Marshall County independent. (Plymouth, Marshall County, Ind.) 1897-1902, 1899-02-03

/ III the beautiful harbor of Kingston,
! Jamaica. few fathoms under water.
sleeps the sunken city Of Port ROYAL.
which was destroyed by an earthquake
! in 1852. On a cloudless. still day,
when the surface OF the sea is perfect
/ " 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 finny inhabitants Of
the sea. Occasionally glimpses can be
had of the ruins of other buildings
buildings which for more than two CEN
turtles have kept their CHASTITY secrets
and will keep them until the end of
time
Down there. in that peaceful depth,
lie the homes 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
profiigate 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 a community
described by historians as being almost
without parallel.
After the earthquake the town was
rebuilt. only 10 be completely destroy
ed by fire in 1903. On August %. 1922
II was swept into the sea by a hurri-
cane. 1t was once more reconstructed.
but again. in 1915, ii was reduced 10
ashes. and as recently as 1880 If was
visited by another hurricane. Every
disaster was attended by great loss OF
life
The city Of Port Royal was original
~ 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 eth 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. but
there was little either in its govern
ment or its customs Of British moral
ity. We a.e told that it was q place
OF luxurious debauchery; that i'm their
excuses the colOnists riyaled 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. TT. earth opened In
great assures, and closed again like
the jaws of 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 it's dread
secrets.
The air was hot and sultry. The sky
was without a 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 letter written by one of
the survivors, rector-two or three
days after the disaster which is in
part as follows:
After | had been at church reading,