiicienth' wide to be appalling. 
 For a distance of thirty yards the ground hail 
 caved in and sunk foitrteen or sixteen feet. 
 One gigantic Hssnre ran its serpentine course 
 for at least a hundred yards along what had 
 been the summit of the bank, but which now 
 lay depressed in the hollonn That fissure was 
 in places four and fi\'e feet wide. Another big 
 fissure I'an transversely, i\diile the ground was 
 divided into little hillocks. 
 
 I’assing clear of the bridge, an unprecedented 
 view met our gaise. We could see as far as the 
 Nagaragawa. It was like a tobaganning road 
 with its devious undulations twisted far, far out 
 of the original order of the line. Between 
 those two bridges the earth subsided more than 
 we had yet witnessed. Outside the bridge the 
 sleepers and rails were suspended in mid-air 
 about eighteen or twenty feet, and the vib- 
 ration, as we f)icked onr way over them, was 
 rendered the more unpleasant by a distinct 
 shock of earthquake, whose approach was 
 heralded by that low booming sound as 
 of distant thunder, or the reverberations of 
 big guns miles away. The tremor nnide the 
 rails rattle, and though it blanched our cheeks 
 
( 12 ) 
 
 ■ — for the bravest man must quail before the 
 awful jJienoiuenon, and iiiy courage is of the 
 faintest — it did no other harm. But from that 
 time forward those shocks were frequent, and 
 tliey were always preceded by that ominous 
 roar. Passing on Ave crossed a small burn 
 spanned by a three-arched iron bridge. It had 
 staggered at the imi)etus of the shock, the 
 massive stone-work pillars had fallen back, and' 
 split, and it lay resting on the outer edge of 
 tlie supjmrt, almost turned comjdetely over, 
 only the rails preventing it being precipitated 
 into the (juiA'cring river bed. 
 
 Tliat intervening space between the two 
 rivers was tlie worst treated of any I had yet 
 seen, and for the first time we noted a l)i<r tree 
 snapped off short, though later we saw several 
 beyond Gifu. Here the fissures defy descrip- 
 tion. Sand and mud covered the paddy fields 
 for long distances. At one point we wislied 
 for a glass of water for tve had come to Tarui 
 at eleven, and it was now three, and we had not 
 moistened our lips. Seeing a farmiiouse on 
 the left which hail not quite collapsed, we left 
 tlie railway line, iind struck across a paddy 
 field. Wo had not advanced far before we 
 came across a gaping crevice whoso bottom 
 could not be discertied, and, followitig it, we at 
 length came upon a small submerged tract of 
 latid, atid found a mud geyser. It Avas about 
 three feet six inches in height and some six 
 feet in diameter, its formatioti being that of a 
 truncated cone, with polished sides, a cup-like 
 lip stood at the southern end, atid served as an 
 exit for the ivarm and brackish Avater emitted 
 from it. Instinctively one shuddered. What 
 seethinij' masses of heated elements might be 
 surging within a few feet of us And the 
 tremors were continuous. 
 
 I'lie farmhouse was badly served, but a 
 suhstantiiilly htiilt godowii, built on a massive 
 base of boulders, stood the strain wonderfully well. 
 
( 13 ) 
 
 thongl) heavy beams had been wrenched and 
 tiles dislodged. The frightened proprietor was 
 exceedingly polite, ihongli he had a woeful tale 
 to tell of some seventeen persons slain in the 
 adjoining hamlet by the wreckfnl snl)terranean 
 agitations. Just at the entrance to the Naga- 
 rawa hri<lge we met Professor Milne. He had 
 come along the line to pursue his scientific 
 investigations, and had just been fruitlessly 
 trying with a line to sound the depths of a 
 gigantic fissure. We miglit cross the ruined 
 structure he told ns, but it would be dangerous. 
 It was, but of that more anon. The approaches 
 were appalling. Only the sterling temper of 
 the metals made access to the bridge possible. 
 Twenty -five feet below lay i he shrunken embank- 
 ment, and far up the side of the river course 
 the collapse was itnmense. For fully three 
 hundred yards a subsidence ranging from six 
 to thirty feet deep, and varying from ten to 
 fifty yards wide, was apparent. Cracks, crevices, 
 cleavages, interlaced each other. 'J'he luxation 
 had been terrific. 
 
 Mounting the suspended line, each step 
 causing distiiu^t libration, we ascended tlie 
 shattered fabric, of what once had been the 
 “strongest” bridge in Japan. It was 2.400 
 feet long, and consisted of eight spans each of 
 three hundred feet, while at its highest point it 
 must 1)6 at least 75 feet over the river-bed. 
 About mid-way it had fallen, a sad wreck, and 
 an impressive commentary on the helplessness 
 of mankind in the presence of Nature’s furv. 
 Flach span was supported by three slu[)endous 
 columns of cast-iron filled w'ith concrete, and 
 some four feet in diameter at the base.’ The 
 girders were all wrought iron, stoutly riveted. 
 Yet it had so rocked as to shiver the sleepers 
 like matchwood, and snap off stout rivets like 
 thread. 'I'he strong pillars had snapped in the 
 central span two into three, and one into two 
 pieces. The fall, or the oscillation had carried 
 
( 14 ) 
 
 tlie outside girder over tlie inside pillar, and it 
 lay inclined on tlie stump while a huge fragment 
 of the first column protruded through the 
 opposite side of the metals. Here again the 
 rails had proved staunch. They were carried 
 over the pillar one way, and twisted down the 
 othei-, hut retnained nnhroken still, though 
 pulsating over the vacillating earth. 
 
 The effect on the other pillars was variform. ' 
 vSome were fltiwless, others cracked; and, in one 
 case, each of the three columtis were broken at 
 the point of contact with the earth, but had tiot 
 fallen, while till over the dry watercourse the 
 ground was riveti. One could not pass the 
 place without a feeling of awe. Continuing, 
 the sights were simihir, and on crossing the 
 Nakasetido, we could tiote how the tnade rotid 
 hiid been disrempt. Once we met a poor 
 fellow whose dejected mien betokened desjiair. 
 lie had lost father, mother, wife, and children, 
 atul alotie had escapeil. A boy of ten trotted 
 along, carrying ti cotiple of packages. His 
 
 mother he said was dead at Ugaki, he was 
 going to Gifu to find if his father still lived. 
 
 From the crossing of the Nakasetido to the 
 station there was nothing worthy of special 
 note. I'lie station was ridtlled as if a battery 
 of catinon had made it it target. It was still 
 standitig, but at such an angle as to accentuate 
 its dilapidation. Interior ptirtitions, tables, 
 walls, desks had heen crunched up. The roof 
 let in d;iy light almost everywhere, and doors 
 had beeti wrenched off. Goods sheds had been 
 thrown down, and consignments iti them 
 wrecked. A train stood in the station on the 
 twisted rails, the only tttihnrt object visible. 
 We tioted the compartments, we retnembered 
 the unlifokeii rails tilong the route, and shouhl 
 have hailed it as a welcome resting place 
 for the night, had not kind fates prevented. 
 Outside the station was a waste of desolation. 
 Tea-houses ftillen, or waiting to fall, and over 
 the western end a gloomy pall of smoke from 
 blackened embers. 
 
Gmj. 
 
\ 
 
 f 
 
( 15 ) 
 
 A pretty little street it hail been. Wide and 
 with avenues of trees, and the town itself on 
 the hanks of a stream, lay picturesquely under 
 the shadow of two finely- wooded tors, or pointed 
 circular hills, whose verdure, unfortunately, has 
 been calcined by the destructive ai^ent which 
 had consummated the eaithqinike’s havoc. A 
 station official very courteously olfered to 
 conduct us over the town, and to try and find 
 accommodation, as well as to ufiiide ns to the 
 bouse of the Rev. Mr. Chap|iell, whom we hail 
 been requested to inquire for. Shortly after- 
 wards a policeman joined us and exphiined that 
 we should have to sleep out, as the houses were 
 so badly shaken, those which remained stand- 
 ing, and the earthquake shocks were so 
 frequent, that instructions had been given for 
 no persons to be admitted. This was rather a 
 blatik prospect, especially as the coolie carrying 
 our bags, and the other jnemhers of the party 
 had not put in an appearance. 
 
 Gifu was badly damaged, there being in all 
 some 3,000 houses destroyed by fire and earth- 
 quake, hut the loss of life had been less than at 
 Ogaki. Indeed, it waseasy to discern thatOgaki 
 bad felt a heavier blow. There the town was 
 demolished by the earthquake, at Gifu luit for 
 the fire three-fourths of the houses would still 
 have remained comparati vedy intact. All the 
 people were camping out under mats, or any 
 rough shelter they could find, but many of the 
 deserted houses looked so little damaged, that, 
 if permitted, most people would have had little 
 fear of sleeping in them. 'The post-office had 
 stood wonderfully well. It is a foreign-built 
 building, and from the exterior exhibited few 
 signs of the shock. But internally a ceiling 
 had collapsed, killing two operators instan- 
 taneously. 
 
