Newspapers report that this earthquake was felt at both Victoria and New Westminster, B.C., with the shock being stronger in Victoria, where it was described as lasting 10 seconds (Holden's catalog gives the duration as 15 seconds and calls it the "severest shock on record."). toppling one chimney, cracking plastering all over, and throwing bottles and crockery to the floor in several shops. Henry Roeder, an early settler at Bellingham, wrote in his journal that he feared his house would fall off its foundation, although the time he reports is about 45 minutes later than times reported in Victoria. No report of the earthquake being felt was noted in a scan of weather reports from Neah Bay.
The New Westminster paper also reports that the large trees were broken on an island near Plumper Pass, probably referring to a location close to Discovery Island, about 5 km east of Victoria's Oak Bay
Subsequent reports in the British Colonist about a week later suggest a massive rockfall from Mount Baker. The April, 1895 weather records of James Swan at Neah Bay included an additional clipping related to changes in appearance of Mount Baker, and Swan says that he included sketches of the appearance of the mountain before and after.
Many catalogs list this earthquake, and indicte a maximum intensity of VI, and list the time incorrectly as evening. Newspaper accounts all agree,that the earthquake was in the morning. |
