The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1898-11-14
RECENT BARBAl lEs TORNADO
THE FIRST REPo| rs WE'RE NOT
At ALL ExAt GRATED.
An Appeal Has 81 sent out by
the Governor d he wind
ward Isl IDS.
Correspondence Of the

4 Correspondence Of the associated Press.O
/ Kingston, Jamaica, NJ mber 1.-The re-
suits OF calm investig ON have proved
conclusively that so fal rom being exag-
gerated the first reports n the destruction
wrought by Jae cyclone a ST. Vincent were
| rather short of the acti facts.
Tie islani was literall swept absolutely
bare of vegetation, the Experience of 1850
being repeated, but the uIl extent of the
devastation was not at fl st realized owing
to the difficulty of comm unication through
the destruction Of the rcaj DIS and rae coastal
shipping
Inc governor OF the YWindward islands
has now sent out an apH eal to uae neigh
boring islands stating Their facts and asking
that roots, slips ana seedaat of potatoes cas-
sava, vans. peas anu otht II economic plants
be forwardei as soon as Possible to enable
cultivation to be restored
His eNcellency declaresC in n brief but
significant descriptive pal agraph that the
| whole aspect of the laI,,dscape has been
changed. Instead OF tn re peryading green
| common to all tropical p prospects, it is now
uniform dirty brown c;olor only relieved
| by long white poles-uhx,s decapitated COZ
| umns of palm and cocoaRiut trees Nothing |
| in the way OF vegetation ltescaped the sweep |
| OF the wind and the subsequent securing
out by the dtluge OF waiter, and the islanu
| is practically desert. P4erhaps the most
| Impressive feature, he adds, is the absolute |
| STIFFNESS that prevails, not only 'tlrough the
absence OF the familiar rustic OF vegetation |
as the trade wind sweeps pyer it, but also
because of DAe absence of animal and even
insect life. Birds. lizards,a beetles, snakes
and, in fact, every formf CT animal lie
seems to have been blown away or drowned
out. |,
The immediate result of this on the popu-
lation is most disastrous. ,Already several
huhored Geatns nave occur1ed from expos-
ure and privauon, and Diseases common TO |
low vitality are rapidly developing amons
the people, principally in THE form of sii-
GERS. Al present about 500G1 men are eh1-
pIoyedl on the reconstructiot'l of roads ANA |
other public works but these repres1nI :
ouls lne elsHtn oil the popdhation, and he
others have to be provided for by the l. |
trfbution Of daily doles Of fool as m a
comes in. But the quantity lis barely suit |
clent TO keep them alive, consisting of
Few biscuits a handful CT rite and sma
piece Of salt meat or fish. Owing TO tb
complete destruction of vegetation tbsra |
not even any fuel TO be found and man |
have 10 eat their allowance raw wild |
tends to augment the sickness.
tourist who visited the island writes
say that amin this fearful state of
fairs one feature particularly struck birE
That was the devotion of The d stress | '
people TO their families and relations. =
al illustration he cstes the Lse of an n |
man whom he met limpnt along wild |
barllaged feet. He was tak!pt two biscuit q O
and a little -four and rice b his sister, a
sick children in the mountaIns. This h., al
been all the allowance his appeal han Ia i,
elected, except two other Biscuits whiokh
he had eaten. On the way LIZ stopped oil
cas- onally to gather small thips of wooFd
and dry grass with which t cook the no,klr G
and rice, for which he was very thankful a.
but expressed much anxiety as to whsthx.r nj
ne would procure any matches wherewiH h
10 make fire. On the Correspondent handillig io
him box OF matches his gratitude Was W
lnboundec. n
The correspondent aids that he w&as
through the recent Indian famine and speSnt
/ year IN connection with he relief work., 81
and he had seen hearlrendfy, scenes theiSe tn
ouL nothing to approach the distveGss II,
by the hurricane il St. VincentH II,
The conditions prove hoy great is The r,
capacity for endurance Of th human fraI3ne. an
for unless he had witnessS it he co3ild ,h
no. have believed that population co 4iid re ~.
suffer 20 much and yet live He feels ctbn- ~
WINGED that the British publi does not rsIal 80
lie the magnitude of the disaster other a. a.
wise their contributions to he relief flilnd s.
wou-I rot have been SO ns5equate. Fifty ~
thousand pounds wcnld not Z, far In relIev- ~
lrg St Vincent alone; and yet the Sub atss
scriptlons for the three BANDS promise %, 81,
10 fall short of that amount re-,