The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1899-08-20
CASUALTIES OF
THE HURRICANE
Official Figures Giving Deaths
In Porto Rico Storm.
GREAT HAVOC WROUGHT
Whole Of Ponce Valley a Complete
Ruin Distress at AbOnlta Re.
lief Being Distributed.
GREAT HAVOC WROUGHT

NEW YORK. Aug. lO--A despatch
TO the Herald from Ponce. Porto Rico
says.
These )iiieial ngures are given OF the
casualties In the Ponce district, due "a
the hurricane.
Dead buried In the city. ~; dead
buried In ths country. go; swept out
TO sea and drowned. 100; serious hos
pltai cases resulting from the storm,
200
The whole OF Ponce valley from
Dlak down ls complete ruin. Trees.
houses. piles OF river sand. bodies Of
cattle and general debris are scattered
everywhere,
The highway cannot be picked out
In the midst Of the wrcckage and
travelling IL dangerous even yet.
Repairs are being pushed rapidly.
The carts ayalilble are not sufficient
TO carry on the offensive matter left by
the flood. The local stores are reaum-
ing business. Telsgraphic communica-
ton has not been established with San
Juan, The French Railway Company
has failed. other failures OF merchants
may follow. as the loss 20 stores was
heavier than az nrst thought.
Lieutenant Canes, president OF the
board Of health. had In the hospitals
before the storm one case OF yellow
fever and eight cases Of smallpox. The
latter were from the country districts
and no further cases have developed,
hc thinks the city Ia perfectly safe
from an outbreak OF disease. but II
Il should come he Is fully equipped
and able 20 check Il.
There was danger OF infection during
the frs, three days but prompt work
prevented It. While food Is dear. the
lieutenant estimates that there Is
plenty stored In the island TO tide over
the present distress He thinks Il
would be better for the government to
buy supplies here than TO ship them
from the United States, He is positive
ly OF the opinion that the best plan Of
relief would be TO give the able bodied
adults work. Giving supplies indls-
win make the people, who
are naturally lndolent, beggars, He
says hat during the FIRST days, when
food was given TO everybody, men re-
fused to do work OF any kind at s. gold
a day. Supplies were stopped and now
they will work at ordinary wages. He
suggests a loan from bank TO help
out the planters 50 that they can em-
ploy labor
In the southern districts OF the ISL
and the misery is very great and is
more apparent now than II was Inn
nedlately after the storm, but the
government has the famine districts
well in hand and has shown itself COM
petent TO deal with the situation,
Relief is being rapidly and effective
" distributed, Each post commander
has received $1,000 and limited supplies
N food for distribution. More supplies
are being forwarded as fast as possible
Each commander has appointed dis
Irlct officers who dispense the food
and money or give employment. The
mayors Of the towns receive no money
DR. supplies but with scarcely an ex-
reptlon they have rendered valuable
assistance,
Besides the loss Of the crops the loss
u life has been extremely heavy. Com
ng from almost every by road pathet-
cally humble funeral professions are |
net, the bodies being wrapped In palm
caves, The majority OF dead were
washed away.
The Aibonlto district suffered severe
y The official figures given by the
llcolde are:
Killed by storm, 20; wounded, 60;
,ouses destroyed in the town and the
country surrounding, l.2sS, The bar
acks in Aibonito were totally des-
royed. Many soldiers had narrow
'scape. One was killed and several
we're wounded. One Is still missing.
N the country district of Juan Dlaz,
ays the mayor of that town, los per-
ons were killed in the storm and many
ire III. In all the districts in the ISL
md extreme poverty is likely to con-
lima fov 40 laost t,ro ,,,oal.