The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-11-22
WHOLE COUNTRY
Is LAID WASTE
Latest From the Devastated
Lands of Guatemala.
GAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 1s.-The first

on the Pacific Mail steamer City OF
Para. They came from the districts
far inland from the sea and Travelled
over country laid waste by sand,
ashes and pumice before reaching
railway station. From the latter places
they made the journey by rail to Cham
perico and there took the steamer to
San Francisco. They sailed on Nov.
Z, and the volcano was still smoking
and rumbling of thunder and flashes OF
lightning gave evidence of more erup-
lions to come.
These people fled from their planta-
tons in fear for their lives. They es-
capped to the seaside with little more
than the clothing they wore, transpor-
tation being so difficult as to preclude
the carrying of baggage. The refugees
confirm stores of loss of life. They
say that the victims are for the most
part Indians. They had not heard of
any white people being lost. Thousands
Of Indians were asphyxiated or buried
! in the sand. Miles of plantations are
| under ashes, and absolute ruin is the
lot of many planters, whose all was
| invested in the fincas One refugee
comes from within half an hours ride
| of General Barillos and brings informa-
ton that the general and his family
are safe. A cablegram received here
when the first eruption occurred stated
that General Barillos had been asphyX-
lated.
The refugees state that it is not the
crater of Santa Maria that is in action
but smaller mountain rising from one
! OF the western slopes of Santa Maria,
called FL Rosario.
Bands of Robbers.
Bands of Mexican robbers are now
sWarming the desolated regions, rob-
bling and numbering refugees on the
road and looting the abandoned and
desolate plantations.
The people left behind on the plan
tations, it is said, are in danger of
| death from starvation, for the food
supplies have been cut off and there is
no way to send in supplies to the af-
! hicted districts.
Those who came on the City of Para
were the Bardwell family and Miss
Florissa Nero. The Bardwells consist
of Ferdinand, his mother, his sister
Julia and brother Albert Another
brother Augustine, remained behind to
save, if possible, some of the coffee.
The Bardwells owned the Magnolia
plantation, near L'Argentina, and about
thirty miles south of Quezaltenango.
| The steamer City of Para met evil
OCLScS VI lIlt NOlCdIlC cIupllOH SOOll
after leaving Ocos. Great quantities of
pumice were found floating on the wa
| ter, and some of the pieces were about
the size of a mans head. The sea was
| covered with the stuff. When the yes
| sci got up off the coast of Guatemala
the shore was seen to be covered with
! a light ash. At ChampericO there was
about half an inch of ash over the roofs
of the houses and the ground was COW
~ l., i
storm. Ashes were falling, although
it was then sixteen days after the first
eruption of the mountain. During the
night of Nov. 6, just a few hours be-
| fore the City of Para sailed out of
the port, loud rumblings of the earth
were heard, and heavy reports as of
distant thunder came from the direction
| of the volcano.
Ashes and Lava.
Word had been received from Maza-
tenango, on the outskirts Of the ruined
Territory, stating that on Friday, Oct.
"a, at about o'clock in the evening,
Santa Maria opened crater on the
west SIDE near its base, and not far
from Helvetia, and all that night it
belched great volumes of ashes and
lava over Xolhuitz and Costa Cuca. On
| Saturday morning it was noticed that
several more craters in the neighbor-
hood of the mountain had opened up,
and they were all pouring volcanic de-
bris over the plantations of the dis
! trict. These fresh craters were further
to the west, and for over twenty-four
| hours they were in constant eruption.
| The earth was in continual commotion,
| shaking down buildings and causing
much destruction from the quaking. All
the territory about Palmar San Felipe,
Pueblo Nuevo and Rtalhuieu was
| buried under ashes.
Many of the plantations were bur-
! led under from five to seven feet of
debris and all hope of ever reclaim
| ing them had been given up. The whole
| neighborhood for miles was a burning
wilderness.
At Mazatango, on the south side of
the volcano, only ashes had fallen, and
not then to such a great depth that
! it was not possible to save some of
the plantation property. News from
! that town said that hundreds of refu-
gees were collecting there and many
more were pushing on to places fur
| Their away from the volcano, fearing
| further destruction from it. Many of
| the refugees were without bread or
shelter and their condition was pitt
able. At that place most of the build
ings had been badly damaged, if not
completely destroyed, by the fierce
earthquakes that accompanied the
eruptions of the volcano When the
teen days after the first eruption OF
Santa Maria, the earth had been in
constant trembling.
At Champerico modest estimate OF
the loss to the coffee crop places it al
AGO. 900 quintals.
Ferdinand Bardwell, in telling the
story of the eruption and the expert
ence of himself and his relatives dur
ing the awful time of the eruptions
of the burning mountain, said:
Smoke and Fire.
"a great column of smoke and fire
rose, seemingly from the peak of SAINTS
Maria That was on the night Of
Oct. "a about p. m. All that night
the earth shook in almost constant
vibration and the next morning the
sky was enyeloped in a thick CLOUD
of smoke.
Ashes much like coarse sand fel
in heavy shower. That continued
for several hours, and then the ashe:
became lighter and drifted about il
clouds of light dust Breathing was
! difficult and the atmosphere was 81
hot that it seemed as though the Skin
would be peeled from a persons body
For three days" said Mr.. Bardwell
1--WE were in almost total darkness. Or
the fourth day, with a light breezt
from the south, the smoke clouds were
rolled back toward the mountains. anC
at times streaks of light would breal
through. Then we saw the ruin tina
had come over our plantation. W.
,,era on the side of the volcano leas
exposed to the fury of the eruption
and fully thirty miles away from tn,
mountain, yet our place is ruined be
] - N l,arn Of ,.ocn1.nr1. COY.