Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1906-08-21

aS al Oh the railroad tunnels are
filed and miles of track on the sur
face are twisted and rendered useless.
1t is only known from general ac-
counts that death and destruction are
on all sides
There were two distinct and ter.
rible shocks, the second one following
almost instantly after the first and
completing the work of destruction.
The day had been unusually calm
and pleasant. At eight O'Clock the
whole city seemed sud denly to swing
backward and forward, and then came
a sudden jolt Of such mighty force
that rows OF buildings toppled to
the eart3 as IL made Of brittle plAs-
ter.
Whole Rows Of Buildings FaiL
Whole rows Of buildings went down
In q few seconds soon after the sec
ond shock had subsided, and 1t be-
came known that the business part
OF the town was doomed. From the
Ballavista section little was heard,
but before midnight fires were seen
burning there, and 1t was learned.
that that section OF the city also was
doomed. Z,
/, The city stands upon a formation OF
granite gneiss, which seemed to ac-
,centuate the force of the shock. Be
fore the stunned people were given
time to realize the magnitude of the
calamity, again the city was shaken
with a violence greater than before
The earth in places lifted and pitched
the buildings forward. In other
places there was terrible tremor
that shook every structure to the
ground. When 1t had subsidized fires
were raging and thousands of terri
fed persons were praying and panic
swept the city.
Dead May Number Hundreds.
Many landslides have occurred
around the city and scores Of lives have
been lost. At present II Ia impossible
to state the number of dead in the en-
tire city, but 1t is believed there are
several hundreds, many of whom are
still in the ruins. It has laid waste
the best part of the business portion
of the city and has doubtless put
Chill back many years in the scale of
civilization
The captain of the German vessel
Yran, which arrived at Coquimbo,
stated that when 20 miles at sea he
could see the flames raging in Val
paraiso. Many Inhabitants are terri
fed with fear of other shocks, and the
/ work of rescuing the bodies is pro.
cseding very slowly.
| (The Bellavista district referred to,
which is on the hills behind the city
Is the most select residence district
/ OF Valparaiso, and apparently suffered
the same fate that overlook Mob hill
In San Francisco.)
Private Messages Tell Of Disaster.
| Manager Robertson, Of the Central
and South American Telegraph COM
pany, said that he was not in posi-
ton to give out the reports that his
company had received from their oper-
ators at Valparaiso and other points
along the Gillian coast.
Il can tell you that there has been
fearful earthquake" he said, land
parts OF the city are on fire. What
reports we have received up to date
are in the form of messages to private
individuals in this city and we are
not permitted to give these to the
public. Our operators there are so
busy and the confusion SO great that
we cannot expect them to make 4 full
report upon conditions there for some
time to come. Communication was
restored by our operators IN Chill
Friday and now our wire Is working
perfectly. Beyond Valparaiso, how
ever, and through all the inland dis
tricts there Is not wire up. No word
has yet been received from Santiago.
La Serena or Conception. We cannot
tell what the extent of the earthquake
is nor at what time we will be able
to restore communication with the
interior"
Extent Of Damage Unknown.
Hamburg, Aug. 20.-The North Ger.
man bank Saturday received from its
correspondent. the Banco De Chile Z.
Alemanie, at Valparaiso, the following
dispatch:
All we'll. Bank building only
slightly damaged Many houses de.
stroyed by fire. We are unable to
state extent damage. Banks closed"
The Kosmos Steamship company
also received dispatch from VAL
paradise announcing that three Of its
steamers. the Uarda, Salatus and
Thuringia. which were lying In the
harbor Of Valparaiso, have not been
damaged and that the building OF the
company's agency ct that port Il NOT
injured.
Tidal Wave In Hawaii.
Honolulu, Aug. 20.-Wireless No
ports from the islands OF Hawaii,
Maui and Hito report a tidal wave, the
general height Of which was hve feet.
IN the enclosed bay Of Maalaea, on the
island of Maui, its height was esti-
mated to be u feet, where It carried
away a wharf and Its superstruo&ure
The phenomenon was manifested By
an unprecedentedly heavy surf. Tho
tidal wave Is attributed to the earth,
quake at Valparaiso.
illinois Mayor Dies.
Bloomington, ILL.,, Aug 18.-James
s. Neville, mayor of Bloomington and
member Of the Illinois warehouse and
railway commission, died suddenly
Friday morning at two o'clock while
visiting at West Baden, Ind. He was