The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1881-04-15
A GREAT EARTHQUAKE.
Six or Seven Thousand Lives Lost-Twenty-hy
Per Cent. of the Remainder Wounded


Per Cent. of the Remainder Wounded
LONDON, April IA correspondent at
Chic telegraphs, under date of the 7th. as
follows:
have just arrived here from Constantine
pie and find picture of desolation such as
is rarely witnessed. The town looks as if it
had beenterribly bombarded. Hundreds of
houses are transformed into shapeless mass
of ruins, under which lie buried an unknown
! number of victims. The majority of the
honses are cracked and rooaess and may fall
at any moment. Nearly every house in the
town has suffered more or less. The inhab-
itants wander about, anxious to search for
missing relatives or lost property buried, but
they are afraid to risk their lives at tn. work
of clearing away the rubbish. Many who
are willing to expose themselves to danger,
but are prevented by friends or the police
Fear, grief and despair are depicted on
nearly every face. Nearly all have some
sad or tragic tale TO tell. The first shock
was felt on Sunday afte' n0Dn about half
past one o'clock and Immediately houses be-
erywhere, followed by an awful silence of
some minutes. The terrified survivors grad
ually ventured into the narrow lanes and
reached open places. Shortly afterward an
other terrible shock completed the devasta-
ton. All night shocks succeeded each other
at short intervals and each one preceded by
dull sounds like subterranean explosions.
Since that frequent shocks have been felt
A few moments ago, while writing, dis
tinctly heard an explosion and felt the earth
tremble, but as | am under canvas I have
nothing to fear.
The old GenOese fortress, containing about
four hundred houses inhabited by Mussul- |
mans and Jews, suffered more than the rest
of the town. The ground there sank about |
half a metre and nearly all the houses were
Immediately destroyed, aud several hundred |
persons must have persisted. 1t is known
that about thirty Mussulman women were |
assembled in one house, not one of whom |
escaped. The southern part of the island is |
said to .have suffered more than this town. |
Her Majesty's gun vessel Bittern arrived this |
morning. The Captain at once came ashore |
and after consulting with the Governor Of
the island organized relief parties for
tending the wounded and extricating the
dead from the ruins. He then went over to
Chisne and made careful inquiries regarding
the state of the town and inhabitants. To-
morrow lie intends visiting the southern part
of the island, where less has been done for
the relief Of the sufferers. | visited Chisme
this afternoon. Only about ten inhabitants
were killed, but many houses were in ruins
and many more dilapidated, and the Mayor
assured me that three -fourths of the houses
are in dangerous condition. The inhabi-
tants are afraid to live in those houses which
are unnjured, for every night since Sunday
frequent shocks have been felt. Nearly all
prefer TO camp out as the weather is fine.
The hardship in this respect is not great. 1t
IS said that throughout the district not less
than $4,000 people are without shelter. In
Kastro the work Of extricating bodies and
attending the wounded is progressing salts
factorily, but the sitting odor il. the vicini-
ty of many Of the ruins proves that the ope-
rations are far from complete. On the other
hand, some remarkable escapes have occur
red. One woman was buried under the
ruins fifty-two hours, and at last was rescued,
having in the meantime given birth to a
child. The chilG IS dead, but the mother is
doing well.
CHIC, April GA medical commission is
now sitting to consider the expediency of t
covering the rubbish in the fortress with
earth, as there is no hope of saving any lives,
and the disinterment of the dead might +
produce an epidemic. 1t is now believed ,
hat throughout the whole. island, which
10000 inhabitants, G.000 or 1000 9
we're killed and twenty-five per cent. of the q
survivors wounded. The French, British, t
American and Austrian gun vessels in the s
larbor are doing all in their power 10 assist !
he authorities in the work of relief. Only i
en- of the inhabitants in Chisme were kill v
ID, but many houses are in ruins and 10000
'eople are without shelter.
CoNsTANTINoPLE, April 12.-Earthquake c
hooks of considerable violence have begun
gain in Chic, barely 20 houses remain hab-
table in the whole island, and 45 villages A
ave been destroyed. The population in c
many has absolutely disappeared. II