The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-11-28
TYPHO0N KILLS THOUSANDS.
LOSS OF LIFE IN THE PHILIPPINES
ESTIMATED AT $500.

Five Hundred of the Victims Euro
Deans and the Balance Natives
Several Towns Blown Away by the
Wind or Swept Away by "a Tidai
Wave-Seas Sweep Inland Nearly n
Mile at Samar, Destroying Prop
erty Valued at Millions of Dollars.
San Francisco, Cal, Nov. 27.-The ty-
phoon which swept over the Philippine Is
lands on Oct. 6, was the cause of one of
the worst disasters that has been reported
from the Southern ocean in many years,
if not in the history of that section of the
world. Thousands of lives were lost.
Advices concerning the calamity have
been very meager. The difficulty of get
ting news from the islands is great at any
time and owing to the remoteness of some
of the provinces visited by the hurricane,
full details of the storm did not reach
Hong Kong until Nov. l.
The steamer Gaelic from the Orient, to-
day brought letters and papers which con-
tain accounts of the ravages of the tidal
wave and winds. Several towns were
swept or blown away. Fully 500 Europeans
were drowned, and il is estimated that g.
900 natives perished.
The hurricane struck the Island of Sa-
mar, at the bay of Santa Paulina, in the
province of Samar. 1t devastated the en-
tire southern portion of the island and cut
off communication with the rest of the
world for two days.
On Oct. 12 the hurricane reached Leyte
and struck the capital of Taclo Ban with
great fury. In less than half an hour
the town was a mass of ruins. The ma,
tives were panic-stricken and tried to
make their way to clear ground. Four
hundred of them were buried beneath the
debris of wrecked buildings and 126 corpses
of Europeans were recovered from the
ruins when the native authorities insti-
tuted search for the dead
Reports from the southern coast were
received which claimed a score of small
trading vessels and two Sydney traders
were blown ashore and the crews drowned
The seas at Samar swept inland nearly a
mile, destroying property valued at sew
eral million dollars and causing wholesale
deaths among the natives.
The Philippine Islands are large and
important group of the Malay Archipel-
age, forming It's north division, and, next
to Cuba, the most valuable colonial pos
session of Spain, chiefly between latitude
8 degrees, 80 minutes, and 10 degrees, 80
minutes north, and longitude III degrees
and 1926 degrees east, having north and
east the Pacific ocean, west the China and
Sooloo seas, and south the sea of Celebes.
There are about 1900 islands in all of
which 40S are inhabited The principal is
lands are Luzon, Mindanao and Paawan,
with Mindoro, Panay, Negros, Zebu Bo-
hol, Leyte, Samar, Masbate and many of
less size. The total area is estimated at
about n552S square miles, and the popu-
lation at about 100000. The islands are
of volcanic formation, traversed by a
chaln OF mountains from north to south,
rising in some of them to 5000 feet and
some of these are still active volcanoes.
The coasts of most of them are deeply in
dented by the sea, and the larger islands
are well watered by large streams. with
estuaries affording excellent harbors.
Earthquakes are of frequent occurrence,
The group is within the range of the mon
soonS and violent hurricanes are common
Manila is the seat of the government
and residence of the governor general
who is appointed by the crown of Spain.
In each of the large Islands is a lieuten-
ant governor, and each of the thirty prov
inces, governed by an alcalde. is divided
into pueblos, or communes The Roman
Catholic religion has been extensively diff
fused among the Malays who form the
greater part of the populat tion. The Ne
gritos, or Oriental negroes, are found
mostly in the mountain regions of the
four larger islands. Many Chinese have
recently settled in the group.