e. Lima is more than
ninety leagues distant from the nearest active volcano, that of
Arequipa. But the earthquakes of the Peruvian capital are uniformly
independent of any state of activity in that volcano, and it is
certain that the town of Arequipa, which lies at the foot of the
mountain, experiences fewer earthquakes than Lima. Of the six serious
earthquakes, the dates of which I have mentioned, only that of 1687
stands in connection with a decided shock in Arequipa, and an eruption
of the volcano. Earthquakes are of rarer occurrence in the mountainous
districts than on the coast, yet Huancavellica, Tarma, Pasco,
Caramarca, have been visited by heavy shocks; and within a recent
period the village Quiquijana, in the Province of Quipichanchi,
Department of Cusco, suffered from a serious commotion. In a letter
from an eye-witness I received the following account of it.

"In November, 1840, the earth began to move faintly back and forward,
and a dull, distant, subterraneous noise continued without interruption.
The first powerful shock occurred on the 23d of December. During the
whole month of January, 1841, heavy thunder prevailed, but without any
motion of the earth. On February 11th, we again had a smart shock, and
from that day the vibrations recommenced, which, strange enough, were
always most violent on Mondays and Thursdays. The subterraneous noise
resounded incessantly; but it was heard only in the village; for at the
distance of half a league from it all was tranquil. The heaviest shocks
were felt in a circuit within the radius of three leagues. From May 21st
to June 2d, all was tranquil; after the last-mentioned date the
vibrations recommenced, and frequently became heavy commotions. They
continued until the middle of July, 1841. From that time we have not
been disturbed, and we have now returned to the ruins of our village."

The volcano of Arequipa, which is forty-five leagues distant from
Quiquijana, manifested, during the whole of this time, no unusual
phenomena, a circumstance which speaks forcibly against the idea of any
local connection between the earthquake and the volcano.

On most men earthquakes make a powerful and extraordinary impression.
The sudden surprise, often in sleep, the imminent danger, the
impossibility of escape, the dull subterraneous noise, the yielding of
the earth under the feet,--altogether make a formidable demand on the
weakness of human nature.

Humboldt in the Cosmos truly