[fhammon]

Originally Posted by Tourmaline

Was that an earthquake? Loud enough to wake the very dead?

There was blasting at the La Brea Tar Pits, to get at the tar.

1890 - La Brea Tar Pits
http://jpg2.lapl.org/pics02/00010558.jpg

That could very well be the work of Edward Doheny although blasting wasn't mentioned here.

While in Los Angeles, Doheny found out that there were reserves of natural asphalt which in places came to the surface, notably at the La Brea "tar pits". Doheny obtained a lease near downtown with $400 in financing from Canfield, who had made some money from the mining industry. In the fall of 1892 Doheny dug a well with picks and shovels, and a windlass, looking for asphalt, from which oil could be refined. When the well (6 feet (1.8 m) x 4 feet (1.2 m) wide) reached a depth of 155 feet (47 m), Doheny devised a drilling system involving a eucalyptus tree trunk.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_L._Doheny