The National Register.
London, England, 1818-01-12 00:00:00

HURRICANE IN THE WEST INDIES.

EXTRACT IMP A LETTER DATED ET. PIERRR, MARTINIQUE,
NOS LMULR 10.

On the 21st of October, this colony was visited by the most
furious hurricane ever witnessed here. 'flee details of this
tied disaster would be equally long 24 painful. The loss of
nearly 1,009 lives, 25.000 hogsheads of sugar of the present
and next crop, incalculable losses in buildings, animals, and
the necessaries of life, have occasioned a general desolation,
independently of the great anxiety caused by 9-10th of the
shipping w Inch were in the different ports of the island, be-
ing either wrecked, damaged, or missing. St. Lucie and
Innminica have equally *tittered, the tempest reached also St.
✓incent and Grenada. It ravages extended to Guadeloupe,
at well as to Porto Rico and its neighbourhood, though in a
less degree. The loss experienced by Martinique alone may
be very moderately calculated at 23,010,000 of frans, exclu-
sively of the shipping, the wink* and buildings of entire
parishes were razed to the ground. It lasted 26 hours, 12 of
which with such inconceivable fury, as to produce all these
disasters, and to destroy buildings which had withstood all
former hurricanes. It will require many years before the
colony can recover itself from this heavy calamity.
Dominica is one of the islands in the direct track of the
late hurricane in the West Indies ; lint of the damages which
It sustaioed few particulars have transpired. A letter from
Barhadoes gives the following details :
" Ilarbadoes, Nov. 4.

" Accounts have of late reached us from Dominica, whence
every vessel was driven to sea during the late hurricane, and
none of them had retained when the Robert mail boat, which
arrived here on Sunday the 2d inst., left that island. The
Country has suffered so materially, that unless supplied, a fa.
twine is dreaded."—From another letter of the same date, we
learn, that on the 29th of (let. the Governor of Dominica
issued a proclamation, allowing, in coo:sequence of the plan-
tations and provisions having been destroyed by the Mini.
cane of the 21st, the importation into that island, for six
months, in vessels of all nations and descriptions, of flour,
bread, hiscuita, rice, beans, pease, oats, corn, meal, live
stock, horses, moles, horned cattle, roots and fruits of all
kinds, boards, planks, The proclamation further per-
mits the el,portistion of sugar and coffer to the value of one
third pail of the inspirited cargo, and rum and molasses for
the remainder."

letter published in the Journal des Debats, contains
an account of the damage silo:tined at Martinique by the
hurricane which has calked such ravages in the U est Indies.
It is dated St. Pierre, Oct. 29 :—the following is a summary
of its contents "
All the parishes of the colony suffered more or less front
the dreadful storm on the 21st of October. Every where the
provisions of the country were destroyed, and all hopes of a
harvest, which promised to he most abundant, arc annihilat-
ed. In some parts of the island the sugar manufactories
were greatly injured ; in others, totally destroyed, the plan-
tations were generally torn op ; negroes and cattle perished
in considerable numbers, and every thing presented an image
of desolation. The towns were no less injured. The houses
and public buildings of Fort Royal were either wholly
tumbled down, or unroofed. The same took place at St.
Pierre. In the roads, great disasters happened among the
shipping. Of the three king's ships which were there, two
made soil immediately, and stood off from the island ; the
other (the Margaretta) was wrecked on the coast ; the men
nod pe uperty were saved. The hull of the vessel alone was
lost. Gilberto there is reason to hope that Guadaloupe has
escaped the hurricane. In order to mitigate as far as possible
the calamities of this awful visitation, the Governor genet al
of Martinique, Count de Vaugiraud, issued a proclamation on
the 28th October, opening the ports to all vessels, of what-
ever description, bringing articles of food, such as wheats
barley, e., and such articles no would be necessary for agri-
culture, and for the reparation and daily consumption of the
anger manufactories.
A letter dated the Bth November mn ntionr. the damages
sustained in the neighhonroie islands of St. Lucie, Domiuica,
ti enada, St. Vincent, St. Thomas, and Porto Rico. Up to
that period no intelligeoce had liven received of the fate of
those vessels which had put to sea at the commencement of
the hot rieane.

The following llRrtirularA were received by the Leeward
Island Mail which reached town on Thursday :
" Don I N ICA Nov. 5 Our accounts from the other parts
of the island are now somewhat snore consolatory than our
fears hail suggested. with respect to the causes and coffee, but
previsions are every where injured, or totally destroyed.
t• The schooner Bee, wlsiela left St. Thomas on Friday in_
form us, that the following sestets driven out of Martinique
had put there on the 25a1 tilt.:—La dation, La Ron Henri,
laa Keine Zitle, and American brig Forman, all dismasted,
with five awl sin feet seater in their holds, most of the men
washed °vet board, and the hulls not rendered sea worthy.
"The French ship Ceres stinek on Crab bland, and dashed
to pieces, her crew rottsisting of live men, drowned. Ten or
twelve sail rail on shots at 1',.. to Rico, by the Masters mi..
sink St. Thomas, and the crews perished. A small Schooner
Was passed keel uppermost; and the Captain of the lion
Henri declares it impossilaSe for any small vessel to live in
such a ►ea and wind. Both St. Themes and Porto Rico have
antlered alreadfailay from the effects of the hurricane, and
Piltily vessels have been lost ota those hoods. By these cc.
counts also, our hopes of the Ce turn of the aintorittnate yes.
eels that pet to sea on the :gist from oar anchorage arc con-
siderably diminished; they may. however, yet be heard of
further to leeward.
" Sr. VINCENT, OCT. 2..—We have this day the painful
task of [actuating she destructive die eta of one of those awl'sl
visitations of uhieh are het seldom or partially
enperienced in this favoured colony, although of frequent re.
currenee in the islands situated to the uorthwaid of us during
this period of the year. On Tuesday, at day break, the up_
peatenee oldie weather indicated an approach of the calamity
which in the MITSe of that slay was attended with such mis-
eltievous CUIISI qiutewes in ties port, as well as in other parts
of the culohy ; the wind at this early hour set in from the
north west, accompanied by a litany sea, and every other de
Inonstration of an appioaching storm. During the tin canton
the gale continued to increase, and the agitation of the waves
presented she most alarming appearance; whale the vessr Is
411 the bay were prevented, by the direction of the storm,
front quitting their anchorage, though they were placed iu the
most perilous situation by remaining at it. nosh the morialtV
till about tierce in the aft% mom, the slur rased aith
•tendons violence, occasioeally aecompaiited I)) falls of rain ;
gad several sends weir, in eaaseque nee, thrown out the
together with their seVetal valuable droihims bout,