Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-08-19
AN 0FF|C;;nL LIST.
OF the Large Number of
Victims Of the
PORTO RICAN HURRICANE
1t Shows That Distress is Widespread
And Relief is Urgently Needed
Work Is Fe.ng Found For Those
Who Are Willing to Take 1t.

New York, Aug. ia dispatch to the
Herald from Ponce, Porto Rico, says:
These official figures are given Of the cas-
ualties in Ponce district, due to the hurr.-
cane: Dead, buried in city, 144; dead,
buried in the country, $50; swept out to
sea and drowned, 150: serious hospital
cases resulting from the storm, 200. The
whole of Ponce valley from Juana Diaz
down is 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 wreckage and travelling is
dangerous, even yet. In Ponce repairs are
being pushed rapidly. The carts avail
able are not sufficient to carry off the Of
fensive matter left by the flood. The local
stores are resum.ng business. Telegraph
ic communication has not been estab-
lished with San Juan. The French rail-
way company has failed. Other failures
of merchants may follow, as the loss to
stores was heavier than at first thought.
Lieutenant Games, president of the
board of health, had in the hospitals be-
fore 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 He thinks
the city is perfectly safe from an out
break of the disease, but il it should come
he is fully equipped and able to check it.
There was danger of Infection during the
first three days, but prompt work pre-
vented it. While food is dear, the lieu
tenant estimates that there is stored in
the island plenty to tide over the present
distress. He thinks it would be better for
the government to buy supplies here than
to ship them from the United States. He
is positively Of the opinion that the best
| plan Of relief would be to give the able
bodied adults work.
Giving supplies indiscrimnately VIII
make the people, who are naturally indo-
lent, beggars He says that during the
first days, when food was gwen to every
body, men refused to do work of any kind
at 81 gold day. Supplies We're stopped
and now they will work at ordinary
wages. He suggests loan from bank
to help out the planters, so that they can
employ labor. In the southern districts
of the island the misery is very great. and
! is more apparent now than it was imme-
dately after the storm, but the govern
ment has the famine districts well in hand
and has shown itself competent to deal
, with the situation. Rol.ef is being rapidly
and effectively distributed. Each post
COMMANDER mas received @l ,uuU anu l!ln-
tied supplies of food for distribution.
More supplies are being forwarded as fast
as possible. Each commander has ap-
pointed district officers who dispense the
food and money or give employment. The
mayors of the towns receive no money or
supplies, but with scarcely an exception
they have rendered valuable assistance.
Besides the loss of the crops, the loss of
life has been extremely heavy. Coming
from almost every by-rOad patheticaHy
humble funeral professions re met, the
bodies being wrapped in palm leaves. The
majority of the dead We're washed away.
The Aibonito district suffered severely.
The official figures given by the alcalde
are: Killed by storm 90; wounded, 60,
houses destroyed N the town and the
country surrounding, 1,22S. The barracks
in Aibonito were totally destroyed. Many
soldiers had a narrow escapa. One was
killed and several were wounded. one IS
still missing. In the county district Of
Jaun DaZ, says the mayor Of the town,
$50 persons were killed in the storm and
many are i'll. In all the districts in the
.s,and extreme poverty is likely to con-
tnue for at least two years.