The Springfield herald., 1899-02-17

Jamaica, few fathoms under water,
sleeps the sunken city Of Port Royal
which was destroyed by an earthquake
in 1892. On cloudless, still day,
when the surface of the sea Is perfect
ly smooth, the ruins Of the phantom
city may be plainly seen in the depths
of the transparent water.
The spire of the old cathedral Is the
most prominent object. In the clear
water you can see the fishes lazily
swimming in and out among the ruined
turrets, more suggestive of owls and
bats than OF the fnny inhabitants Of
the sea. Occasionally gllmpses can be
had of the ruins OF other buildings
buildings which for more than two GEN.
turies have kept their CHASTITY secrets
and will keep them until the end Of
time.
Down there, in that peaceful depth,
lie the bones of three thousand men,
women and children carried down into
the sea with their homes on that awful
June day in 1892. An earthquake. sud-
denly and without warning smote the
profligate city of Port Royal. which
sid into the sea. The waters opened
and swallowed it up. and there, beneath
the silent waves. was hidden the wick
edness and debauchery of community
described by historians as being almost
without parallel
After the earthquake the town was
rebuilt, only to be completely destroy
ed by fire in 1903. On August %, 1922,
it was swept into the sea by a hurri-
cane. 1t was once more reconstructed
but again. in 1915. it was reduced to
ashes. and as recently as 1880 it was
visited by another hurricane. Every
disaster was attended by great loss of
life.
The city of Port Royal was original
ly built upon a narrow strip of land
extending out into the sea, which ac-
counts for its strange disappearance
at the time of the earthquake. Like
the house of the foolishman of Biblical
lore which was builded upon the sand,
it literally slid into the water when
the earthquake shock came.
Previous to that fateful 7th day of
June, 1892, Port Royal had been known
as 1.-The finest town in the West Indies,
and the richest spot in the world" 1t
was, as it now is, British colony, hut
there was little either in its govern
ment or its customs of British moral
ity. We are told that it was a place
of luxurious debauchery; that in their
excesses the colonists rivaled the prof
ligates of ancient Rome
Buccaneering and piracy were rec
ognized industries. The treasure ships
of Spain were legitimate prey. The
riches of Mexico and Peru were levied
upon, and the people of Jamaica were
literally rolling in wealth and splendor.
Vice and debauchery held sway, Bac-
chanalian revels which might put to
shame the dwellers in the Orient were
of nightly occurrence. There was no
| virtue.
And like the crack of doom came the
| earthquake. The thunder of the ele-
ments sounded in the ears of the heed
less revelers. The earth opened IN
great fissures, and closed again like
the jaws of a mighty trap. And in
closing it gripped many of its victims
in the middle, leaving their hands
above ground. Then came the awful
sliding, grinding noise of the city, built
upon its foundations of sand. sank in
to the caressing embrace of the sea,
which forever closed upon its wicked
ness and will forever keep its dread
secrets.
The shock came close on to midday
The air was hot and sultry. The sky
was without cloud A great still
ness seemed to hover over the city, and
then, without warning the earth trem-
bled. Men and women left their
houses and ran into the Streets only
to meet death in the bowels of earth
or in the hidden recesses of the sea-
In his Annals of jamaica" publish
ed in 1928. Rev George Wilson Bridges
quotes from a letter written by one of
the survivors, rector-two or three
days after the disaster, which is in
part as follows:
After I had been at church reading.
which l did every day since l was rec
| lOl Vi lHlS place, " hStp up SOlle SHOW
of religion. and was gone to a place
hard by the church where the mer-
chants meet. and where the president |
of the council was, who came into my
company and engaged me to take a
glass Of wormwood wine as a whet |
before dinner. he being my very good
friend, l stayed with him, upon which |
he lighted a pipe of tobacco, which |
he was pretty long in taking, and not
being willing to leave him before it
was out, this determined me from 60
ing to dinner to one Captain Roden's, |
whittier l was invited. whose house,
upon the first conclusion, sunk into
the earth, and then into the sea with
his wife and family and some that
were come to dine with him. Had | |
been there / had been lost. But to re-
turn to the president and his pipe of
| tobacco; before that was out l found
the ground rolling under my feet, upon
] l. til. 7 .agr 4 Inv, nrH civ yr+I,D