 Just glancing at the town we made for the 
 house of the Rev. Mr. Chap^ieli. At one time 
 it must have been prettily situated, and its 
 surroundings charming. 2sow it stands a 
 
( 16 ) 
 
 battered mass amidst the dehris of neigbouring 
 mill. VVe found Mr. and Mrs. Chappell located 
 in a rude tent made of shoji and mats. There 
 they had congregated around them several 
 destitute .Japanese who shared that little 
 space in common by dav and night. We were 
 total strangers hut were awarded a most kindly 
 welcome. They insisted on onr having a cup 
 of tea, and, though we outwardly remonstrated, - 
 we perhaps w'eie inwardly delighted to receive 
 hospitality under such circumstances. For we 
 had tramped since eleven without lute or sup, 
 and it was now seven-thirty. Our bags, with 
 the provender they contained, we could not 
 ascertain the whereabouts of, and to get food, 
 in a foodless town, was impossible. But Mr. 
 Chappell’s kindness did not cease here. He 
 listened to our narration of the impossibility of 
 obtaining accommodation, and insisted on the 
 Japanese setting up for us some shoji and 
 tatami, besides getting some futon so that we 
 night rest for the night. We did so, and so 
 well was the work performed that “camping 
 out” was transformed from a privation to a 
 pleasure. 
 
 Mrs. Chappell, a little nervous lady, has 
 undergone a terrible strain, and nothing but her 
 husband’s resolution to adhere to the s()Ot could 
 iniluce her to stay another moment in the town. 
 He says he will not desert the destitute 
 people he may assist, a determination which 
 we need not characterize. Mrs. Chappell 
 at the time of the occurrence was in 
 bed, her husband being absent at Akasaki. 
 The shoji fell iti on her on the otie side, and 
 the wall collapsed on the other. In great 
 fright she rushed ou to the verandah, just in 
 time to see the house of the servants collapse. 
 She called her boy, and on his arrival he pulled 
 back the wall sulHciently to allow her to pass, 
 when she escaped itito the garden in her night- 
 dress. The houses all round fell, and she had 
 to dress in the garden. Since then she had 
 
( 17 ) 
 
 not taken off her clothes, having to sleep 
 on the ground. The shock on the nerves, 
 of a woman already overstrung can he 
 imagined. On the arrival of the night, con- 
 flagration added to the horrors of the constant 
 quakings, but, although coming very near, the 
 flames left their ruined house unmolested. 
 The house is in a state of collapse, the study 
 ceiling havitig fallen through, and at any 
 moment the whole place may come down with 
 a run. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Chappell vvas at Akasaki at 
 the time of the disaster. He was just dressing, 
 and had to come down from the house hy 
 clinging to the shoji, as it was impossible for 
 him to walk. Looking into the street he saw 
 a girl thrown down by the concussion. 
 
 Fatigue made us sleep soundly in spite of 
 the constant tremors, and maugre the fact that 
 all night long tom-toms, and cymbals were 
 beaten and trumpets blown to keep the people 
 on the alert iti case of a further catastrophe. 
 Just after midnight I was awakened hy a 
 tremendous booming sound, and felt the ground 
 heaving heavily. The screams of the people, 
 and the crash of one or two of the already 
 damaged houses, the alarmed cries of the 
 Japanese iti Mr. Cha})pell’s tent made one feel 
 somewhat daunted. But the shock was of 
 short duration, and again falling asleep, knew 
 no more until daylight, though 1 was informed 
 that some twenty distinct shocks, besides coti- 
 tinuous vibrations, occurred. 
 
 One of the party who went hy road writes: — 
 The bridge across the Rokugawa, some 6,50 feet 
 long, is not much damaged, hut Mieji is in 
 ruins entirely and only two or three house left 
 standing in had condition. Honda is also the 
 same. The Narnazu Nawate, a famous embank- 
 ment, is damaged hy cracks. The hridge over 
 Nagaragavva at Kodo is inclined to one side at 
 one end, and to another side at the other end, 
 Kodo is very badly damaged, only a few houses 
 on the embankment remaining. 
 
( 18 ;) 
 
 We were np early, a strong eartliquake shock 
 dispelling sliiml)er at about 5.30. Mr, Chappell 
 insisted on giving ns another cup of tea, and 
 then accompanied ns around the town. Though 
 the desolation was not quite so complete as at 
 Ogaki, it was still fearful to contemplate. 
 Out of 5,600 houses over 2,225 had been burnt, 
 1.916 setni-demolished. and 9 18 in utter ruins. 
 The death roil totals some 250, and the number ' 
 badly injured 700. Later returns I believe have 
 considerably increased this number. We walked 
 down towards the place of conflagration. En 
 route, we passed the people lying in the streets, 
 some wounded and ghastly, moaning under 
 futons, and now and then a corpse in a litter 
 would be borne by, havintr just been extricated 
 from some ruined structure. The temple was 
 knocked about most unmercifullv. The husre 
 granite columns 16 or 18 ft. high at the en- 
 trance, on which rested a rectangular block, 
 were leaning at an acute angle against the 
 lantern stand, and in imminent danger of 
 being precipitated. A small river divides 
 Gifu into two parts, and it was the 
 stream which prevented the total calcination 
 of the town. It was littered as at Ogaki with 
 masses of delu'is. The little foot bridge over 
 it was started, and terribly shaken. That tiny 
 streak of water formed the line of division. 
 On the left were the smouldering cinders of 
 2,000 homes, on the right, a shattered town 
 partially prostrated, and partially tottering. 
 Throe godowns had withstood the flames, and 
 although begrimed and sepia-tinted with soot, 
 they stood alone, cracked and leaning, but 
 standing still, and making blank desolation 
 more prominent. Already, however, the cour- 
 ageous, but homeless people were at work. 
 Shocks were conlinuouG, but this did not 
 prevent them working assiduously at the 
 erection of new sheds whose frame- work 
 was exactly identical with that of the thou- 
 
( 19 ) 
 
 sands overthrown. But the fumes were malod- 
 orous, and the sight of scorclied hones was 
 not one to dwell upon. We retraced our 
 steps through the mournful little street, and 
 having hid our worthy and considerate, 
 thougii suffering host, adieu, started in kuruma 
 with intent to reach Nagoya. We did, but 
 hy a circuitous route. From a Government 
 official we had heard that Mr. Iguchi, of 
 the Seismological Department, had been sent 
 for to visit Hakusan, the snow capped peak 
 which towered up in the distance some 45 
 miles beyond. Rumour said that this valley 
 was in a frightful state of de vastatioti. and we 
 were anxious for a glimpse of it though well 
 knowing that we could not extend our iuvesti- 
 gatiotis very far Arrivitigat the railway station 
 the officials gave dread accoutits of tliis valley 
 and of Takatoi-mura a small town of only a 
 little over a thousand inhabitants, and in which, 
 with the hamlets at hand, we were informed TOD 
 people were killed. This we now learn is an 
 exaggeration, the total only reaching 152, and 
 the seriously injured to 150. We, therefore, 
 made a detour to the north-east. 
 
 The town lies on an embankment of the 
 upper Kisogawa. It has totally collapsed and 
 the condition of the peo[)le we found truly 
 deplorable. It was only on the f)revious night 
 that news had reached Gifu of the disaster, 
 the town being off tlie main road. Tlie only 
 physiciam had beeti killed and the dying 
 and the dead — many of them — were stretched 
 out in a little bamboo grove, without any 
 skilled attetulance. The people seemed utterly 
 paralysed. Every house had fallen. Theie 
 were none partially standing, as at Gifu and 
 Ogaki, but all smashed into piecemeal. 'I'he 
 ground was frightfully br(d<en, great blocks 
 and gaps beitig fretjuetit. Trees liad snapped 
 off. and we were told the bed of the river altered. 
 
 Ijeaving here we pushed on to Yamaguchi, 
 which stands at the) entrance to the Neodani 
 
( 20 ) 
 
 valley. Words hardly describe that scene of 
 upheaval. 'I’he place is a very small one, yet 
 80 peisons had heeii killed. Large fissures 
 several feet deep, big patches of laud six or 
 eight feet sriiiare, sunk down to four or five 
 feet, over which the kurunia had to he lifted, 
 told the awful tale. We could look up the 
 valley, but lime would not permit of our 
 venturing further. Of the terrific nature of the 
 disaster, however, some idea may he gathered 
 from the accounts we have fieen able to collect. 
 
