WHALING SHIPS
Geologists tell us that Guam does not sit on a dormant volcano, waiting for the next big eruption to explode. Nor is Guam delicately sitting on top some underwater peak that the next mega earthquake will shake so violently that Guam will fall into the Marianas Trench.
But for many years, many people thought that.
On February 25, 1849, a very strong earthquake shook Guam, destroying a number of buildings, burying some victims underneath the rubble. The quake started around 2:40 PM and after shocks, numbering some 128, continued till 11PM that same day.
For nine more days, people could feel that the ground was different. It felt like the earth below their feet was moving like a river. People expected the worst. The dormant volcano of which Guam was thought to be was now awake, ready to explode and send all the people of Guam into the sky.
Sixteen whaling ships happened to be anchored at Guam at that time. According to a report by Spanish Governor Pablo Pérez, many people left the island to board those ships, waiting to see if Guam would explode and fall into the sea. This lasted for a few days till, to their relief, the island was not blasted in a volcanic eruption.
Lewistown Gazette (Pennsylvania), 18 August 1849.
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