St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-05-20
Mauritius, a Gem Of the In
dian Ocean, Thrown In
to Mourning.
Swept by a Hurricane and
Loss Of Life Reported
Appalling.
Residents Crushed by Falling
Houses and Killed by Fly
ing Debris.
A French Duelist Disposes Of
Four Opponents in Easy
Fashion.

LONDON, May 19.-Adyices received
here from Mauritius state that hur-
ricane unprecedented in its violence
passed over that island on April 20,
causing enormous damage to shipping.
A majority of the vessels at the island
were blown ashore. The western half
of Port Louis, the capital, was devas-
tated. Houses were blown down,
gigantic trees were uprooted. and that
part of the town was about wiped out
of existence.
The loss of life was appalling. a
large number of persons were caught
in the falling houses and crushed to
death, while others lost their lives by
being struck by flying debris, while
they were attempting to seek places of
safety. The roar of the gale was deaf
enirg, and people rushed to and fro in
aimless confusion, with no idea of what
they were doing. Ram fell in torrents,
thunder crashed with awe-inspiring
volleys, and the flashes of tightening
were binding. Never before in the
history of the island has such warning
of tie elements been known, and never
was there such
Widespread Fear
among the inhabitants. The exact num-
ber of dead is not known. Every effort
is being made by the authorities to
alleviate the suffering that has been
caused by the disaster. The governor
has issued orders for military tents to be
distributed to shelter the homeless, and
food is being issued to those who have
lost everything by the Storm Half of
the crops of sugar, rice, coffee and pep
per have been utterly ruined and the
loss in this direction is extremely heavy.
Mauritius. as it is sometimes called,
has been noted for its violent and de-
structive hurricanes, but this one eX-
ceedS in destructiveneSS any hitherto
known. 1t lies in the Indian ocean, and
is we'll known as the scene of the IA
nous story of paul and Virginia." In
that story the author describes with
great minuteness a terrible hurricane
that passed over the island, during
which Paul and Virginia lost their lives.
But the horror of that scene was far
excelled by this last one. which has put
the
Whole Island in Mourning.
1t is not in the power of words to de-
ScflQe gI0 scene. L lie lowering SKIES
and falling barometerS gave warning of
the approach of the storm. Taking
warming from previous gales, everything
possible was done to minimize the
threatened damage. but when at last
the gale burst, all the precautions
proved of no avail. The shipping in
the harbor sent down their top-masts
extra anchors were put down, cables
were paid out, and everything was made
snug below and aloft. Had it been an
ordinary hurricane, the vessels might
have successfully ridden out the storm,
but so fierce was the storm that cables
parted like paper.
Among the vessels that were strand
ed, several were floated off only slightly
damaged. The vessels still aground
are the British ship Leander, from
Penarth; the British ship Aconcagua,
from New York; the British ship
Queen of Scots, whose sailing port is
not given; the BRUSH ship Eurydice,
from Chittagong; the British steamer
Amaranth. sailing port not given, and
the British steamer Gladiator, from
TamataVe