 'I'he valley follows the course of the Neogawa, 
 and stretches 25 miles from Yarnaguchi to the 
 foot of Hakusan. In the valley altogether 
 were 19 small villages having 1,002 houses. 
 Of these 869 are utterly devastated, and of tiie 
 remainder 101 are merely tottering while out 
 of the scanty population 205 were killed im- 
 mediately and 240 horribly maimed. The hill 
 slopes from Takao to Nagashima, a distance of 
 18 miles have sunk. The acme of destruction 
 is at L^masaka and Yadami. Here some 
 hill sides have subsided over a hundred 
 feet, burying houses and tress beneath them, 
 at Midori, the Buddhist temple of Saikoji is 
 buried in the ground, atui only the top of a 
 pagoda is visible, the ground a{)pearing to open, 
 and after swallowing the temple to have closed 
 again, submerging the village as in a quicksand. 
 Between ilidori and Tarnmi, a small level 
 plateau 2,400 yards long by 600 yards wide has 
 sunk 90 feet, making a depression instead of an 
 elevation. In our excursion we saw several 
 houses which had subsided, hut nothing to 
 equal these subsidences and upheavals. Later 
 however, after leaving Nagoya and visiting 
 C)dai-mura, we noticed an extraordinary freak 
 which wo will detail presently. 
 
 Leaving these scenes of destitution which 
 w'e could not alleviate, w'e skirted the town and 
 made for the Nakasendo below Gifu. Mr. 
 
NEOI>ANI YAEEEY. 
 
 1 Gifu, 2 Yaiiiaguclii, 3 Jiianahai-a., I. Takao. 5 Utsushi, 0 Itadukoro, 7 
 Nogo, 8 Nagatjhiuja, ‘J Ilakusan. llio dark t^iiots mark tlie area uf greatest 
 land subsidence. 
 

 
( 21 ) 
 
 Kilrloyle’s statement that the ground opened 
 under iiis feet, and that hot, water, sand and 
 mud spurted over him. was no longer ineredihle. 
 Tliere were huge scissions in tlie surface, with 
 here and tliere depressions full of water from a 
 subterranean source, and over the paddy fields 
 large tracts of sand, hitherto unknown in the 
 districts. We had still at least twenty-five 
 miles to reach Xagoya and the morning was 
 advancing and so we hurried for Kano-machi, 
 coming into the Xagoyakaido just above it. At 
 least half a dozen trees outside this little 
 village had been broken off, while one large fir, 
 nearly two feet in diameter at the base, had 
 been torn up by tbe roots. Prior to entering 
 the ruined street we came across a subsidence 
 of some four or five yards long by eight or nine 
 feet wide and quite five feet deep. In it the 
 inmates of the fallen tenement at the roadside 
 liad placed some mats, tind an injured man lay 
 there moaning. Processions of little ambulances, 
 each containing a sufferer, were continually 
 met, coming in frotn some stricken hamlet. 
 Kano-machi consists of a lotig street winding 
 down a considerable distance, and then lurning 
 off at right angles. Some 600 houses in all 
 had been thrown down, twenty-five of which 
 were burnt while a hundred and sixty bodies 
 had already been recovered, and three hundred 
 were injured. As in the former case, the 
 bamboo grove had been utilised, but more 
 effects had been saved, and although the 
 sufferings were equally intense, the poor 
 stricken creatures racked with pain had at 
 least a little covering. Our kuruma men tried 
 to get a drink, but there was no water to be 
 had, the wells for the time having dried nj), a 
 singularity recorded also of the west portion of 
 Gifu. Most of the roofs of the houses 
 had been left intact where they had fallen, 
 and the survivors had cut holes in the 
 thatch, and many of them camped inside. We 
 noticed one house whose roof was ingeniously 
 
( 22 ) 
 
 suspended from trees. It had fallen like all 
 tlie rest, hut tlie trees around had not come 
 down, and the ingenious proprietor evidently 
 considered the best thing to he done was to 
 hoist tlie roof np hy tying it to some tall trees, 
 and then erect a new framework under it. It 
 seemed to answer pretty well. Going to the 
 hack of the village we saw a woman’s bod_y 
 taken from under the debris; she had an infant 
 in her arms. Both had been killed, but there 
 was no mutilation or trace of a wound, in either, 
 hut in other cases persons had been crushed 
 into fragments bespattering the timbers with 
 their life’s blood, and presenting a shocking 
 spectacle. These successive harrowing scenes 
 became at length as harrowing as they must be 
 painfully nauseating to our readers, and so we 
 left the desolation and jiroceeded. 
 
 Our ne.\t destination was to be Kasamatsu. 
 It once stood, where its remains now lie, under 
 the gigantic embankment of the right bank of 
 the Kisogawa, which here is a noble stream. 
 About midway we left the kuruma and struck 
 across to the embankment, ordered the men to 
 proceed hy road. As we came by we had 
 noticed three liouses no stronger in outward 
 appearance than their neighbours, yet they 
 showed hardly a crack, some local circumstance 
 preventing them from feeling the awful blow 
 indicted all round. We scaled the bankside, a 
 little beneath the fine railway bridge which 
 spans the river. As in so many former cases 
 there had been a shrinkage of the ground in 
 front, of the bridge, hut so far as we could 
 discover the piles were all uninjured. 
 
 Not so the hank itself. It was massively 
 built, not merely of earth and sand, but sup- 
 ported by a base of rocks. How it had oscil- 
 lated ! In some parts it had split through, and 
 big fragments stood isolated, awaiting only 
 heavy rains to make the devastation signally 
 complete. Iti some places it had subsided into 
 the water to a considerable depth, and an awe- 
 
( 23 ) 
 
 struck peasant pointed out to us rocks wliich 
 bad never been seen V)efore, and showed us liow 
 tbe bed had shifted. This we cannot corroborate, 
 as never having seen the river before we could 
 not decide. The banks however, bore un- 
 mistakable evidence of fresh inundations at 
 some points, and the receding of the water at 
 Others. 
 
 It was not difficult to locate Kasamatsii. 
 Situate in the centre of a smiling plain, with 
 fields ripe unto harvest, Tadayama towering on 
 the west, and Hakusan looming faintly to the 
 north with a sweep of hills round to tha 
 pointed peak of Ibukiyama, it must once have 
 been a lovely spot, the hroad rushing waters of 
 the Kisogawa with its clear de[)ths and sandy 
 bed, affording amusement and profitable occupa- 
 tion. Sailing down that meandering stream 
 winding in and out, through coppices and 
 mountain defiles, till it foams over the bar near 
 K uwana, must have been pleasant [lastime in 
 the gladsome spring days, or in the tinted 
 autumn, while the ferry on the high way and 
 fishing firouglit subsistence. Now over it 
 liung a pall of smoke, denser than a London 
 particular, and reeking with that never to-be 
 forgotten odour of cremated bodies. Ogaki, 
 and Gifu we thought could not be surpassed, 
 but here were deeper depths. Out of a popula- 
 tion of 16,000, Ogaki’s death-roll mustered a 
 thousand. Here they had only 1,100 houses, 
 and about 4,000 {)opulation. There was not a 
 bouse remaining. Nine hundred were burnt or 
 burning, and only on the outer edge stood the 
 remaining 200 utterly demolished. Over 400 
 had been killed, and more than 1.000 badly 
 injured, so that nearly half the people were 
 prostrated. .Scanty was the clothing, mats, and 
 coverings, which those poor wounded l)eings 
 had. And the sombre horror of crushed limbs ! 
 There were none, or few, at work on those 
 ruins. That holocaust was so awful, the 
 fumes so dreadful, that not even coolies, 
 
( 24 ) 
 
 indifferent as they are, dared disturb those 
 odoriferous heaps. Language cannot paint the 
 soleninity of that scene, imagination cannot 
 exaggerate its terrors, it was a concatenation of 
 death, desolaontjand agony. 
 
