The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1906-08-21

Dynamite Used With Good Effect to
Check the Fires That Followed
the Destructive Shocls--Ruin
More Complete Than at San
Francisco, Captain Says-Cable
Companies Estimate That 1000
Persons Were Killed in Chile
100, 900 Homeless--Fugitives
Huddle on Icy HiIIs-Wintry
Rains Drench Hundred Thou
sand Refugees From Ruins.
Valparaiso, Chile.-At 1852 o'clock
last Thursday evening Valparaiso ex-
perienced an earthquake Of great SCI
verify That night eighty-two shocks
were felt. The shocks continue, but
are steadily diminishing in force.
Most of the buildings of the city
were either ruined or damaged
The loss will be enormous, prob
ably reaching $250,000,O00.
Two thousand persons killed is
considered to be fair estimate of
the casualties.
The captain of a steamship which
has arrived from San Francisco says
that the situation here is worse than
that following the disaster at San
Francisco. 1t is generally considered
that the destruction here is more
complete than that which befell San
Francisco
Vina del Mar (three miles from
Valparaiso and having population
of over 10000, Quirihue (225 miles
to the southwark, with a population
of 2500); Salto, Limache (fifteen
miles to the northwest, with a popu
lation of 6500); Quillota twenty
five miles to the northwest, with a
population of 100000, and villages
all around were destroyed. All the
towns in the Aconcague Valley have
suffered terribly.
Most of the damage was due to
fire, which started Immediately after
the first shock.
The whole population is sleeping
on the hills, the parks or the streets.
Some articles of food are very
scarce. Milk costs two Chilean dol
lars liter and it is almost impossi-
BILE to obtain meat, even at high
prices. 1t is not, however, believed
that a famine will occur, as thou
sands of tons of flour, wheat and rice
are in stores and on the ships. The
authorities have taken charge of the
distribution of food.
The railroads are all destroyed.
Rain, which began to fall imme-
diately after the first shock, stopped
an hour afterward
The nights are very cold and
windy, and the people sleeping in the
open are suffering greatly. Couriers
have been dispatched both north and
south for troops Martial law has
ruled in Valparaiso since the first
day of the shocks
The conformation of the whole
city area has been greatly changed
The sea now washes over most of the
low lying district, which was given
over almost exclusively to business
Most of the wharves have disap-
peared, and only the roofs of some of
the warehouses now show above the
waters Of the bay The southern end
of the encircling chain of hills seems
to have dropped many feet, while di-
rectly back of the city there are great
assures in the hillsides. Much dam
age was done by the quakes sending
rocks down the hills on the city. One
of these rocks fell into one of the big
public elevators and killed six per-
sons. The elevators were used for
reaching the residence quarters on
the high terraces, but all of them
now are out of commission.
The fires that started after the
first destructive shock defied all the
efforts Of the firemen The water
mains were broken, and the only
source of supply was from the bay.
But the peculiar formation of the
city saved it from being swept clean
by the confagration. While some
terraces left trails of ashes, others,
both above and below, were not even
scorched But in the lowlands the
flames rolled almost without him
ORANGES, and tens of millions in prop
erty were consumed.
Many ghouls have been shot, but
public order on the whole has been
remarkably good One of the worst
trials is the lack of light. The gas
and electric light plants we're both
destroyed, and not a street car is in
operation The railroads, too, are
blocked, and the only open means of
communication is by the sea. The
overland telegraph wires are down.
and the city keeps in touch with the
outside world by two lines of cables,
one running south, and the other
north. A repair gang started out
in the afternoon to attempt to open
communication by land with Santia-
go. It is expected there will be little
difficulty in repairing the wires, as
it is reported there was not much
damage done between here and the
capital.