The National tribune., 1886-09-16
TIE RUINED CITY.
The Situation at Charleston -Great
Suffering for Want of Shelter.

lOI dlu MS Dttu lnuob kcneEOuS. tuOu-
sands Of dollars have been sent to relieve the
sufferers, and the demands for food and cloth
ing have been fully met. The great need OF
the people is shelter from the September storms
that have already begun. Four-ffths of the
houses are uninhabitable. They are either
wholly in ruins or so badly shattered as to be
unsafe. The people are paralyzed with fear.
Thirty thousand of them are camping in the
parks and open grounds. They are in great
need of tents until such time as their houses
can be rebuilt Gov. Foraker, of Ohio, sent 200
last week, and telegraphed that he had 300
more ready to ship at a moments notice.
Mr.. +. ID. Mussey, correspondent of the Gin
cinnati Commercial Gazette, who spent week at
Charleston, returned to Washington last week.
OF the condition of the stricken city he said:
There has been no exaggeration whatever
in the reports that have been sent North. All
that has been printed about it is as accurate as
IL could be. There is no longer any fear of the
scarcity of food. The great trouble is to obtain
shelter. The tents which the Government sent
down there, though few, were of inestimable
value to the people. Men and women who had
been reared in luxury have been sleeping out on
the Battery and in other parks without any pro-
lection except such as could be had by pinning
up bed-clothes and window curtains. So you see
even the small number Of tents contributed
were a blessing. i saw refined ladies making
coffee on the Battery at o'clock in the morn
ing, and was mighty glad that they were kind
enough to give me some of it. There have been
a number of births in the open places where the
people congregate. One was a birth of twins.
About the colored people? They were
panic-stricken. You know how superstitious
the colered people are. Why, they just went
wild, and of course their decentralization and
their fear influenced the white people to some
extent. Until recently it has been impossible
TO get them to do anything, and as all of the
servants and nearly all the workingmen in
Charleston are colored, you can readily see how
disadvantageous was their conduct to those
who employed them. They refused to even
cook. Now they have somewhat recovered,
but as soon as the rumbling is heard they drop
everything and make for the parks, where
some of their number are continually holding
prayer meetings.
1.-THE people in the city are doing very well
and very bravely. They are clearing away the
debris and opening the streets. They are
brave and patient people, and if the shocks
would cease they would be all right. But as
long as there is q recurrence of them there re-
mains that tension on the mind and nerves
that is something terrible. They will begin to
pick up their spirits a little, and then comes
another shock. 1t is impossible to tell how
terrible such a strain is upon the people.
"And must say that Prof. Simon Newcomb
caused more terror than anything but the
earth quake itself. That telegram which he
sent was an awful and an objectionable mis-
take. He telegraphed that with the next
shock there would be tidal wave accompani-
ment. Just imagine if you can, the effect of
such q prediction upon an already terror
stricken people. You cannot imagine, and it
could not be described. You ought to hear the
people down there talk about Prof Newcomb.
They do love him. can assure you"
"Do the people think the worst is Overt"
ayes. When / left they were taking on
hope again, but if there is another shock then
will the old scenes recur. The people are setting
up oil stoves, and those who were fortunate
enough 10 possess frame houses are getting
back into them. Others are sleeping in omni-
buses, in carriages, wagons and tents, real or
improvised, near their houses. No, could
give no estimate Of the damage done Ninety
| nine out Of every hundred houses will have to
be nearly entirely rebuilt"
late dispatch from Charleston says: This
| morning at 10 o'clock rain began to fall, and
fell in torrents until late this afternoon. Heavy
black, lowering clouds now foretell terrible
| things for the morrow. The better class OF
tents that have wooden floors protected their
inmates, bat the improvised huts and tents
afforded but little shelter. Their poor inmates
drenched to the skin, are now shivering, await
| ing the arrival of fevers that must come sooner
or later. The sanitary conditioned many tents
is simply terrible. The clergy and other promi
nent citizensare trying to persuade the people
| to leave their tents and congregate in the few
safe houses of the city, or else go TO the coun
try. All recognize the fact that unless the PEG
Pile are amply protected from the rain, the
cemeteries will receive many recruits.
The day has been such that but little wori
could be done, but efforts are being made Il
make repairs as rapidly as possible. The worl
thus far done il scarcely perceptible, and will
large numbers of hands ii will be months be
1 fore rnuch nf the rnins ha remnvad Mar
In all kinds Of work are SO wearied that they
can do but half their usual work. Three BRAY,
hremen succumbed to-day and now are down
Policemen drag along their beats with jus
enough strength to pull one foot after the other
Telegraph operators and newspaper men ar
sticking to their posts, though scarcely able Il
drag themselves to their Offices.
Mayor Courtenay to-day issued a second ad
dress to the people, in which he says that h
can testify TO the large damage throughout tn
whole extent Of the city, and that it can b
truthfully said of the community as q Who'll
that their moral courage and heroism wer
equal to their great disaster. Mayor COurtena.
shows in brief what was accomplished in tn
midst Of the crisis, and mentions particular
the devotion to duty Of the firemen of the city
the constancy of the police force, the fidelity Q
the telegraph operators, and the zeal and tn
courage of the municipal medical corps and pr
vate physicians of the city. In conclusion, h
offers the following advice for the best interest
Of the people:
Al the end of 60 days we must surely expect col
| weather. and am alarmed ut the consequences
follow the Of tents and frail shelters in OF
streets and public squares. which must lead surel
TO sickness and calamity. We have ID on the high
est authority of science and experience that theI
Is no likelihood OF further violent earthquake
shocks Their gradual decrease In itself assures
of their total cessation, and now my feow-citiZen:
deem IL my imperative duty To advise the oscar
rs rapidly possible from the serious exposure
= living under thin shelter and on the open groun
al this season OF the year, when our rainy weath'
= | IL usual Nearly every frame building in Charlie
ton has been declared Mt least safe for habitatioI
Z the chimneys may be rebuilt while occupied til
]. plastering may be restored Mt some future tim
q Many of the brick buildings have been also pr
| nounced sale In part and can be occupied. retuf
: | this day to occupy the uninjured part Of my brio
house, and la all such cises where return to the
homes Is possible earnestly invoke the immedia
and united action of all my fellow-citiZens. Whe
the Immediate return II impossible, by reason
| the dangerous condition OF the home recommen
. | n temporary refuge In the interior of the State
u elsewhere, or the hiring OF some safe dwelling
Q the city, number Of which are to-day unoceupie
l. | A word TO those who can OF themselves put the
!, | own houses In repair: LIST them do so without
hours delay; II the labor rs not ample enough her
IL Is offered US from surrounding cities and can
: | had.
The City Appraiser, who has just complet,
;, a careful estimate of the damage done by q
Q earthquake, says: 81 think the damage wi
q fully exceed one-fourth of the assessed valu
or in round figures $5000.00O. The estimate
> based on comparison with the damage caus
Q by the lastcyoiOne."
% How He Lost 1t.
At Cincinnati, in the nal of J. b. Manni
Plate assignee of the Archbishop Purcell estat
NE.. H. -. Al l.. IL.