 Covering our faces witli handkerchiefs to 
 ward off' if possible the gases risiug from those 
 simmering mounds, we came to the landing- 
 stage of the ferr)^ The footpath was broken 
 and disjointed, and partially subsided, so that 
 tlie kuruma bad to be carried down to the 
 water’s edge. Tliere we entered the ferry, and 
 crossed tlie broad expanse, of clear rolling 
 water, bordered on the other side by a stretch 
 of pines, eucalyptus and small cedars, their 
 foliage, autumn-tinged, forming a beautiful 
 harmony of tones while here and there a 
 creeper twinitig round an oak, showed its 
 blood red leaves. It looked peaceful enough, 
 and but for some yawning fissures near the dry 
 portion of the watercourse, there was nothing 
 to indicate the terrible cataclysm which had 
 wrought such havoc on the opposite bank. The 
 little toll-house seemed unshaken, and the road 
 through the pines was as charming as only 
 roads through Japan can be. In happier 
 hours one would have liked to have halted, and 
 enjoyed that fascinating view of river, hill and 
 dale. But the enjoyment was of brief duration. 
 Emerging from the coppice we saw the secluded, 
 wooded hamlet of Kisogawa. Demolition here 
 was not quite so severe, but death had been 
 cotnparatively as active. Only boasting about 
 a thousand people 84 lifeless bodies bad been 
 recovered and 200 lay awaiting death or a 
 maimed existence. Here we noticed strong 
 traces of what at Ichi-no-rniya we were to have 
 more terrible piroofs of — the eruptiotis of sand 
 and water. They told us, the people, that the 
 columns had shot up four feet high. It was 
 credible, for over the road was satid an inch 
 deep, and in the interior of some of the houses 
 were yawning fissures, and the wrecked floors 
 
( 25 ) 
 
 were embedded in sand, the water in one or two 
 cases still running. Rice they told us they 
 had none, nor food of any sort, except kake, 
 and these fetching such fabulous prices that our 
 kuruma men refused to invest. Nor could we 
 get a cup of tea. We should mention however, 
 that en route we had passed several Govern- 
 ment carts laden Avith rice, and medical stores 
 for Ogaki and Gifu. 
 
 Ichinomiya is the centre of four villages 
 Umazaki, Kambe, Okuda and Okori. In these 
 five places and the neighbourhood 9-57 persons 
 were killed, and 925 badly injured, 16,658 
 houses being entirely demolished, and 5,748 
 left in a very rickety condition. In Ichinomiya 
 alone there were 196 killed and 150 badly 
 hurt while Okuda and Okori, smaller places, 
 suffered even still greater fatalities. Here the 
 action of the earthquake tended most to 
 eruptions. Yawning chasms opened in the 
 floors of the houses shivering the planking into 
 splinters, and hot water, steam, mud and sand 
 had been shot up to a height of five and six 
 feet in some places. Exaggeration some may 
 retort. Perhaps it is, people nearly frightened 
 out of their Avits are not the best judges of 
 height. But that Avater and sand and mud had 
 been emitted we had continual and overwhelm- 
 ing evidence. The effects Avere pretty similar 
 in each place, but as I have trenched on my 
 readers’ patience so long, a description of 
 Ichinomiya must be a type for the others. 
 
 'I'ree enshrouded, the straggling town of 
 Ichinomiya is divided into sections by a 
 sacred grove, and a very fine temple. We had 
 to clamber over the roofs of the houses in the 
 first portion, and at other places to assist our men 
 to get the kuruma over the riven earth. The 
 streets Avere covered Avith sand, and going to 
 all that Avas left of an ochaya a gaping fracture 
 fronted us. The Avrenched and shattered floor- 
 ing Avas sand strewn, and so Avas a shaken 
 remuaut of the wall still staudiug. Out of the 
 
( 26 ) 
 
 clear depths water was welling slowlj. Behind 
 had Vieeii a garden perhaps a dozen yards square. 
 It was iinried two or three inches deep with a 
 new soil, and near one end was a kind of 
 untinished geyser, or rough casting of one, 
 whence llie strange soil had been ejected. 
 
 Many of the wounded had been taken to the 
 tetnple grounds, whither we wended our way. 
 It was amusing to note how deference to 
 officialdom dominated even in the midst of 
 disaster and death. Scarcely standing even 
 hy Ijeing shored with stout beams, the little 
 police station was a forlorn sight. But some 
 notable was expected, and from various rubbish 
 heaps had been extricated tliree chairs, two 
 respectable and one maimed, besides a table and 
 some carpet, and these were being placed in 
 the wrecked room. One badly battered body 
 was being taken out from under a huge baulk, 
 it was mangled out of all resemblance to 
 human shape. And the processions of the 
 dying and the dead were continuous. We 
 followed on to the temple through a park-like 
 avenue of towering pines, sombre eucalyptus, 
 and stately maples with a winding gravelled 
 walk, by which we reached the sacred fane. 
 At the approach the granite pillars had started, 
 but the wooden arch stood unmoved. The 
 temple buildings however, were many of them 
 in a state of collapse, and great had been the 
 destruction of rare curios. The stupendous 
 columns had tilted, and zigzag lines of cleavage 
 intersected the courts. Here were gathered 
 the sick, the halt, the lame, the hungry, the 
 homeless, and the bereaved. 
 
 Hitherto we had been unable to obtain any 
 tea for ourselves or rice for the coolies. 
 Luckily my bag contained some provender and 
 we were able to s^ive the coolies a broiled egg 
 
 S' o o 
 
 apiece and some bread, in grateful acknowledg- 
 ment of which they brought us water in an 
 uncracked tea-cup. As we opened our stores 
 we were surrounded with a famished, woe- 
 
( 27 ) 
 
 begone crowd, who mutely watched onr every 
 mouthful and to whom the sight of our 
 provender must liave been like the luscious 
 cooling grapes to the tortured Tantalus. We 
 gave them what we could sptire. It was little 
 enough, ami they fought each other for it 
 with wolfish rapacity, one old woman sntitch- 
 ing a piece from a child. We bought a few 
 kake a [)edlar had on sale, atid it was {titiful to 
 see the scramble as we distributed them. 'I'hey 
 stood close arouuii us while we hurriedly ate 
 our scanty meal until the familiar boom of the 
 coming shock scattered them, for we sat under 
 the granite aichway which distinctly oscillated. 
 'I'liere is little more to say of Ichinomiya. It is 
 mostly iti ruins, tliough amid a desolation of 
 wreckage we saw four houses standing almost 
 unshaken. 
 
 Kuroda and Kiyosii there is no need to 
 describe. They are demolished. vSo also is 
 the little village leading to Biwajima nhitdi 
 stands on the confines of Nagova. Indeed it 
 was to Biwajima, the suburb of Nagoya, that 
 the sensational news first received referred. 
 It was partly thrown down, partly burnt, 
 partly little injured. We passed through a 
 street of a hundred yards without a single 
 house betraying a sign of the ordeal they had 
 withstood, and then we should come ujion a 
 scene of utter devastation, sticceeded by a 
 patch of blackened ruins, the grim evidence of 
 fire stipplemented by that natiseous odour of 
 slowly simmering human (lesli. But the peojile 
 were all in the streets — those wlio were left. 
 Sound or unsound, hotises bad few cbarms but 
 many terrors, and they preferred discomfort to 
 immolition. So they brought their bedding 
 out of doors, those who had any to bring, ami 
 the others lay on mats, ami boards, and any- 
 tliing that served to place them above the cold 
 ground. 'I'he loss of life had amounted to lit), 
 while at Kiyosii it had totalled (Id. At Kiyosu 
 the little station was upturned, and the line 
 
( 28 ) 
 
 twisted and distorted. Here in Eiwajima the 
 line runs through just l)efore crossing the river. 
 A hig emhankinent approaclies the bridge, and 
 a massive masonry had sfianned the street. 
 The emliankment was cracked and subsided, 
 leaving tlie rails higli in tlie air, wliile all the 
 masonry of tlie arch had fallen, the I'ails alone 
 connecling the two portions. It was a well 
 built arch, the bricks stili adhering to each 
 other, though having dropped 20 feet. 'I’he 
 viaduct over the river was not much injured. 
 Here and there a rivet had started, a sleeper 
 splintered, a rail deflected, but this was the 
 utmost extent observable. 
 
 Not so the wooden footbridge over the river 
 higher up, over which all tiaflic bad to pass. 
 The sturdy central piles had snapped or sunk 
 on the one side, and broken midway on the 
 other, so that one side was ten or twelve feet 
 above the water, and the other had been 
 precipitated into the river bed. Thus there was 
 an angle of about 4d degrees, and kuruma pas- 
 sing had to be supported to prevent over-turning. 
 
 W'e were now in the jileasant city of Nagoya. 
 It was fortunately not destroyed but 1,052 
 houses had been overthrown, and 171 killed, 
 besides 270 injui'ed. The stupendous castle 
 Avail on the western side had stood the shock 
 nobly, but on the south there Avas a gigantic 
 breach some twelve or fifteen yards long, 
 from the crest of the embrasure to the bed 
 of the moat. Heavy modern artillery firing 
 at short range could not have been more 
 effective. A small watch tower was dilapidated, 
 and the commandant’s quarters were riddled by 
 falling chimneys. Otherwise, but for the people 
 camping in the streets through fear, there Avas 
 little to indicate that Nagoya had suffered, so 
 far as we could notice in our ride to the house 
 of the Eev. and Mrs. J. Cooper llobinson. 
 Both received us most hospitably. 'I'heir house 
 had not suffered much, though they had camped 
 out one uight through fright. 
 
