The age-herald., 1898-11-13
DISTRESS ON STORM SWEPT ISLANDS 
 Conditions at St. Vincent Have
 Not Been Exaggerated. ALL ANIMAL KIND DROWNED And Islands Laid Bare of All Vegetable Matter-Population Dying of Low
 Diseases Resultant from Ex-
 posture and PrivatioE.
ALL ANIMAL KIND DROWNED

Kingston, Jamaica, November R-The | results of calm investigation have proved | conclusively that so far from being ex- | aggerated the first reports of the destruc- l ton wrought by the cyclone at St. Vim 1 cent were rather short of the actual 1 facts.
 l The island was literally swept absolutely l bare of vegetation, the experience of 17So 1 ping repeated, but the full extent of the 1 devastation was not at first realized ow- 1 ing to the difficulty of communication through the destruction of the roads and | the coastal shipping.
 The governor of the windward islands has now sent out an appeal to the neigh boring islands stating the facts and ask ing that roots. slips and seeds of potatoes, cassava, vans, peas and other economic plants be forwarded as soon as possible to enable cultivation to be restored. His excellency declares in a brief but significant descriptive paragraph that the whole aspect of the landscape has been changed Instead of the pervading green, common to all tropical prospects, 1t is now uniform dirty brown color, only relieved by long, white poles-the decapitated col umns of palm and cocoanut trees. Nothing in the way of vegetation escaped the sweep of the wind and the subsequent securing out by the deluge of water, and the island
 is practically desert. Perhaps the most
 impressive feature, he adds, is the abso-
 lute stiffness that prevails, not only through the absence of the familiar rustic of vegetation as the trade-wind sweeps over 1t, but also because of the absence of animal and even insect life. Birds, Hazards, beetles, snakes and in fact every form of animal life seems to have been blown away or drowned out.
 The immediate result of this on the popu- lation is most disastrous. Already several hundred deaths have occurred from ex- posture and privation, and diseases common to low vitality are rapidly developing among the people, principally in the form of ulcers. At present about 5000 men are employed on the reconstruction of roads and other public works, but these repre- sent only the eighth of the population, and the others have to be provided for by the distribution of daily doles of food as this comes in. But the quantity is barely suf- fcient to keep them alive, consisting of a l few biscuits. a handful of rice and a small piece of salt meat or fish. Owing to the I complete destruction of vegetation there
 is not even any fuel to be found, and many have to eat their allowance raw, which tends to augment the sickness.
 tourist who visited the island writes to say that amid this fearful state of affairs one feature particularly struck him. That was the devotion of the distressed people to their families and relations. As an illus tration he cites the case of an old man whom he met limping along with ban daged feet. He was taking two biscuits and little flour and rice to his sisters | sick children in the mountains. This had
 been all the allowance his appeal had
 elicited, except two other biscuits, which
 he had eaten. On the way he stopped oc- casionally to gather small chips of wood
 and dry grass with which to cook the flour
 and rice. for which he was very thankful, but expressed much anxiety as to whether he would procure any matches wherewith | to make fire. On the correspondent hand | ing him a box of matches his gratitude was unbounded
 The correspondent adds that he was through the recent Indian famine and spent year in connection with the relief work, and he had seen heartrendfng scenes there, but nothing to approach the distress
 wrought by the hurricane in St. Vincent He feels convinced that the British pub
 lie does not realize the magnitude of the | disaster, otherwise their contributions to | the relief fund would not have been so
 inadequate. Fifty thousand pounds would | not go far in relieving St. Vincent alone, l and yet the subscriptions for the three islands promise to fall short of that amount.