Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-02-01
HORRORS OF KINGSTON.
Graphic Story Of Woman Nurse Who
Sought the Wounded.

L
Sought the Wounded.
Miss Grace Barton Turner Of Pas
sale, N. j., one Of the first three sur
vivors of the Kingston earthquake to
make their escape from the stricken
CITY, recently told at the Office Of the
New York American this graphic story
OF the tragedy:
History says that there have been
more awful tragedies than that I saw
last Monday and Tuesday (Jan. II and
15). but If that Is true history has been
poorly written, for never have I read
anything half so terrible as that. II
was so horrible-there were 80 many
dead lying contorted and mangied ev-
edywhere; such fearful wreckage, with
the whole city in ruins and burning as
Nero's Rome must have burned: such
desolation, shrieks, grOans and hys-
teric prayers! Oh. guess my senses
must have swooned, for no brain could
| conceive of the Grazing terror Of It all.
had been travelling In Jamaica
with my mother. but we had been liv-
ing In Kingston at the Hotel Royal for
| several weeks. Mr. Longley, whom I
have known since childhood, was also
| stopping at the hotel, and on the day
OF the first earthquake shock he had
gone to the steamship Office to book
our passage home on the Sampson.
! ! had been packing and was stand
ing In the bathroom on the second
| floor. Mother was getting ready down.
stairs. Then came a rumble, low at
| FIRST, then nearer, and the building be-
gan to shake. Before could even
grasp at the doorknob for support the
hotel was rocking as though IL were
ship In an awful storm at sea.
screamed with fright as the wall
Of the bathroom collapsed and crash
ed to the ground outside, leaving me
standing at the very edge Of the totter-
ing floor. I ran to the hall to meet
mother coming up the stairs. She was
| injured with a great bruise on her
side. All the time the building trem-
bled violently, but even In the excite
ment Of the moment remembered that
could hear the crashing Of other
buildings, the shrieks Of dying men and
women and a din that sounded like
the thunder Of hundred falling cities.
Then our own building went down.
would have been buried with my moth
er in its ruins. but just then Mr.. Long
ley, my fance, came running through
us and carried US to the street and saw
that we were safe and sound at the
race track outside Of Kingston.
The terrible cries Of those who were
being crushed by stone and wood, the
chrill weeping Of women and children,
stirred my dull sense, and I began to
grasp the awful situation. My mother
Is old, but she helped me tend the
wounded. Those terrible cries. shall
never forget them? A few feet from
mother and me I saw q little English
arm hanging limp and broken. She
was crying bitterly for her mother. I
secured a quantity OF bandages and
splints from the hospital at the SOL
diers' barracks after a lot Of trouble
and dressed the wounds of the child.
tried to comfort her. but she was in
consolable for the loss of her mother.
She had indeed lost her mother, poor
child, for we found the woman, still
young and pretty dead beneath q
beam that had crushed her In the par
lying the body Of her other child. @
boy, who had been crushed by falling
masonry. All the natives were crazy
with fear.
My Red Cross training stood me in
good stead. / went into the ruins of
Kingston to help those still living.
could not tell what saw. Everywhere
were ruins. Houses had tumbled down
like houses Of cards. Overhead there
was g. somber haze, while here and
there could be seen protruding leg or
while the earthquake convulsed the
island
There was one tragic case that near
| ly made me faint Beneath the ruins
Of little cottage we stumbled upon
the bodies ofssa mother and her six
children. All had been killed at the
same time. While we were examining
each body in the hope Of discovering
some spark Of life we were aroused by
frantic; hoarse voice behind us. 1t
was filled with grief unspeakable.
Then a soldier thrust his way among
us, cast one awful look at the bodies
and then staggered back. his hands
pressed over his eyes. Not a sound
did he utter, but his great, strong body
shook convulsively, and never have /
seen such evidences Of silent suffering
upon a human face. He turned slow
ly away. seemed to hesitate a moment,
and then, before any Of US could inter-
vene, deliberately killed himself by
shooting himself through the head with
his revolver. Naturally I was COM
pletely upset by this occurrence and
/ the scenes became so trying to the
/ nerves that ! was warned by physi-
clan that had better desist. would
have stuck to the work II ! had been
alone. but I had my mother to think
Of as well as my father at home.
Food was scarce, and finally agreed
with Mr.. Longley that We should take
the first vessel that would bear us back
/ to the States. We found that there
was little chance of our getting out OF
Kingston by water, so great was the
confusion and to such an extent was
all shipping demoralized, but Mr.
Longley found that the Admiral Far
ragut was going to sail from Port An
tonic, so we decided to get there at all
hazards.
The only train leaving that night,
the night Of the day on which the
earthquake occurred. was one that was
almost entirely taken up by the in
jured men, women and children. They
were being sent to the improvised hos
pital at Spanish City. An ofiicer on
duty at the train recognized me. He
was so charming that / plucked up
sufficient courage to tell him or my
plight He at once gave me permis-
sion to board the train with my moth
er and Mr.. Longley. saying he was
sure that could be of lnestimable SER
|
a train Of death and woe.
From every car came the cries or
injured persons and the groans Of the
semiconscious. There were many who
were literally swathed in bandages
from head to foot Mothers. although
badly hurt themselves, held manned
little ones in their arms The jolting
of the coaches over the rude railway
served to aggravate the sufferings OF
those on board. .
Just ahead a wrecking crew was ac-
lively engaged in repairing tracks that
had been twisted out Of place by the
quake, and therefore the progress OF
the train was painfully slow. The rail-
road turned and twisted. snakelike, In
a hundred different ways, passing
| through tunnel after tunnel. The night
was dark and dismal, and II ever l
felt like CRYING It was then. with so
much suffering about me and but poor
little me and handful Of nurses and
surgeons to care for the earthquake
victims. At every tunnel entrance we
knew we might be entering into death.
There was no telling what the quake
had done there.
It took the train an hour to run 10