The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1906-08-25
HORRORS OF the EARTHQUAKE
THAT DEVASTATED VALPARAISO

Food is very scarce. Milk costs two
Chilean dollars a liter. and 1t is al
most imposstbla 10 obtain meat. even
at high prices
The railruads are all DESTROYED.
Rain. winch began to fall immedi-
ately after The first shock, stopped an
hour after"ard. The nights are very
cold and windy, the people sleeping
in the open are suffering greatly,
The caplaln OF a steamship which
has arrive from san Francisco saws
the situatlon hora is worse than that
following the disaster at San Fran
cisco.
Santiago, Chill Aug. I9.-The attest
news brousht in here by refugees from
Valparaiso coutradicts some CT the
first exagsoratei statements from
there. but shows that the catastrophe
was eXtreIne.E severe. Senor Groz,
one OF the refugees, relates that the
first shock ar Valparaiso was very pro-
longed and throw the entire city into
indescribabIe panic People crowded
the streets and the squares. crying and
lameuting. The first shock also
threw down number Of buildings. The
second shoe WIS more severe and re-
suited in tn crunlbling of most of the
buildings in the Almendral quarter.
Immediato ly after the second shock
the entire cry was plunged inio ter
rife darknesS This. however. did not
last long. for h. scene of destruction
was soon lit UP by the fires that broke
out in this quarter The light from
the f1ames, Seuur Groz continues. came
:s welcome relief from the darkness.
The people Wore in a state of terror,
many belieHjng that the end OF the
orld had come
Among tn buildings destroyed were
the Victoria 'hoarer, the Bella Vista
railroad station and the Club de Sep
tember. Mos of the severe damage was
done OF the lower ground reclaimed
II ON the sea
The Church Of the Espirtu Santo
and the Church Of La Marced. rs well
as large part Of the buildings on Vic
toria street We're destroyed
Masses OF material blocked the
streets. Avenuo Brazil Is almost to-
tally wrecked Tn" known dead does
not exceed 100 according TO the best
estimates. Among those dead is the
wife OF Admin Montt
The hills surrounding Valparaiso
suffered but slightly
More than $4,000 persons have taken
refuge there.
Santiago de Chill Aug lG.-It is
known that eight lives were lost in
this city by the earthquake. but it is
believed that many persons We're killed
by the falling buildings and that their
bodies will b. discovered later. Sev-
eral persons became SO panic stricken
during the trembling of the earth that
they threw themselves from the bal
comics of their homes and We're killed.
The fires which followed the earth
quake in this city were promptly oXtin-
quished, but while they lasted they
added greatly TO the terror of the peo-
ole.
AS all the telegraph and telephone
lines We're moro or less damaged, the
exact situation throughout the coun-
try is not yet known, but advices have
been received tO The effect that the
towns of Vi1laeo and Casa Blanca
were destroyed and that san Felipe,
Rancagua, MeipilIa and Llaiilat were
severely damag'd At Conception the
shocks were severe and a number of
persons We're kilicd or injured. The
towns of Rengo san Fernando, quill
lota and San Antonio and many viii
lagos are in ruins.
All railway syryic" In the central
zone is either Interrupted entirely or
greatly delayed and commerce is prac-
tically at stand5ti,I.
In the city of Santiago. much dam
age was done. Many public buildings
particularly churches. Were dis
mantled. The buildings of Congress-
, the municipal buildings the Normal
school, the courts, the Peruvian lega-
ton, the resideuco Of President Riesco,
the central market the prefecture of
police and the National telegraph of
flee all were ripueIy damaged. The
i liues of the electric tramway system
and electric light wires were short
circuited, interIupling street car traffic
and plunging IT, city into darkness.
The scenes a. the hospitals and pris-
ons during the excitement were dis
tressing in the extreme. The prison
ers tired to escape from the jails in
the hope that they might reach place
of safety, and prison guards were
Obliged to fire into the air in order to
intimidate and quiet their panic
stricken charpes