Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-08-17
Description of Hurricanes Work in
Porto Rico.
LETTER FROM CITIZEN OF WASHINGTON
Heavy Loss of Life and Property
Revealed.
Il r E 1T ESTITUT TON

| stationed at Ponce. Porto Rico. The lat
| ter describes the effects of the hurricane
| which recently passed over that city. His
communication is in part follows:
| August 8. Tuesday, 3 a.m.-This is a
| dark, gloomy day and the wind is bowling
| like a hurricane. Houses are being blown
| down, rain is pouring, the streets are fill
| ed with leaves, limbs of trees and pieces
| of shanties, but the old post office build
| ing Is safe and sound, and we are quietly
waiting for business and writing letters.
August 8, 800 p.m.-Little did l think
| when writing the above what an awful ex-
perience l was to go through l went out
| to fasten the front doors of the office dur
| ing the prevalence of wind that was
something awful. 1 then went up to the
house to see if all was Q. K. | never want
to go through another such experience.
Roofs were flying in all directions. SHIN
giles, clapboards, blinds doors, balconies
and corrugated roofing. limbs of trees.
pieces OF wearing apparel and furniture
were as plentiful as flies around mo-
lasSeS jug. People were swarming here and
there or falling in the street from fright
or wounds received. The house was all
right, and 1 watched the roofs go from the
theater around the corner. from two houses
across the street and many others in the
thing grand to see. They. with their TAIL
straight stems and heavy-ieaved tops. were
bending to the ground with the wind.
The Rainfall.
Then came the rain in torrents. Our
house, which had the1 etofore been as dry
as could be, began to leak like sieve pos
sicily from the loosening Of the roof The
only dry spots In my room were where my
bed was and in my wardrobe. So, you see,
l was extremely fortunate. Well, we get
dinner across the street, and a friend and
f.,v- ,xr,r.,
was still high, but nothing like it had been.
We got drenched through. Mackintoshes
were of no avail. Houses were blown
everywhere. Most of th-m were mere
shacks- Good-Sized packing boxes, such as
are used in the states, would be palaces
beside them. The people were running
about half frozen in the cold rain trying to
save what little trash they had.
The storm let up about 5 o'clock and
things began to look more pleasant. The
firemen of Bombero were out all day trying
to save people and property. and did good
work. At ABOUT o'clock it began to rain,
and kept up until morning 1t was G.
uiar cloudburst. Then the streams b gan
TO swell, and finally they overfowed and
the town was swept by flood. 1t was
then the poor peop.e suffered. Their houses
began to float away, and many wzre
Oh owned. The firemen and United States
troops did noble work rescuing the helpless.
Second Story Flooded.
We retired early, as we were wet and
cold. and of course had light, tho
electric light wires We're down. Our street
was then filled with water A little later
my roommate said, Hear that water!' l
jumped up and went splash into water up to
my ankles. The whole second floor was food
ed, and down the stairs there was a young
Niagara All sorts of debris We're coming
down the street the flood, and finally a
house passed with a person in it. This
went to pieces at the corner, coming into
contact with a telegraph pole. Its Occu-
pant was saved.
Il started out this morning to find some
supplies, and a scene of great devastation
was witnessed. Everywhere there was
wreck and ruin
Il returned with my plumber, and with
Francisco, our janitor, went out to get
some photographs. l never want to
anything like it again l saw twelve dead
people in all sorts of positions and con-
ditlonS. Houses wrecked, streets block
AIDED, crops down and everywhere waste
and destruction. 1t would make your heart
bleed to the misery.
There is going to be great suffering, and.
in fact starvation, for the crops are all
gone, there will be no work, no money and
no food.
Appalling State of Affairs.
1.-The most abject poverty existed before
the food, and now that the little they had
is gone, you can readily understand what
an awful state of affairs they are in. Then,
with so much decaying vegetable and ami
NAL life exposed to the sun. and the filth
of the lower quarters washed down on the
town, there Is added the danger from dis
ease. Down Salud street came most Of
the water. and houses (or rather ShackS)
were floating like corks all night
AN American doctor, Sidley by name,
was in bed, little dreaming of the danger.
He was awakened by hearing water splash
ing. He jumped up, and looking out, saw
the street full of water. Then, feeling the
house move little, he grabbed dress
suit case with few things in it and
jumped out, thinking he could wade across
the street to a higher house, where he
saw number of people He went off his
feet and was carried five blocks, to Com
merce street, where boy saw him and
grabbed his hand. The boy had hold of
telegraph pole, and the two gradually
worked their way to quiet water and waded
ashore. Many narrow escapes were made,
but we, of course. heard little of them, as
they were SpaniSh-Speaking people and of
the poorer classes.
"A signal corps man went out from the
office in Salud street (No. ID, and was
swept away. He was carried for some dis
lance, but finally caught tree. He held
on for three hours before relief reached
him. Never have l seen such destruction,
such poverty, such distress You cannot
imagine what it is. Nothing like it ever
existed in the states. There are now re-
ported and found in Ponce over 200 dead.
Many others were doubtless swept to sea
comes in from all parts of the country
of wreck and loss of life. On the Sewalls'
plantation there have been nearly thirty
lives lost and the loss of property SO far
known will reach nearly 500, 600.
Details From Other Sources.
From two copies of the San Juan News.
a Porto Rican Journal, dated August and
10, respectively. it is learned that the bar
rack and hospital buildings at Cayey were
entirely destroyed and not roof remains
in the town. Several soldiers were injured
by flying timbers and one had arm
broken Several hundred houses in the
town were destroyed and a major portion
of the population is homeless and without
food.
The officer commanding the post ordered
all the mules and horses in the stables
turned out. None has been recovered as
yet. All the wagons were destroyed. The
storehouses were wrecked and food is
very scarce. The loss sustained by the
tobacco curers and manufacturers is ire
mendous.
Along the military road between Aibo-
nito and Cayey not a dwelling was left
standing Great uneasiness is felt for the
safety of the people.
The petroleum works Of the Standard Oil
Company at Catana were wholly DESTROYED
Mr. Van SICKLE. the superintendent of the
company, estimates the total loss at not
less than 100000.
IL Got, .fG crn1t