( 29 ) 
 
 Mr. Robinson said: At tlie time of the earth- 
 quake tiiere was a jiraver meeting in tlie Eiwa 
 Gakko and about ibiiiy people were there 
 including the Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Von Dyke, 
 Mr. aiui Mrs. Klein, Mr. Me Alpine, Miss 
 Wimbisl), Mrs. Albright atid Dr. Worden. 
 The building shook so badly tliat they thought 
 it was about to fall, and all ran out the nearest 
 way at ttie side. Just as they did so two huge 
 chimneys fell on them killing a husband and 
 wife (Japanese) instantaneously and very badly 
 injuring their ctiild. Two otheis, a man and a 
 boy, were so much hurt that they died directly 
 after. Mr. and Mrs. Van Dyke were buried 
 under the debris, the former receivitig a severe 
 cut in the head, and Mrs. Van Dyke havitig her 
 hands crushed. Mr. Van Dyke was insensible 
 for a few moments, but on regaining con- 
 sciousness he immediately set about assisting 
 the others. Finding himself weakening he 
 went to his house, and it was then found that 
 his wound was a very serious otie. Our 
 preaching bouse suffered little or no damage. 
 Dr. Worden’s house is almost wrecked, and 
 Mr. Me Alpine’s house is so much shaken that 
 it will have to be re-built. 
 
 It was about 4.80 in the afternoon when we 
 set out for Yokkaichi. We could not get a 
 steamer and it was essential to he in Yokkaichi 
 by the morning so we made off without delay 
 on a thirty mile ride. Passing through Nagoya 
 we noted that the damages were all on the 
 western side. The normal school was wrecked 
 by the fall of chimneys hut luckily the boys 
 were absent. The fine brick post and telegraph 
 office in Sakai-machi was demolished, and fourof 
 the operators killed. A terrible fate overtook 
 the convicts in the prison, ten of them being 
 killed in their cells and others injured, 'i'he 
 hospital of Aichi Ken is also wrecked and 
 the six inmates had to be placed in tents Iniilt 
 on the grounds. All through the city the 
 people were camping out. 
 
( 30 ) 
 
 Passing on to Owari we came to the Cotton 
 mill whose destruction a corresfiondent thus 
 descrihes ; — The Owari Cotton Mill, costing 
 il^dGO.OUt), was shaken to pieces, the smoke- 
 slack was hroken oft' towards the top, and the 
 tower containing elevator and water tank fell 
 upon the main hnilding, crashing through the 
 roof iuid two floors into the basement, leaving 
 a hole 16 ft. square in each floor to mark its 
 descent. 'I’he mill is of brick, two stories, 750 
 ft. long, and 170 ft. wide. The northern end 
 snlTered comparatively little, the machinery 
 both above and below being almost intact. 
 But the southern half is almost a complete 
 wreck, the three-gabled roof collapsing in such 
 a way as to ruin most of the machinery on the 
 second floor and part of that on the ground 
 floor. Uf the 15.800 spindles only about 5,000 
 are intact. 'J'he engines were not much 
 damaged. Of the 450 workmen engaged in 
 this mill, d5 were killed and 100 wounded. 
 
 For a long distance after leaving Owari the 
 traces of the shock were slight, and we anti- 
 cipated that we hiid finished the list, but more 
 was to come. Atsuta, which we passed on the 
 left, had 342 houses titterly destroyed. 795 semi- 
 ruined and a death roll of 50, with 135 seriously 
 hurt. The story was the same, wounds, out- 
 door camping, pitiable destitution. But from 
 there it wtis not utitil we reached Maegasu that 
 the story was repeated. 'I'heti almost every 
 wayside house, every little hamlet told the 
 thrilling tale. The sun had set when we 
 jiassed the shattered bridge, but it was still 
 light enough to see the treinendons fisstires in 
 the dyke of the Shonaigawa. A frightened 
 inhabitatit informed tis that either the liver bed 
 htid shifted or the ground had moved for the 
 houses were 100 feet away from their former 
 position cotnptired with the stream. Tliis 
 stittement has since been also given in the 
 native press. They also informed us that some 
 of the ground had been elevated with the 
 
( 31 ) 
 
 houses standing on it. This however, we 
 doubt, tlie magnitude of the subsidence close at 
 hand conveying only the impression that the land 
 adjacent had risen. 
 
 From Odai-mura on for miles the ground 
 was broken, and the wounded and destitute 
 people sleeping or moaning liy the wayside 
 was a saddening spectacle. At one place we 
 had to cross an embankment by the side of a 
 stream. The embankment had subsided and 
 the stream found a new outlet, and we had to 
 cross in a small boat. Some places the kuruma 
 had to be carried, and as all the time the 
 tremors did not cease, our men became so 
 alarmed at the frightful chasms and the 
 shakinjis that just as we reached the Kiso<ravva 
 they tleclined point-blank to [iroceed further. 
 There was nothing for it hut to obtain boats. It 
 was a lovely star-light night, and although the 
 air was chilly there was a tinge of romance in 
 going down the stream with its wooded banks, 
 and making over the bar round the point for 
 kuruma. The old boatmen had strange stories 
 to tell of rough waters without wind. The 
 bay had become so agitated that the S.S. 
 Swxiga-maru had to put back to Yokkaichi the 
 preceding day, while the S.S. Jllino-maru 
 expected from Yokohama had not arrived. 
 We felt now and again a vibration of the 
 boat, but there was nothing further of in- 
 terest until we entered Kuwana. There the 
 principal damage was two or three houses 
 down, and some of the public buildings smashed 
 by falling chimneys. This is the more singular 
 as on the last occasion when an earthquake 
 occurred in the same district the town was 
 totally destroyed. It was early^ morning when 
 we reached Yokkaichi, and we had just time 
 for a few hours’ sleep before catching the train. 
 'I'he town had not sutlcred except for some 
 smokestacks, hut it must have felt the blow for 
 we were rudely awakened by a severe shock. 
 
( 32 ) 
 
 The trip from Yohkaiclii to Knsatsii did not 
 add to our eartlKpiake experience, ljut if Kobe 
 residents wish to see some of the most Ijeantifnl 
 ravines in dapan they sliould walk from Seki 
 to Tsiijje, a distance of nine miles. 
 
LETTERS FROM PROFESSOR SEKIYA. 
 
 Prof. S. vSokiya, Rigaku ITakuslii, late pro- 
 fessor of the Imperial Uiiiversit}’, and who is a 
 high authority on Seismology, has favoured ns 
 hy sending se\ eral letters on the hite earthr|nako, 
 since the 3()th nit. As he is now sick, and can 
 not visit the j)laces to make sedentitic investiga- 
 tions, he has sent several letters on the snliject 
 to the native ])apers and Ids friends, and also 
 sent copies to us. The first letter is to <pdet 
 down the people suffei'ing from the carth'i nake, 
 and he says in it that, so far as exjicrience goes, 
 the severest shock, A\hich causes so much 
 damage, is felt onlv once, and the smaller 
 shocks, which are felt afterwards, are not to he 
 feared. The second letter is addressed to 
 Imsiness men, such as carpenters, masons, l)ri(d<- 
 layers, &c., and says tlia-t, as there is no w'ay of 
 j)reventing the eartlK[nake heforehand, they 
 must try to reduce its effects that is to sav, they 
 must study the relation of earthquakes and 
 construction so as to make buildings strong to 
 Avithstand any shocks. The carpenters, hii(dA- 
 layers, masons, ])lasterers, &c., Avho have direct 
 relation Avith the subject, and have previous 
 experience on the matter of their profession, 
 should fully investigate the suhje<'t. The ruins 
 of houses and other things should Ije kept in 
 })ictnres or photographs for future references, 
 etc. The third letter is also on earthquakes 
 and construction. It says that Italy and Spain 
 have construction laws for the erection of 
 buildings Avhiidi Avill AvithstMiid the shocks of 
 earthquake, and goes oii to sa,v that, since the 
 seismometer Avas invented in fJajiaigand we are 
 now aide to iiiAostigate the motions, &(■,., the 
 2 Jrogress of architecture in earthquake countries 
 
( 3A ) 
 
 can now l)e put on a firmer foundation. It 
 conclndes rvlth ■saving’ that the Goverment 
 should eitlier issue a construction larv, or l)nild 
 model hnildings in iVIino and Omari, and thus 
 let the jjeople Imild the liouses strong enough 
 to mithstand the earthquakes. 
 
