St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1878-06-28
A Chinese Cyclone.
THE DEAD NUMBERED BY THOUSANDS.
[Canton Letter (April 14) to Hong Kong Press.l

THE DEAD NUMBERED BY THOUSANDS.
GCanton Letter (April 14) to Hong Kong Press.l
Passing over the Shameen settlement
the storm crossed the canal to the city,
carrying away in its course the balus-
trading of the East bridge. A native
police station opposite was also COM
pletely destroyed. The storm leveled
all the houses in its course, making a
clean sweep of everything for width
of about 600 feet. The mortality has
been variously estimated at from 5000
to 10000, and probably the latter num-
Der is nearer the mark. Nine thousand
houses, speaking in round numbers,
are known to have been destroyed, and
although many of the inmates had no.
tice of the impending disaster by hear
ing the noise caused by other houses
falling, and made their escape, there
were other cases in which great num-
bers of people were killed by the fall of
single house. For instance, there
was an eating house in which 50 assist
ants were engaged. In this house there
were at the time over 100 people TAX
ing refreshments, and none, either as
sistants or guests, are known to have
escaped. In another case "a persons
were killed by the destruction of fam
lily house. There was also great de-
struction of boats and life on the water.
Allowing, therefore, for there being
no one in many of the houses at the
time of the fall, and on the other hand
allowing for there being great numbers
in some of those that fell, it is proba-
bly, below the average to estimate the
loss of life at one to each house that
fell and 1000 lives on the water. In
most of the houses blown down, fire
was probably being used, either for
cooking or other purposes, and kero-
seHe is now so universally burned and
stored in Chinese houses that it would
have been no cause of surprise had the
confagrations been much more extern
sive than they were. AS to the clear
ing away of the dead bodies, the Chi
nese authorities seem to have acted
with most cOmmendahle promptitude.
Almost Immediately after the catastro-
phe orders for 1000 coffins were issued
by the Oi Yuk Tong hospital, and up
to the time the steamer left yesterday
afternoon, 5000 bodies had been recev-
cred from the ruins and buried without
delay. The work of clearing away the
debris was proceeding rapidly, but the
stencil In some places was unmistaka-
BILE evidence that there were dead bod
les still to be extricated.
The violence of the wind for the few
minutes it lasted was as great as that of
the seyerest typhoon. Granite blocks
were lifted from their places and hurled
considerable distance; thick trees
snapped in twain like twigs roofs were
lifted bodily, and boats carried far on
to the shore. In one case a small boat
was actually blown on to the roof of a
house in the tenth ward. A row of
hOuses-all brothels but one, forming
one side of short lane in the city were
the scene of one notable catastrophe.
The other side of the lane is formed by
the side wall of the Nam Cheong tenn
pie, which is some 30 feet high. This
wallgave way with the force of the tor
nado, and fell crashing in upon the op-
posite houses, the inmates of which,
about 100 in number, were all killed,
most of them being crushed to death,
and the remainder suffocated. asI
There were no means of exit at the
back, and no one attempted to dig the