covered with the dead bodies of People of all conditions, floating up and down without burial; for the great and famous Burial Place called the Pallifadoes, was deftroyed by the Earthquake, and the Sea washed the Carcaffes of thofe that were buried out of their Graves, their Tombs being dashed to pieces by the Earthquake, of which there were hundreds in that place. Multitudes of Rich Men were utterly ruined, whilft many that were poor, by watching opportunities, and fearching the wrack'd and funk Houfes, even almost while the Earthquake lafted and terror and amazement was upon all the confiderable People, have gotten great riches. From St. Anns there was news that above a thoufand Acres of Wood-land were turned into the Sea, and carried with it whole Plantations, but no place fuffered like PortRoyal, where whole ftreets were fwallowed up by the opening of the Earth, and the Houfes and Inhabitants went down together. Some of them were driven up again by the Sea which arofe in those breaches and wonderfully efcaped. Some were fwallowed up to the neck, and then the Earth fhut upon them and fqueezed them to death, and in that manner feveral were left buried, with their heads above ground only fome Heads the Dogs had eaten. Others were covered with duft and Earth by the remaining People to avoid the ftench. Great bellowing and noifes were heard

fome.

fometime after in the Mountains, which made them apprehenfive of an Eruption of Fire; but thanks be to God, no ill Event hath yet fucceeded.

By a fecond Letter from another worthy Divine and a Minifter of the Parish of Vere in that Ifland, fome Leagues from PortRoyal; we have this further Relation of that tremendous Judgment, Dated Fune 30. 1692. On Tuesday June 7. about 11 in the Morning it pleafed the Juft God to vifit us with a terrible Earthquake, which -continued with much violence and terror for about a quarter of an hour, as most fay but in my Opinion not above 6 or 7 mínutes, in which time it overthrew all the Brick and Stone Buildings in the Country, whereof feveral in my own Parish, which now are either levelled with the Ground or ftanding Monuments of the Wrath of God, fo fhattered and torn that they are irreparable; while thefe were tumbling, the Earth opened in my Parish in multitudes of places, and though their dire Chafms fpewed out Water to a confiderable height above ground, in fuch quantities in fome places that it made our Gullies run on a fudden, though before exceeding dry, infomuch that fome were afraid of being overwhelmed at once by the River and Sea joy ning together to fwallow up the Country; thefe gaping mouths being no less than 12, 20. or more foot deep under the Earth, and

Y

above two miles up in the Country, efpecially nigh the River in the pureft mould, which had not Clay nor other confolidating Matter beneath to oppofe the force of the Fountains of the Deep breaking up for where that was, we do not find any cracks of the Earth at all. And yet it pleafed God that we in this Parifh have elcaped the Danger much better than our Neigh bonrs Parish; for happening to content, ourfelves with mean and low-built Hou fes, generally of Timber and Boarded, or with Cratches fet deep in the ground and plaifterd, fuch Houfes are generally ftanding. So that we have means to affift one another, whilft in other parts hundreds of Souls are caft out of their dwellings, and have not a place to hide their Heads in, except in Booths and Tents which they have fince built to fhade themselves from the Sun. Our noted Town of St. John de la Vega: Or, The Spanish Town is utterly. down to the ground, and its Church devoured in the fame Ruins; Our Magazine and only Store-Houfe of Port-Royal is. three parts fwallowed up in the Sea, Ships and Shallops, now riding at Anchor where great numbers of fine Fabricks stood not long fince. Many eminent Merchants worth thoufands, have fcarce any thing left but the blue Linnen on their backs; feveral. are dead, either overwhelmed with their Houfes, or drowned in the Sea, which flowed in fuddenly upon them. For whit

they fled from the Sea, the Earth devoured them in her gaping Jaws, or they were killed with the falling Houfes; and while they fled from the gaping Chafms of the Earth, or the tottering buildings, the Sea met and fwept them away. A whole Street called the Wharf, (where most of the noted Merchants lived, and where much of the Planters goods were landed, for convenience of Sale and Shipping; particularly Sugar and Cotten) funk at once from one end to the other with a general crack at the very begining of the Earthquake, together with two Forts, Guns, &c. thereon; and all that were upon or nigh i perifhed in an inftant without warning: and foon after while the People were in the greatest horror and con-fternation imaginable, not knowing whither to fly for fafty, two or three more Streets in their whole length tottered and fell, and were immediately funk, ground and all together deep into the Sea, as far as the fews Street; All the Upper part of the Town, with the Church, and all above the Pallifadoes is under Water, even the very Pallifadoes itself where their burying place was, is now no longer Earth but Sea; and the dead Corps floated from. thence to all parts of the Harbour. The

Houfes that yet remain are many of them fo rent and torn, and others fo deeply funk into the Water, even up to their Balconies, that they are unferviceable. The Wall at

f the

the Pallifadoes is utterly ruin'd, with the Sort thereto belonging; and though Morgans Line, and Walkers Fort yet ftand They are forely fhaken and rent, and so sunk they are not renable, the whole place that is yet above Water finking daily by thofe Earthquakes we have ever fince had; fometimes 4, 5, 6. times, more or less in 24, hours. I myfelf while I am now writing, expecting when the Earth will tremble under me, though in other parts of the Country through Gods mercys we do not hear of any further damage fince the first. The reputed number of the Dead, (for perhaps there will never be an exact Account) is reckoned about 1500 perfons, befides Ne-. gro's, who are thought to be 6 or 700 more, a multitude of whofe Black Corps floated many days from one fide of the Harbour to the other, which caufed fuch an intollerable ftench that the dead were like to deftroy the Living; till at laft fome were funk, and others difperfed by the Seabreeze.

Immediately upon the Ceffation of the Earthquake, your heart would abhor to here of the Robberies and Violences committed in an inftant upon the place, by the vileft and bafeft of the people. No Man could call any thing his own, for they that were strongest and most wicked feized what and whofe they pleafed without regard to the Owners, Gold and Silver, Jewels, Plate