 Owing to the pressure on onr space we are 
 nnalile to give hi.s letters in full. His fourth 
 letter we will give a little more extended. It- 
 SH vs : — 
 
 ‘•■Since the shocks are still heing felt, the 
 people in the districts whi(di suffered most .are 
 still frighteneil. As I am a Seismologist, I 
 have sent out several letters to comfort and 
 (piiet them. What I said hefore, was. that hist- 
 orv shows ns that, though strong shocks tire 
 sometimes felt for several days, smdi cases are 
 very rare. Generally the severe shock which 
 causes so much dtuuage, occurs onlv once, and 
 the shocks felt afterwtirds are not to he feared. 
 As 1 sent ont the letter in a hurrv', I wastinahlc 
 to give so full a statement, as 1 am going to 
 give now. A lien a severe earthquake occurs, 
 the shocks are repetited constantly for severtil 
 (lavs after, some of which may he prettv strong, 
 and smallers shmdvs are generally felt for one, 
 two, five, or six months after, and sometimes 
 even for one or two years. The shocks hecome 
 less in their jiower and occnrrence as the time 
 jiasses. flapanese history shows this, as will he 
 seen from the table annexed to this letter; the 
 history of oth'-r countries shows it also. So 
 that tlie shocks which ai’C occurring at present, 
 cannot he taken as a sign of another serious 
 earthquake. 'J'he chief cause of the earthquake 
 is the hreaking and falling of the strata of the 
 earth, which hreaks at the thinnest part of the 
 crust. I'he late earthquake was, I think, caused 
 hv the hreaking of the strata in ilino and 
 ()wari, which have a, thinner crust than the 
 neighhouring jirovinccs. i he smaller shocks, 
 which we are now feeling, are caused hy the 
 smaller Ijreakings caused by the broken jiarts 
 
( 35 ) 
 
 settling into position. The shocks will continne 
 till the inner parts of the earth are arranged and 
 so to say qnieied, and so, according to niy 
 ojjinion, they will occur once or several times 
 a day for one or two months, and will not cease 
 till a year after. The earthquake is the most 
 strange of natural eatastro])hes. At the time 
 of great earthqnal<e, many persons run mad l)y 
 fright, and though not going so lar, many 
 become sick, or waste away their ])roperty, and 
 some injure their health by camping ont for a 
 long time, and thus incur one evil by trying to 
 avoid another. The professor then tabnlates a 
 list of the chief eartliqnakes recorded in Japan, 
 and deduces from them the inference that onlv 
 one disastrous shock is felt, the others being 
 minor ones. 
 
THE DEATH ROLL. 
 
 T1 le f(ill(i\vii)<j are the official returns of the 
 killeii ami injured, ami tlie tmniber of houses 
 tleinolisheil, so far as can l)e ascerlained up to 
 (he lioiir of poin^ to press. In Aichi Ken, 
 ilie lionses deinolished nuinher 62,091, those 
 half demolished 36,84:2, ami those inirnr 180, 
 titid half hnrnt. 20. The nmnher of those 
 killed is 2,347. and those injured 3,668. 
 
 Gifu Ken.— 8.482 houses entirely deiiiolislied. 
 
 6,.ot)4 ,, half demolished. 
 
 5,458 ., burnt. 
 
 3, 1 57 injured. 
 
 5,173 killed. 
 
 Gifu (City), area of burnt place, 168,000 tsubo. 
 
 „ ,, Imuses, 75,000 tsubo. 
 
 Gifu ]4.4t<5 pel sons beint? fed by the Government. 
 
 Ogaki ...13,1-35 
 
 AUE.4. OF 1)ISTUK15.4NCK. 
 
 According' to the rejtort of the central 
 jMoteorological Observiitory the area of the 
 jiliices which suffered the most severe shocks 
 Wits 720 stjiuire ri, inclnding Miiio, C)wari, and 
 Echizen : of the whiidi felt less severe shocks 
 2,910 .sijUiire ri, including' Etchn, Kaga, Shiinino, 
 jVIiktiwa, Totonii, Iga, Ise, Oini, Wakasa, 
 Tango, Settsti, tind Yamato: of those Avhich 
 C-\]ierienced mild shucks, 3,910 sipiare ri, includ- 
 ing Koznke, Mtisiishi, Sagami, Kai, Tajima, 
 Jiialia. lloki, Bitchn, Himasaka, Bizeti, Harima, 
 Awaji, Awa, JSannki, and Kii; atid of those iti 
 which slight viliratiotis were noticed 8,730 
 stptare li, inclnding Iwaki, Iwashiro, Hidachi, 
 Shimotsnke, Echigo, Jznmo, Jwami, Nagtito, 
 Bitigo, Aki, Snwo, lyo, Tosa and the provinces 
 of Kyushu. 
 
( 37 ) 
 
 EARTHQUAKE FUND IN KOBE. 
 
 Directly tlie extent of tlie appalling disasters 
 liecome known the Ihjt'go News opened an 
 Earthquake Phind for the relief of tlie sufferers. 
 On the same day both the Hongkong and 
 Shanghai Bank and the New Oriental Bank 
 Corporal Ion, Ltd., opened lists iind tip to dale 
 the jimonnt collected is as given below. 
 The members of the Cxerman portion of the 
 commnnily ticted with great celerity and 
 collected over $2,000 which they immediately 
 dispatched for distrilnil ion in Ogaki and 
 neighbourhood. Messrs. H. Lucas & Co. also 
 ofiened a fund for the Osakti sufferers and rtiised 
 $100. We are also Informed that the mis- 
 sionaries of Kobe and iieitrh bonring districts 
 started a fund which up to date has reached 
 over $400. 
 
 THE HONGKONG AND SII.iNGHAI liANKINtt 
 COKPOKATION. 
 
 Hongkong; and Shanghai Banking 
 
 Corporation $100.00 
 
 F. W. Helleyer 100.00 
 
 Walsh. Hall & Co 1.50.00 
 
 Kobe Paper Mill Co. 2.50.00 
 
 Corne.s & Co lOt .00 
 
 F. S. Goodison 25. ( 0 
 
 F. H. Gill 25.00 
 
 Jardine Matheson 300 00 
 
 Lucas i; Co 50.00 
 
 K. H. Cook 25.00 
 
 C. R. Stedinan 10.00 
 
 Bertrand Shadwell 30.00 
 
 H.S.B 100.00 
 
 Findlay Kichardsou 100.00 
 
 Butterfield A Swire 100.00 
 
 Satiiuel Samuel A Co 100.00 
 
 J. D. Carroll 100.00 
 
 •lohn Creagh 50 OO 
 
 The American Trading Co 100.00 
 
 W. M. Strachan & Co lOO.OO 
 
 H. L. Baggallay .50.00 
 
 Carried for?vard.,.$l,{)6D.W 
 
( 38 ) 
 
 Brought $1,950.00 
 
 E. M. Delf 10.00 
 
 Smith. BaKei' V Co 100.(»0 
 
 C. Z. Ede 5.00 
 
 P. S. Ciibc du 20.( 0 
 
 E. S. llitclicock 10.00 
 
 E. H. Hunter .v Co 100.00 
 
 Alf. Woolley 25.00 
 
 K. W. Koel 10.00 
 
 L. D. Abriihiiiii 10.00 
 
 P. A. I)ilblefsen 10.00 
 
 Col^nte Kal<ei’ and Employees ... 100.00 
 
 E. J. Sinithers 25.00 
 
 F. I . Goldman 10.( 0 
 
 11. Huvilies 10.00 
 
 Geo F. Smithei's 5.00 
 
 .1. 0. Williams 5.00 
 
 Dodwell tlarlill v Co .. 25.00 
 
 H.M.S. •• Meicuiy ” 69.82 
 
 H. .1. Cari'ew 20.00 
 
 F. G. Sale 25.00 
 
 1). Mackimmon 10.00 
 
 Major Perrin... 10.00 
 
 J, Clifford Smith 20.00 
 
 Ean^ifeldt k. Co., Ld 5.00 
 
 H. Julien 5.00 
 
 W. Tallers 10.00 
 
 Grisar Dernen & Co 25.00 
 
 E. Gfifiuet 10.00 
 
 J. Fox 10.00 
 
 Operatic Performance 355.00 
 
 C. .1. Favre Bi audt 10ft 00 
 
 S. Kosenfeldt 10.00 
 
 (!. H. Wil.'On 15.00 
 
 F. H. Hunter 10 00 
 
 J. D. Woodford 10.00 
 
 §3, 1 69.82 
 
 NEW OIUENTAL BANK CORPORATION. 
 
