AN EARTHQUAKE EXPERIENCE.
By Geo. E. Hollister
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, tho the earth be removed, and tho the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; tho the waters thereof roar and be troubled, tho the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” Ps. 46:1-3. Thus can the righteous say now and continually, even when this old earth is trembling “at the presence of the Lord” and at “the glory of His power,” when He shall arise to shake terribly the earth. How different is, and will be, the experience of those who have no hope in God, is foreshadowed in the experience of one whose testimony is given below. While presenting the book “Coming King,” for the consideration of a gentleman in Mendocino County, Cal., this summer, I referred to the chapter on earthquakes. He exclaimed:— “Earthquakes! Well, I tell you I have had some experience in earthquakes. Now, sir, I am a pretty old man. I was in the Civil War, waded thru human blood four inches deep at the battle of Vicksburg. I have been in California most of my life; have seen men shot, murdered, and hanged by the lawless and by officers of the law; have faced death in every conceivable way. But I never had such indescribable feelings as I did the night of April 14, 1897, during the earthquake that began at 10:45 that night, and continued occasionally for a year. During the first seven hours there were 185 distinct shocks, and do not think the ground quit moving for twenty-four hours. “The first shock awoke the entire family, threw the clock off the mantle, and broke every dish in the house. The third shock was more severe than the first two. It threw every one of us upon the ground; we could not stand upon our feet. The cows bellowed with fear; the horses actually squealed in terror; and the dogs barked and howled, and ran to us as for protection. One of them left the ranch, and never could he again be induced to come back and remain. Two of the boys who were sleeping in a room with an eight-foot ceiling, said they could touch the ceiling as they were lifted by the shock. “The ground was opened in many places, some of the fissures being three and a half feet wide. Even the mountains were torn in pieces; in one place a part of a mountain was moved out of its place, and a lake now occupies the site. “One of the neighbors was so affected by the earthquake that he soon after died; and one of my daughters has never recovered from the shock to her nervous system. I am no coward, sir; but I would rather face death in any form than to pass through another such experience.”