Sistersville daily oil review. [volume] (Sistersville, W. Va.) 1902-1905, 1902-11-20
Inhabitants ofDevastated Lands
of Guatemala Arrive at
San Francisco.
CONFIRM REPORTED LOSS OF LIFE
Thousands of Indians Were Asphyx.
lated or Buried In the Sand-No
Whites Known to Have Been Lost.
Miles of Plantations Under Ashes.

|
San Francisco, Nov. 20.-The first
} Of the refugees from the devastated
lands of Guatemala arrived yesterday
on the Pacific Mail steamer City Of
Para. They came from the districts
from the inland sea, and travelled
over a country laid waste By sand,
ashes and pumice before reaching a
railway station. From the latter
! places thee made the journey by rail
! to Champerico and there took the
/ steamer to San Francisco. They
/. sailed on Nov. Z, when the vol
! cano was still smoking and rumbling
) Of thunder and flashes Of lightning
gave evidence Of more eruptions 10
come. These people fed from their
plantations in fear for their lives.
They escaped to the seaside with lit
tie more than the clothing they wore,
transportation being so difficult as
to preclude Of carrying Of baggage.
The refugees confirm stories of the
loss of life They say that the vic
tins, for the most part, are Indians.
They had not heard of any white
! people being lost. Thousands of In
dams 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 tincas. =,
The refugees say that it is not the
crater of Santa Maria that is in ac-
| ton, but smaller mountain rising
from one of the western slopes of
Santa Maria, called FL Fosaio.
Bands of robbers are now swarming
the desolated sections, robbing and
numbering refugees on the road and
footing the abandoned and desolata
plantations.
The people left behind On the plan.
tations, it is said, are in danger Of
death from starvation, for the food
supply has been cut off, and there is
no way to send in supplies to the az
fiicted districts.
The steamer City Of Para met evil
dences of the volcanic eruption soon
after leaving Odos. Great quantities
Of pumies were found floating on the
water.
Ashes were then falling, although
it was 16 days after the first eruption
of the mountain. During the night
of Nov. G. few hours before the
City of Para sailed out of the port.
~ hn
heard and heavy reports, as Of dis
tant thunder, came from the direc-
ton of the volcano.
Word has been received from MAJ
atenango, on the outskirts Of the
ruined territory, that there, Friday,
Oct. %, at about o'clock in the
evening, Santa Maria opened era
ter on the west side, near its base.
and not far from Helvetia, and all
that night it belched forth volumes
of ashes and lava over Tolhu. It was
noted on Saturday morning that sew
eral more craters in the neighborhood
Of the mountain haG opened up and
all were spouting volcanic debris over
the plantations of the district. These
new craters were further to the west,
and for more than "a hours they were
in constant eruption. The earth was
in continual commotion, shaking
down buildings and causing much de-
struction. All the territory about
Palmer, San Felipe, Pueblo Nuevo
and Retalquies were buried under
ashes. Many Of the plantations were
buried under from five to seven feet
Of debris and all hope of ever re-
claiming them had been given up
The entire neighborhood for miles
was a burning wilderness.
At Mazatenango, on the south side
Of the volcano, only ashes had fallen
and not to such great depth that
it was not possible to save some Of
the plantation property. News from
that town said that hundreds of
refugees were collecting there and
many more were pushing on to places
further away from the volcano, fear
ing further destruction from it. Many
of the refugees were without bread
or shelter and their condition was
pitiful. At that place most of the
buildings had been badly damaged, if
not completely destroyed, by the
fierce earthquakes that accompanied
the eruptions Of the volcano. When
the last word came from Mazatenan-
go, Is days after the first eruption
of Santa Maria, the earth had been in
constant trembling.
At Champerico a modest estimate
Of the loss to the coffee crop places
it at 100000 quintals.
SchIey Guest of Honor.