Individual Event Report
| Event #357 - Summary, and parameter estimates with source IDs |
| This earthquake is mentioned as part of a very interesting general article on earthquakes in Washington. It appeared in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on 3/20/1904, following a widely felt earthquake on 3/16. The particulars for this event are: "Slight shocks are often felt in the eastern part of the state and are somewhat common on Lake Chelan. One was felt at Bear Creek on this lake on the 5th of this month." |
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MAGNITUDE |
MAX. INTENSITY |
FELT AREA |
| YR |
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AM/PM |
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Type |
LAT(N) |
LON(W) |
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Inten-
sity |
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Type |
Felt
Area |
Felt
Area
Int. |
Felt
Area
Units |
| 1904 |
3 |
5 |
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Bear Creek |
WA |
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| N-WA - 2092 |
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N-WA - 2092 |
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Underlying Source Material
| Source ID |
Publication |
Pub Date |
Pub Details |
| 2092 |
Seattle Post Intelligencer |
1904 |
Sunday March 20, 1904, p. 1, c.1 |
Transcription: WHEN THE EARTH TREMBLED IN PIONEER DAYS OF SEATTLE
The trembling of the earth on the evening of the 16th recalls tremors of early days. When Seattle was first settled by the white people the Indians told of a great earthquake that had occurred some fifty years before. They related that the shocks were so severe that the earth opened up in great cracks and that their little mat and slab huts were shaken to the ground and there were great landslides.
The largest slide near Seattle was immediately south of West Point lighthouse. It is about a mile in extent and can be clearly seen
at the present day.
The lower bench of Kinnear park slid at that time from the cliff shore, carrying giant fir trees that still stand on the slide.
The Indians said that the mountains "momoked poh" (shot at each other), and roaring of the tidal waves was frightful.
The writer, when a little child, picked up a beautiful carnelian pebble in a ploughed field, where large brick blocks now stand, and
asked her father what the pebble was and where it came from. An Indian standing near said that the hyha,skokum-amon-ta" (very large mountain, Rainier) had fired it during the great earthquake.
In the fall of 1872 the hardest shock that has been experienced since the settlement of Seattle occurred. It was a clear moonlight night and very still. The shock came about 10 o'clock. The movement was upward, as of an upheaval, followed by waves from north to south of such severity that it was like walking on the deck of a ship in a wind, and it caused nausea and dizziness.
A lady who has lived here ever since Seattle has been inhabited by the white people said " I was ill and was sitting in a rocking
chair at the time of the great earthquake, and it swayed my chair back and forth and when I tried to walk the floor it seemed to rise in waves."
The plaster was cracked in many houses, dishes were broken, lamps tipped over and articles hanging against the wall rattled sharply.
Lake Union was like a sheet of glass just before the disturbance. Just as it was over large rollers, approaching a tidal wave, came in a number of feet above high water mark. There was also a disturbance of a like character on the waters of the bay.
The tall fir trees that stood thick around Lake Union at that time swayed back and forth as if a heavy wind were blowing. Indians living on the lake shore near the writer's home, were terribly alarmed and rushed from their houses, screaming in excitement.
The next day an old Indian named Tesecguia came to the house, saying: "Dabath achieth-tejima culalum Boston hiue mesahche tilacum saukhale tyee hyas solex ticky memaloose nika nika slek lum tum" meaning "We Indians are bad; also, the white people. The Great Spirit is angry, he wants to kill me, my heart is heavy."
The earthquake extended over a large area of the Northwest. On the Columbia River not far from Orondo a large mountain was split in two and half of it fell into the river, damming it up so that the river had to cut a new channel. The break in the mountain is sharp and clear and is one of the sights from the river boats.
The next earthquake of any severity happened during the fall of 1889, coming about 9 o'clock at night. It was so sharp
that it caused people who were on the streets to stagger. It was a Sabbath evening and quite a large congregation was
[unreadable line...] church on Third Avenue, now used as a dance hall. The shock alarmed the worshippers and they arose en masse. One lady fainted and a panic was narrowly averted by the minister and one cool-headed man who stood near the door.
There have been light tremblings since, but not of a serious character. Slight shocks are often felt in the eastern part of the state and are somewhat common on Lake Chelan. One was felt at Bear Creek on this lake on the 5th of this month.
About five years ago a strange upheaval of the waters on Lake Chelan occurred at Twenty-five Mile creek. An eye witness
describing it said: " The water rose just like the roof of a house, some four feet high, causing a respectable sized tidal wave."
Seattle has never experienced the severe shakings up that San Francisco has. A gentleman now living here was there at the time
of the great earthquake in the `60s. When the shake commenced he started from a doorway to the street and just as he stepped out two huge brackets from the roof fell at his feet, just missing his head. Buildings were swung out of line a foot or more and several people were killed by falling arches and brick. People rushed out of hotels, flats and houses without looking to see if their hats were on straight. One lady who was in bed at the time sprang up and tried to dress, but failed to get anything on but a hoopskirt over her nightgown. She was carrying her baby by the heels when she reached the street. "Light" costumes were very much in evidence. People were so terribly frightened that they stayed out on the open hills above the city for hours. Should Seattle build many more skyscrapers may the "shakes" be few and far between.
CHELANA |
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