Smyrna times., 1906-10-24
FIERCE CYCLONE
SWEEPS CUBA
Twenty Dead and 100000 Dam
age at Havana.
SHIPPING SUFFERED HEAVILY

Havana, Oct 20.-A cyclone of I'M
precedented severity, accompanied by
a terrific downpour of rain, swept over
the provinces of Havana and Pinar
del Rio Wednesday night and resulted
in 20 deaths in this city and the seri-
Gus injury of dozen or more persons.
The damage Is estimated at fully 81
100000. The dead are all Cubans of
the poorer class.
The United States cruiser Brooklyn
dragged her anchor until her stern
grounded in the mud off La Regla- She
got off without injury.
The storm caused havoc and confu-
sion among the shipping in the harbor
Many buildings were badly damaged
and nearly all the trees in the city
and suburbs were uprooted.
The 1000 American soldiers and ma
rines at Camp Columbia were put to
great inconvenience by the storm.
Nearly all the 400 tents in Camp Co
lumbia were blown down, but there
was little actual damage. Harry Eos
dick, an army teamster with the 28th
Infantry, from Sioux City, Ia, sus-
tanned probably fatal injuries. He was
crushed by q tree which fell through
the barracks in which he was sleep
ing. Fred Sutclire, Of Fort Smelling,
had his head seriously injured. and
Thomas ShoneAlt, of Reading, Pa, sus-
tanned injuries TO his back.
One hundred and fifty tobacco barns
in the AIquizar district have been de-
stroyed. TIE recently planted tobacco
crop also has been seriously damaged.
Enormous damage is reported from
the Guira section, the centre of the
banana and plantain growing indus
try. These crops are said to have been
practically destroyed. Many small far
mers have lost their all and are in
great distress.
Matanzas City was practically unin
jured, only few houses there sustain
ing damages. No loss Of life has YET
been reported from outside Havana
but a message received says five per
sons were injured at Nunez.
All street car service in Havana was
paralyzed and communication with
outside points was impossible. The
telegraphic service was annihilated.
The first train to come into the city
since the storm was the Santiago ex
press. which arrived Friday Afternoon
Passenger report that the devastation
does not reach far to the eastward.
The storm caused the greatest dam
age and confusion in the harbor. TIL,
Brooklyn drifted further than an.
:. other >warship and finally brought VI
off La Regla, with her stern in tn
mud. She got off under her own steam
and sustained no injury. The cruise
Denver the auxiliary cruiser Prairie
and the supply ship Celtic all dragge,
their anchors more or less but promp
seamanship averted collisions. Thes
ships were all made fast to permanent
~ anchored buoys, which never befor
were known to have dragged. Tn
damage sustained by the squadro
amounts to little. Two boats were los
and some of the lighter deck fitting
were carried away. The bridge of tn
Prairie was displaced.
The total number of lighters sunk
the harbor has not yet been asce
tanned. Many of them were loaded wit
sugar and other merchandise, upo
which the loss will be great. Owing /
the lack of lighters steamers are no
discharging alongside the wharve
The storm drove the lighters again!
the harbor bulkheads. where they wei
broken up or sank. The harbor he
been searched for dead. and it is no
believed that all the bodies have bee
found.
In Havana city about so houses wei
more or less injured. but owing to IL
massive construction of roofs ar
walls the damages are serious only
few instances. The buildings of Il
University CT Hacana sustained dal
ages amounting to many thousands
dollars. A partition wall in the Anne
can legation was blown down. The
fee furniture was ruined and Il
books and records of the legation we
wet through.
The destruction of trees by the {
clone was a most remarkable featul
Throughout thelength of the Pra
scarcely one trees remains standin
they were nearly all uprooted. Hava
has thus lost one of its chief beauti'
for it will be many months before tn
can be replanted. The parks also we
destroyed. In Central Park, Col
Park, San Juan de Dios Park, and
the Plaza de Armas there are praC
cally no trees left standing.