The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1906-08-22
THREE THOUSANDDEAD
Property Loss In Chilean Earth
quake Now Estimated at
+ S10O,0OO,0O0.
MARTIAL LAW IN VALPARAISO

Soldiers, Police and Citizens Patrol
Empowered to Kill Looters on Sight
One Hundred Already Shot-SIight
Shocks continue-PeopIe Still Liv-
ing Outdoors.
Valparaiso, Aug. 22.-Tha loss of life
by the earthquake of Thursday, Aug.
16, probably will not be short of 5000,
while the property destroyed is esti-
mated at S1O0,0O0,0O0 and possibly is
far in excess of that sum.
Order is being maintained with the
utmost severity by the nilitary, police
and armed citizens patrols, who are
empowered to shoot looters cVl the spot.
The authorities are showingsthe utmost
energy in the protection of property.
With the first terrible shock of the
earthquake buildings collapsed, their
walls falling with a tremendous noise.
The inmates in many cases were un-
able to escape The shock was fol-
lowed almost Immediately by a fierce
storm, the wind prostrating walls that
had been weakened by the earthquake,
and these broke trolley wires, which
flashed necessarily. The second shock
was even heavier than the first.
Fires Start In All Directions.
Five minutes afterward fires started
in every direction, and Immediately the
whole town, which had been momen-
tarily in darkness. was Illuminated
with the lurid splendor of gigantic
flames. The fremen made desperate
fight, though there was but little water
as most of the mains had been broken
by the earth tremor The Victoria
theatre and the Naval club We're de-
stroyed by the earthquake, and the Ma
tlonal theatre succumbed to earth
quake and fire The Club de Setiembre,
the Church of La Merced, the buildings
of the French fathers, the navy depart
ment building, the city hall and many
other buildings We're destroyed by the
earthquake The destruction by fire,
however, was infinitely larger, and
probably 60 per cent of the CONNER
cial houses were totally ruined In
Brazil avenue alone nearly thirty
blocks of buildings from three to five
stories high We're destroyed.
Slight Shocks Continue.
Slight shocks are continuing. The
people have not yet returned to their
homes. but are sleeping on the sur
rounding hills and in the streets and
squares. The fires have all been ex-
tinguished
More than one hundred men taken in
the act of committing robberies have
been shot, mostly in public.
Large parties of convicts who es-
capped from the prisons have been COM
hitting robberies and other crimes at
Valparaiso, Casablanca and Vina del
Mar, but the majority of them have
been captured, and the shooting of
more than fifty of them in public has
had a salutary effect on the convicts
who are still at large as we'll as upon
all plunderers.
Relief Work Begun.
All the public bodies in Chile are CO
opSldtiiS III the Icliel WOIk, anu liiG
sufferers from the disaster are engaged
in repairing the damaged buildings and
the telegraph and railway lines.
The greatest damage occurred in the
provinces of Valparaiso and Aeon
cagua. The town of Abarca suffered
severely. Llaillai is reported to have
entirely disappeared and Limache and
hox o1r ok,ll
wrecked. At yina del Mar three-quar-
ters of the houses are in ruins.
The authorities of Valparaiso have
taken over the feeding of the people,
and provisions are being brought in
from places that were not destroyed.