Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-01-19
THOUSANDS LOST.
Horron of Earthquakes Wreck Un-
 derestimated,

l. QSIebLlmAteQ. WASHINGTON, Jan. 19.-That the
 horrors of the earthquake and fire in
 Kingston, Jamaica, have been greatly underestimated Is indicated by the re-
 ceipt of dispatches from the stricken city which have been delayed. l These state that thousands lost their
 lives and that not for 25O years has
 Jamaica experienced such a violent
 earthquake. The first heavy shock was
 followed by fifteen others of lesser in tensity.
 The streets of Kingston are now picketed with American guards, Ad-
 miral Davis, at the request of the Brit
 ish authorities, having landed a num- Der of marines from the battleships
 Missouri and Indiana.
 Six hundred bodies have been recov-
 cred, and more are being constantly I found.
 Dynamite is being employed to clear away the debris of shattered buildings Because of their long immunity resi- I dents of the island had begun to build brick houses, which crumple easily, and this accounts for many of the deaths.
 A ghastly procession of carts passing all day long through the streets to the cemetery reveals in all it's horror the extent of the earthquake devastation. In patches of twenty the dead are be ing buried as hastily as possible Gen erally speaking, the whole city has been demolished, except for house here and there, which remains monument to the freakishness of the earthquake and the fire. Rivers of black mud are slowly forming and spreading through the streets. Several of the most impor- tant thoroughfares already are blocked. The mud comes oozing up from great Assures in the earth.
 So nauseating are the odors now aris- ing from the bodies buried deep in the wreckage that Governor Swettenham Is seriously thinking of abandoning the city until conditions are more health ful. The torrid heat has hastened the decomposition of the bodies of men and beasts, and danger of epidemic is i'm minent.
 Within an hour thousands of persons were made homeless, and hundreds were enduring agony from broken heads and limbs under the open sky. The city doctors were busy all night amputating limbs and dressing wounds. The worst cases were taken to the pub lie hospital, where the staff of doctors attended to them, but many expired before morning.
 The work of rescuing entombed peo- pie was continued Tuesday and We'd nesday, and fully 400 corpses were re- covered, but many more were burned to ashes in the fire. Attempts at loot ing were made by the rabble, but the military guards stationed at the prin- cipal corners succeeded in restoring or der.
 Efforts are being made by the gov ernment to clear the debris from the streets, but the laborers are afraid of the ruins and of further shocks, and consequently slow progress is being made.
 On Monday night fifteen distinct shocks were felt, but they did no dam- age. On Tuesday there were twenty shocks, and on Wednesday there were lten.
 A dispatch from Captain W. P. For ward, the Hamburg American agent at Kingston, says:
 "Prinz waldemar stranded at 2 this morning near Plum point Merritt Chapman wrecking steamer Premier gone to her rescue"
 Plum point is lighthouse point about ten miles east of Kingston. whither the steamer was bound when she struck. The Prinz waldemar left Port Limon the day of the earthquake. The shocks having destroyed the lights, the steamer presumably lost her way.
 It is stated by the Hamburg-Ameri- can officials that the passenger list Is probably not large. as the steamer ex- pected to take on most of her passen- gers at Kingston. The vessel was to have sailed direct from Kingston to New York.
 Among the buildings utterly destroy ed are the supreme court. Colonial bank, Nova Scotia bank. the Mer- chants Exchange. the city council of- flee. the Parish church, St. Georges church. the Roman Catholic cathedral, the Savings bank. all the shipping of fees and wharfs. the Myrtle Bank ho- tel. the Constant Springs hotel. the Ja- maica club. the Masonic templei Training college. Hope college. the railway terminus. customs buildings. cable company offices. all the newspa- per offices except that of the Daily Telegraph, which Is severely damaged, but escaped the fire: the Salvation Ar my temple and the offices of the Pres byterian. Methodist, Baptist and Con- gregational church and schools. In brief. not sound building remains in the entire area of Kingston. and less than a dozen houses can be occupied. and the entire business section Is wip- cd out The loss cannot fall short of S25.o0o.0oo and probably will exceed that amount.
 Among the killed are Sir James Fer gusson of Kilkerran. Scotland The body of Sir James was recovered from | ha wtrfus of ..frr stssr.. ar.I 1,.,rs..r