Waterbury Democrat., 1903-02-09
DEATH. IN TIDAL WAVE
A Thousand Lives Lost Tn the
 Society Islands.
SURVIVORS LEFT IN RESTITUTION.
Huge Wall of Water Caused by Hur- rdcane Swept Over Eighty Is- 1ands-The French Government
 Takes Measures For Relief.

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 9.-News of fearful loss of life in a destructive storm that swept over the south sea | islands last month has just reached here by the steamer Mariposa, direct from Tahiti. The loss of life is esti- mated at 1000 persons. On Jan. B last huge tidal wave, accompanied i by a terrific hurricane, attacked the | Society islands and the Puamoto group with fearful force, causing death and | devastation never before equaled in a land of dreaded storms.
 The storm ragged several days, reach. ing its strength between Jan. 14 and 16 From the meager news received at Tahiti up to the time of the sailing of the Mariposa it is estimated that 1000 of the islanders lost their lives. It is feared that later advices will 1n- crease this number
 The first news of the disaster reached Papeete, Tahiti, Jan. 26 by the schoon- CT Eimeo. The captain of the schoon- CT placed the fatalities at 500. The steamer Excelsior arrived at Papeete the following day with 400 destitute survivors The captain of the Excel sior estimated the total loss of life to be 800. These figures comprised only the deaths on the three islands of Hao, Hikuera and Makokan, whose ordinary population is 1900. On Hikuera is land where 1000 inhabitants were en- gagged in pearl diving, nearly one-half were drowned. On an adjacent island 100 more were washed out to sea.
 Makokan and Hao are depopulated. Conservative estimates at Tahiti place the number of islands visited by the tidal wave and hurricane at 80. All of them are under the control of the French governor at Tahiti.
 The surviving inhabitants are left destitute of food, shelter and clothing, all having been swept away. by the storm.
 The French government, upon re- ceipt of news of the disaster, took prompt measures to relieve the dis. tressed districts and dispatched two warships with fresh water and provi- sions. The Italian man-of-War Calabria accompanied the French vessels on their errand of mercy. As the supply of fresh water and provisions was to- tally exhausted by the storm it is feared that many lives will be lost be- fore the relief ships can arrive. As far as known eight white people were among the drowned. Included in these were Alexander Brander, N. F. Plum kett of Oakland, T. D. Donnelly, for merly a fireman on the steamship Aus traIia, and the local agent of c. Cop 4X. .<.11.o 1-G 4N I0I to this number was an unknown Wo man who committed suicide from fright
 As the islands were barely twenty feet above sea level and were not sur rounded by coral reefs, it was neces- sary for all the inhabitants to take to the cocoanut trees when the tidal wave began to cover the land. These trees grow to an immense height, many reaching an altitude of 100 feet. All of the lower trees were covered by the raging seas, which swept with pitiless force about and over them. The na- tives in the taller trees were safe until the cocoanut roots gave way, and then they, too, were swept out into the sea.
 The 400 survivors brought by the Ex- celsior to Papeete gained the ships side by swimming three and four miles from the tops of the cocoanut trees. The Eimeo, though badly damaged by the storm, also brought off as many persons as could swim to her sides, she, like the Excelsior, being unable to run close to the shore because of the vio- lence of the ocean swells which con- tinued to run abnormally high for week after the tidal disturbances.
 One of the many acts of heroism re- ported is that of woman who climbed one of the tall cocoanut trees and lashed her babe to the branches, hang ing to the body of the tree beneath the little child as best she could. There they remained for ten hours, suffering great torture until inally rescued. Thousands of tons of copra and more than POO tons of mother of pearl shells are known to have been lost The pearl shells are valued at 1,S0O per ton. and many valuable pearls may now be lost to. the world forever, as these were considered somesof the best pearl islands in the world