 G. Barfield $20 
 
 C. F. 11 20 
 
 G 10 
 
 T. B 5 
 
 The Kew Oriental Bank Corporation 50 
 
 A. S. Breiiiiier 25 
 
 A. De Ath & Co 100 
 
 Georte Grimble 5 
 
 F. 11. .^hepbed 5 
 
 M. de Berigny 5 
 
 W. Fearon 5 
 
 Carried forirard $4G5 
 
( 39 ) 
 
 Bvovgld fornaril ...S4fi5 
 
 Hotel fles Colonies !^0 
 
 A. C. Sim 1") 
 
 Skipworth, Hnmmond & Co 10 
 
 S. I )ntroiiqnoy 10 
 
 Frank ilischop 10 
 
 'J'. VV. F 5 
 
 W. Cx. P 10 
 
 .1. Steed man 20 
 
 G. Taylor 10 
 
 F], T. lackson o 
 
 Carroll Si Co 20 
 
 W. Warlnirton 25 
 
 John Hall 10 
 
 \V. Potts 10 
 
 G. J. Penney 5 
 
 G. Vanny 10 
 
 J. J. Davies lo 
 
 li. Heynex 5 
 
 J. Blechynden 5 
 
 F. J. Hall 5 
 
 H . E. Reynell Ac Co 
 
 .1. Stewart 
 
 A. M 
 
 G. S. K 
 
 .1. Mackey 
 
 M. Wignall 
 
 M . V 
 
 E. i\I. I helps 
 
 C 11 Cummings ... 
 
 .1. A. Reynold 
 
 A. .y R 
 
 W. I'onl ton 
 
 M. Elmann 
 
 Chingtu 
 
 10 
 
 25 
 
 10 
 
 100 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 5 
 
 25 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 $722 
 
 HYOGO NK-tYS" EAHTHQUAKE FUND. 
 
 ( hina and lapan Trading Co,, Ltd $250 
 
 Is . E. H arris 5 
 
 Rev. .1. IV. Me ollum 5 
 
 W. E. D 10 
 
 E. C. F nl lert 10 
 
 James Green 12 
 
 ( apt. J . W. Harr)' 10 
 
 R. Clark 5 
 
 lakaradzuka Mineial Water ( o 12 
 
 N 10 
 
 L’Alihe ( liatron (lioman Catludic .Mission).., 25 
 
 R. .Marri.ige 10 
 
 H)oi;o News Office HI 
 
 Kooe Institute 3 
 
 11. J'rotiiig 5 
 
 $385 
 
( 40 ) 
 
 Mr. Sim was appointed to represent the 
 t'oinmittee of the Earthcpiake Fund in the 
 devastated districts and up to date has sent us 
 the following account of his work: — 
 
 Ogaki, Nov. 8th, 1891. 
 
 Mr. .Sim kindly writes: — I promised to let 
 you know hoAv we are getting on and below 
 you Avill find a few notes of Avhat I have done 
 and seen to-day. Yon have already had suffi- 
 cient accotints of the fearful disa.^ter that has 
 occurred in this district, and all 1 can sav about 
 it is — ruins in every direction, the few houses 
 not entii'ely broken down are in a ilangerous 
 state and not fit to live in. 
 
 'I'he train did not go further than Kioto last 
 night, and it was 10 a.m this morning when I 
 arrived. I Avent to the Hospital immediately, 
 met Dr. Derry of Kioto, Avho has been here with 
 a staff of assistants and three of his trained 
 nurses for se\en days. There have been 
 between 1000 and 1200 patients attended to, 
 most of them have been treated and sent back 
 to their houses, Imt the worst cases still 
 remain and a great number of iieAv ones are still 
 coming in. Most of the cases have been disloca- 
 tions, fractures, seal}) wounds and internal in- 
 juries, and some of them of a severe tyj)e. 
 
 A school has been convei-ted into a hospital 
 and ihe desks with some tatami make very 
 g(jod beds, there are also several mat-sheds full 
 of jiatients. Dr. llerry intended to go home 
 to Kioto to-day, but received a telegram to 
 proceed to Nagoya to treat a foreign gentleman 
 who had been ratlier severely injnreil on the head, 
 and he left by kurnma about 2.dt); he Avill be 
 here again to-morrow, lie has done splendid 
 Avork here. 
 
 Dr. Jnoko, of the Ked Cross Society, Kioto, 
 with a stall of assistants, takes charge of the 
 Hospital from to-day. Dr. .8ato of the Imperial 
 Uuiversitv, Toki(A, is also, here Avith a lot of 
 assistants. The medical association of Kioto have 
 
( 41 ) 
 
 sent a liberal supply of surgical appliances and 
 also four surgeons to co-operate with tbo Ited 
 Cross Society. Two of tliem have been on duty in 
 the villages for the last two days, where they 
 were much needed. The Government has also 
 been most liberal in their supply of surgical 
 appliances. Having spent two hours in the 
 Hospital with Dr. Berry, seeing the number of 
 poor creatures who had been and were being 
 treated, I was introduced to the Guncho or 
 Chief Magistrate of the district. Dr. B. K-tnaiy- 
 interpreted between us. 1 told him on what 
 conditions I was here to distribute relief sub- 
 scribed for by the British and American residents 
 of Kobe and elsewhere, and he has done every- 
 thing he could to forward tny views on the 
 subject, which I hope will be satisfactory to the 
 subscribers. The large centres have and are 
 receiving great assislance from outside sources, 
 but the more remote districts are not so 
 well looked after. When J proposed to give 
 special attention to them, both Dr. Berry and 
 the Guncho thought the idea a good one. and a 
 list of the most needy in fifty-seven villages 
 will be supplied to me to-morrow. Without 
 such information it would he almost impossible 
 to get to work. There is a Government fund, 
 which in such cases supplies rice to those who 
 require it for ten days, but in this case a further 
 supply for the very poor for twenty days longer 
 has been settled upon. After that they liave to 
 look to themselves. $2.50 will be given for 
 the repairs of each house, and there are so 
 many that a large sum will be required. 
 
 The weather to-day has been delightfully 
 warm, but this will not last long, and there are 
 so many whose houses, and all belongings were 
 burnt, that a supply of blankets, clothing, &c., 
 are ranch required. Carpenter’s tools are now 
 scarce and dear and without them they cannot 
 go on with their work. 
 
 I now propose that a quantity of blankets be 
 purchased, and a lot supplied to the hospital, 
 
C 42 ) 
 
 80 that every poor patient be supplied with one 
 to kee{) him or her comfortable, while they 
 remain in such an exposed place, and to take 
 with them when they leave for — J was going to 
 say home, hut in most cases the home is a lot 
 of hroketi sticks and tiles, and where fire has 
 been, a few red tiles only. 
 
 A depot must he formed, in some centre, for 
 supplies of blankets, clothes, implements or 
 money, as the cases may recjuire. I will visit 
 the villages and from the Kocho will receive 
 the natnes of the most deserving. A ticket 
 will he given them for certain articles or cash. 
 'I'his will he presented at the depot and thev 
 will he supplied accordingly. 
 
 ]>ut after I receive the report of the Guncho 
 to-morrow ami with another day’s experience 1 
 will he better able to judge wluit is best to ho 
 done. 1 walked and drove through the town 
 this afternooti and also visited many of the 
 small villages. It is a pitiable sight. 
 
 The first scare has been got over and they 
 are beginning to clear up the remains, lots of 
 small shanters are erected where crowds are 
 sleeping, as they are still afraid to trust ihern- 
 selves in any of the houses that remain in an 
 upright [losition. 
 
 'J’he shakes I understand were not so had 
 last night. Dr. Berry tiffined with me to-day 
 and when he was here we had a lively turn 
 ahotit. Now when I am writing the table 
 swings about now and again, just to show us 
 the disturbance has not altogether ceased. 
 
 I have chartered a small suramer-honse in a 
 garden. It is of the thinest description and if 
 it did fall on me it would not do much harm. 
 
 Ogaki, Nov. 9th, 1891. 
 
 SiK, — Having to wait for information from 
 the Koncho this morning, I made up my mind 
 to A’isit Gifu, ten miles from here, and all the 
 villages on the road as well as many in more 
 
( 43 ) 
 
 out of the way places. The destruction is 
 frijilitfiil, wliole \ill;iges without a house 
 staiidiiig, roads and ris'er hank toiu and rent in 
 a most e.xtiaordiiiary maiiiier. The fissures ai'c 
 from a few inches to four feet wide and it is 
 astonishing liow unconcerueil every one goes 
 ahoiit among tliem. Pei’sonally, from reading 
 about them, I liad a gi'eat horror f)f them, Imt 
 ro-<lay I have been jumping over them (piiU^ 
 thoughtlessly. 
 
 .1 understood that Clifn was in as bad a state 
 as Ogakii on arri\ ing there the tiist jiart of the 
 town a])peared badly injured, a big tom])le has 
 sutl'ereil much, manv out-buildings, !ire down 
 and ail the main l)uildings are much distorted. 
 The main jxu'tion of the town was in fair oialer, 
 a few houses only destroyed, and in many 
 streets business is going on as usual, although 
 almost every house has been slightly shaken. 
 I have seen Gifu, Ogaki, Tatomi, Mieji, Godo, 
 Kasamatsu, Takahana, and Takasu. The last 
 five are entirely destroyed and the best {tart of 
 Gifu is Imrnt. 
 
