The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1906-08-24
2,4Oo REPORTED
DEAD FROM QUAKE
Another Trembier on Monday
Spreads Further Panic
at Valparaiso.
WHOLE TOWN DESTROYED
Tales of the Great Disturbances of the
Earthquake and Fire in South
America Are Con-
frmed.

$500
damage by the earthquake occurred in
the provinces of Valparaiso and Aeon
cagua. The town of Abarca suffered
severely. Llai Llai is reported to have
entirely disappeared and Liuidche and
Hero Vieto have been almost totally
wrecked. At Vina del Mar three-quar-
tiers of h houses are in ruins.
The losses in the. entire country are
estimated at $500, 600, ZOO. The authori-
ties of Valparaiso have taken over the
feeding Of the people and provisions
are being brought in from places that
were not destroyed. Slight shocks are
continuing. The people haze not yet
returned to their homes, but are sleep
Ing on the surrounding hills and In
the streets n squares. The fires have
All e exttnguished. More than 100
men taken in the act Of committing
robbery have been shot.
There is no time to count the dead.
The needs Of 100000 homeless people,
:amped in the hills and helpless under
beating rains, hungry and without food
9r shelter, are too pressing to care for
those who are past the need of food
and whose only shelter must be the
grave.
Estimates of the number of dead
gary. Some police officials say 1t will
reach 5000. Others place the number
ct 5000. In the municipal prison alone
AAACAS LIE GOV DOOlGSs III the mOTRuo
there are fifty. In one church sixty
1nOre have been counted. But no sys-
tematic search for the dead has as vet
been made.
Newspapers Predicted Disaster.
It Is possible now to look@over the
ruins and take an account ofSthe DESC
latton wrought by. earthquake and fire.
1t IL a strange fact, commented on
almost with awe, that the newspapers
prognosticated the catastrophe last
Thursday, only a few hours before the
blow fell. The local astronomers based
their prediction on the conjunction of
Jupiter, the earth and the moon.
The first shock came in the midst of
q terrific rainstorm at 1850 o'clock
Thursday evening. A few minutes later
there was a second shock, almost equal
In violence. The second shock complet-
er b work of destruction.
In those few awful moments the
people deserted their houses and the
whole population fed through streets
already choked with the debris of col
lapsing buildings.
The rain vas falling in torrents. The
electric lights had been extinguished
with h first shock. The a lights in
h streets, in the shops and in the
houses were out. The night was of
lnky blackness.
Into this inferno of ruin INC dark
pess, through streets tchoked with de-
bris n tangled fallen wires. more
h 100000 terrorized. panic stricken,
screaming, maddened persons fed,
storm and for safety from collapsing
houses.
The parks and plazas afforded the
most convenient shelter and to them
the terrorized people stumbled INC
CROPPED their way. But the. great
masses of the crowds, unable to find
room in the parks, found their way
to the hills.
Fires Dispelled Darkness.
Fires in a score of different places
dispened the darkness and soon whole
ali Thursday night and all day FRI
day the fire ragged unchecked. The
water supply gave u and dynamite
was used in a vain endeavor to check
the conf1a-ration.
BY Friday midnight the flames had
completed the york Of destruction be-
gun by the earthquake in practically
the whole eastern two-thirds Of the
city.
Saturdays dawn brought hope that
the fire had burned itself out, but a
strong wind came up from the south
n the flames swept onward with re-
ilewed violence, completing the de-
VlEuCllOllA VI III lCSluCllSC OlSlIlCl.
Probably not more h 20. per cent.
Of the buildings in the city We're spared
by the earthquake and fire.
The greatest force of the shock
seemed to center around the5commer-
cial district, where the great banks
and commercial houses We're situated.
Most of h buildings there were either
demolished or badly damaged. The fire
completed the work of destruction.
Among the principal buildings de-
etroyed either by earthquake or fire or
both were:
Naval club and September club, Vic
toria and National theaters.
Convent OF the French nuns.
English. German. American hospitals,
Sanns Augustin and San Juan hospitals.
Grand hotel and Hotel Royal.
Custom house building and govern
ment deposits.
Arsenal and naval schools.
Bank of Chile, Spanish-Arnerican
bank. Tarapaca and Argentine bank.
Esperato church, La Marcel church.
Italian legation.
Electric light plant, gas and water
works.
Bellanshas railway station.
Municipal prison, where 40 to ESQ
prisoners We're killed.
Cardinal market.
Wholesale house of Daube & Co.
Principal newspaper offices.
Lima Peru, Aug. 23.-There was an
other heavy earthquake shock at VAL
paraiso last night.
According to the latest reports re-
ceived here the town of Quillota, TWEEN
ty-six miles from Valparaiso. having
a population of 10000 souls, has beer
completely destroyed.
At Lima this morning there was a
slight shock. "A dispatch from La Paz