National Republican., 1880-09-07
THE JAMAICA CYCLONE.
An Almost Incredible Account Of the
Force of the Wind.
Everything Frustrated to tho Ground-En
tire Destruction of the Grow
ing Crops.

a Year of Desiitution Before the People
letter from Port An tonic gives the fol-
loving account of the terrible cyclone in
Jamaica:
II am writing TO you from the midst of
sceno Of desoation which 1t is impossible to
describe, and which no language can exag.
gerate. On the 18th instant a hurricane burst
over this district and IN owed down the fruits of
the earth MS if the angel of death had passed
through tho land with his scythe. Looking
from my house inland can see distance Of
fifteen or twenty miles, aud eau confidently
assert that in tho whole Of that space there Is
not left n growing plant, not a banana. not q
cane, not n corn.stalk or yam.vne and where
the coffee trees are not uprooted or broken
short Off the berries have been swept from tho
branches as completely as If picked by the
hand. About noon OH Wednesday,
the 18th instant, the wind, which had been
blowing strong during all the morning and
the previous day began to assume nm angry
tone, and by 2 o'clock the gale had increased
to full hurricane strength. About
o'clock n. M the people from tho neighbor.
hood whose houses had leen blown over their
land began to flock to me for protection, and
by o'clock had thirty.one black people
men, women and childrcn-dremched with
together in my dining. room. Between 0 and
10 o'clock my front door, which l had taken
the precaution to strengthen by mailing battens
Rcrosslit, blew clean out of its frame, hinges,
lock, bolts and all giving way. This was for
me Ale supreme moment of danger ii being
perfectly certain that If tho door could not he
put back into its place the roof could not
hold out many minutes. Fortunately for me
had been prompt in giving refuge TO the dosti-
tute, and rallying together the men of tho
party, the door was, by sheer muscular force,
driven back into its place, where / managed
10 secure 1t with buttresses obtained from the
destruction Of my own bed and the parlor sofjt.
At 1920 a. M. received tho last Of the retu.
gces--an old man and woman, with a young
lad-who were dragged through n window
more dead than alive from exposure aud ter
Ior. The wind about this time changed to
the southwest, but the hurricane had spent
its fury and all damage to the house WAS
past But the full realization of what tho
country and the people had suffered was re-
served for tho morning, aud | am not ashamed
to confess that when | looked out upon the
desolate aspect of the country burst into q
flood Of hystcrical tears. AS far as the eye
could reach ii WAS one waste howling wilder.
ness-cuityatod and uncultivHted land alike
were as smooth as If au army of
axe and cutlass men had passed through
lhcm, cutting down tall trees and lit
y
An old woman who works in my kitchen, and
who was formerly u slave OH this property,
put 1t in this forcibe way: Looking down
toward the Rio Grandc, which the day before
she could not have seen on account of Tho in.
tcrvening timber, she exclaimed to herself
Hi! God Almighty weed clean. for true.
The worst part of all is that the pco.
pie will have no food for the next twelve
months have just been waited upon by a
dopuation Of four black mcu, all of them
small propretors of The better class, able to
read aud write, and they assured me that after
the food which has been blown to the ground
has been consumed-that is to say, in about
two weeks time-thc people will be en'
tirely destitute for the next twelve or thirteen
months. They have asked mo to prepare u
petition to the governor on their behalf, and
have promised them TO do so on their provid
ing mo with reliable information of tho actua
position Of affairs in the district. One man
Richard Smith, who had over thirteen acre:
in cultivation In yams, bananas and coffee
Informed me that he had just returned from
his field aud that 1t was us smoo til as tin
palm of his hand not vestige of anythin.
remaining"