January 2d, 10h. 15m.—This morning, a smart shock of an earthquake was felt in San Francisco. The motion of the earth was undulatory, and came apparently from the northward. A pendulum indicated a motion of about five and a half inches.
January 21st, 16h.—Quite a smart shock occurred; it was quite sharp in the south-west part of the city.
January 28th, 3h.—At the town of Petaluma, Sonoma County, a shock of an earthquake occurred. It was sufficiently heavy to awake persons from their sleep.
January 29th, 0h. 45m.—A slight shock was felt in San Francisco. It was observed also at the Mission Dolores. There were three distinct tremors, with short intervals elapsing between. The motion was apparently from the westward.
February 15th, 5h. 25m.—A severe shock of an earthquake was felt in San Francisco, the duration of which was about eight seconds. Persons sleeping were aroused, and many persons left their beds and sought the street. There were two distinct shocks, the second very light and scarcely perceptible. The motion was undulatory and vertical, and at the end of the first shock a very strong, profound jar, with which it ceased.
The upper part of a building on Battery Street, for seventy feet in length, was thrown down, the whole of which was above the cornice, very thin, and the mortar with which it was constructed had not become hardened, being easily removed by the fingers—it more resembled wet sand than a firm mortar.
There appears to have been but little difference in the sensation of persons situated either in upper or basement stories.
It was preceded by a deep, heavy rumbling, and the motion apparently came from the north-west. A distinct shock was felt at eight minutes past two o’clock the same morning, by persons who were awake and up at the time.
The rotatory movement was shown in the fact that small square bottles and boxes that stood upon a line, were moved from their position horizontally, describing an arc of thirty degrees and upwards, as shown by the dust upon the shelves on which they stood.
The first wave came with a force sufficient to project small articles three or four feet on the floor, from shelves on which they were placed; they were apparently all thrown in the same direction. Several clocks were stopped at precisely 5 hours 25 minutes.