 I called at the Kencho at Gifu to see the 
 Governor. He was out of town iusiiecting, but 
 I got a lot of valualile information from another 
 officer ami returned to Ggaki. On the Governor 
 learning I had been there, and had missed liim, 
 and not knowing whetlier I had gone to Nagoj a 
 or to Ogaki, he immediately dispatched an 
 oflicer to both places on the chance of picking 
 me up. One arrived here and made many 
 apologies from the Governor for not heing in 
 when I called, lloth the Governor of Gifu, and 
 the (xuncho of this J)lacc highly appreciate the 
 kindness of the foreigners of Kobe and other 
 places in trying to assist the distressed in their 
 districts. I have to visit the (governor of Gifu 
 again to-morrow. The officials of this district 
 are sorely tricil just now as there is sucli a lot of 
 e.xtra work. 'J'he information promised \esterday 
 was oidy partly finished this evening, but was to 
 be completed late to-night, and perhaps 1 will be 
 
( 44 ) 
 
 alile to inform onv CoTiimittee in Kobe wliat to 
 purchase, ami forward liere to-morrow or next day. 
 The weather is so tine that tliere is no particular 
 hurry in distributing wliat we intend gi\dng. 
 Everyone worth listening to councils a little delay 
 before doing anything, d'he officials are constantly 
 at work finding out the condition of the people, but 
 many who left in fright, are slowly returning to' 
 the sites of their homes, and although 1 should 
 like to distribute the funds for disposal quickly, 
 am perfectly satisfied it is better to wait for a few 
 days until arrangements are better organized. 
 
 I took with me to-day a good sum of money 
 with the intention of giving some of it away, but 
 the crowd requiring it was so vast, that I was 
 scared to make a beginning. Ten to twelve 
 miles of ruined liouses, and thousands of home- 
 less people is a big job to tackle without a 
 system, and, with the e.xceptiou of a few small 
 coins to children and old women, I brought the 
 cash back. Blankets and clothing are specially 
 requii'cd and if any has a pair of old hreeks, or 
 coats or vests, which have done duty for a 
 reasonable time, send them in to Mr. H. L. 
 Baggallay who will forward them here. Tea, 
 tobacco, in fact anything that would be useful 
 to a destitute human being will be highly 
 ap{)reciated. T'his is a dreadful calamity and 
 unfortunately many aged and well-to-do men 
 liave lost all their property, and are worse off 
 than an ordinary coolie wdio is able to work and 
 was never owner of more than a worn-out suit of 
 clothes. 
 
 'J’he Japanese are a wonderful people. They 
 tak'e even disasters, such as the j)resent, in most 
 philosophical manner. From their outward ap- 
 jiearance one would think they are all out on a 
 big jiicnic, but when interviewed their troubles 
 were as keen as could be found among our owm 
 jteople in the old country, under sindlar circum- 
 stances. 
 
 Th e rice is all ready for cutting, but I do not 
 see a man in the fields for miles. They are all 
 
( 45 ) 
 
 lahourino' amon£r tlie mini? of tlipir lionsps trvinfjc 
 to ri.ti' up siiiiie kind of slianty to sleep in and to 
 jirotect tlieni from cold or rain, 
 
 OgAKI, Nov. lOtli, 1801. 
 
 I visited Gif’ll to-day liy reqiie.st of tlie 
 Governor and liave not all the information 
 required. Piinee Komatsu arrived there 
 last niolit on a tour of inspection of the 
 earthquake district. He is liere to-nioht 
 and is evidently taking eieat troulde to see 
 
 . o e> 
 
 every thine. 
 
 On inv return liere in the evenine I have 
 received from the Guncho a lone list of the 
 destitute peofile in the villaees who require 
 relief, and in conqianx with a Kencho 
 official, a policeman, and my inteiqneter I 
 start early to-morrow to distrihute the funds 
 I have in hand. 1 have lieard niy ideas 
 ahout how this sliould he done. ]\Ianv of 
 them are impractieahle, so I eo and see and 
 use inv own judenient what to do. 
 
 I am sendine a list of articles, most 
 required, to our ( 'ommittee who will purchase 
 them and forward, or hring them up. I 
 have taken the advice of the Guncho here ; 
 he is a very good and sensible man and he 
 says blankets, i'utons, car[)enter's tools, rtc., 
 would he the most useftil and acceptable. 
 IMost of this town and Gifu has been 
 burnt down, and those articles destroyed. 
 There are very few to be bought here, and 
 those are onlv to be had at a high jirice. 
 i\Ianv of the carpentei s are entirely cleaned 
 out, and have no money to buy such artich's, 
 and as every house for miles around must be 
 rebuilt you can imagine how useful these 
 articles will be. 
 
 I had a walk off the ustial path to-day, 
 and gave away some small sums. Found 
 
( ^6 ) 
 
 what liail been a housp ; it was all in pieces. 
 ILushand. wife and child were sittino- on the 
 ruins havinit' a consultation as to what thev 
 were to do tor tlie night — assets: a tew liroken 
 sticks, and tit'teen cents in cash, no rice or 
 any eatables. (Tave them enough to tide 
 over a tew days. (Jn re-passing them later 
 in the (hiv, raining hf^avilv, tound them all 
 huddleil under a c-ouple ot doors, set up tent 
 tashion with a piece ot mat over it. In 
 some ot the hospitals to-night the rain is 
 coming in treely tlirough the root, and 
 streams ot water are running over the tloor 
 where the j)atients are Iving. Saw many 
 remove to a drier place. 
 
 Such is the condition of thousands in this 
 neighbourhood to-night, tor 1 don't think 
 there is a sound house in this part of the 
 countiN'. There is one comfort it is quite 
 warm \ et, but in a trov da\ s cold will set in 
 when the misers' will be severe. Since m\' 
 ari’isal the eartiK|uakes have not lieen very 
 alarming, Imt this eveidng there have been 
 some livels' tremois. 
 
 Ogaki, Xov. 11th, 1891. 
 
 'I'liis has been iny first day's real work in 
 disti'ibutiug the fund so liberally subscribed by 
 Kobe fi'iends It has been vei'y difficult for 
 me to start, but after seeing the towui last 
 night in the hea\y rain we had, the uncomfort- 
 able state of many of the patients in the hospitals, 
 and the crowils huddleil together in the shanties, 
 1 determined to begin at once. I had received a 
 long list of the most needy cases f.'om the 
 Kimcho, and started this moriung at 8.130. My 
 first visit was to the hospital wdiere many of the 
 worst cases still rmnain. 1 saw ev ery j)atieiit. A 
 gentleman was told offi to accompany me, and one 
 ot the surgeons kindly explained and showed 
 
( 47 ) 
 
 every case. The Kencho lias also told off a very 
 smart policeman to accompany me dnrinj; my 
 stay here. 1 write down the name, age, and 
 occupation, nmniier of family in house, nature 
 of case — verf! severe, severe or slight, and the 
 amount of money given. The interpreter and 
 the policeman also keep an account in Japanese. 
 The amounts given ranged from two to seven 
 yen. After linishing the hospital we went on 
 the otitskii'ts of the town hnniiiig up those 
 who had lieen injured. We found lots of them 
 with ho.spital bandages on — .nanv of them had 
 been maimed for life. The regular beggars we 
 don’t attend to but there is another cdass 
 which receive.s attention when we find 
 them, that is tnose who had been com- 
 paratively well oil' but are now cleaned out. 
 The first case of the kind we saw was <a 
 doctor, a very decent looking man with a large 
 family and a very old grandmother. He lost 
 everything be [lossessed and was livinij in a 
 miserable shanty outside the town. Another 
 very bad case of this kind soon turned u[). It 
 was a most pitiable sight. An old woman 77 
 years of age, two very old men, and a few 
 yotmg people. The family had been very well 
 off, but had lost all they possesseii and felt their 
 position very keenly. 
 
 The above are specimens of what we see all 
 round the country. To-morrow 1 visit a large 
 town six miles from here, tvhich is out of the 
 regular track. It is very' badly injured and 
 has many wounded. Now that we have got 
 into it the work is not difficult, and we crct 
 through is rapirlly. 
 
EH RATA. 
 
 (^11 j'atje 6, lines 6, 7 and 8, read: “could not 
 lielp 'wnlkinjr with a t'eeliii”^ of awe. In the 
 spaces along the streets the snrvivors of the 
 calamity had ” 
 
 On page 7, line 34, insert after the word 
 “play”: we reached the outer limit of the burnt 
 area. 
 
 On page 8, line 3, read: “blanched faces 
 were heart rending. A nmnt>er of doctors,” &c. 
 
 On jiage 38 add to Hongkong and »Shanghai 
 list: Oppcnheinier Ereres, $100. 'J'he proceeds 
 of Operatic performance totalled $391. 
 
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