The Washington herald., 1907-01-17

81 1HomdS, ID ". J.. Jan. 1.-THE
death list in the earthquake destruction
at Kingston viii far exceed the earlier
figures, which were turned out as off.
cial dispatches"
It now appears that the quake and
subsequent disturbances destroyed
practically the entire business section
ot the city. and Kings and Queens
streets, with those that run at right
angles with them. are this morning q
mass Of ruins
II seems unnecessary at this time Ia
state that the inhabitants are suffering
greatly from lack of food and medical
supplies. In the destruction of the city
hospitals and of the good hotels. there
were lost practically all Of the needed
surgical appliances for relieving the
distress OF those who are injured, and
the injured at the present time number
between 1000 and 1000
When your correspondent states his be-
lief that the loss Of life viii reach 1Cm
he is wen within the bounds of human
knowledge, in2smuch as he has made a
tour of the wharyes. where the big wooden
buildings We're demolished. back through
the town ass far rs che English cathedral
There are now canned on the outskirts
more than $4,000 people and the disaster
is $50 5is that at the present hour it is i'm
possible TO CLEAN more than brief buIle-
tins 0I facts.
City Charred Wreck.
The c.y 81 Kingston is cnarred wreck
Every dispatch tnat has arrived here dur
rs the last t-entg--f1.r Haafs simply adds
10 the horror of the situation. Il begins
10 appear as though not only the native
population suffered. but among the per
sons Who lest their lives in the quakes
are many whites.
4 drunken, besotteu multitude o.
negroes, of whom the city IS mostly made
up, went on a rampage yesterday ufter-
noon, and the few disciplined troops that
were available We're unable TO restore
order
1t is understood that the governor. has
sent message TO London. and he declares
that there is no reason why troops should
not be hurried, but also war ships TO aid
him.
An American torpedo boat destroyer
reached here early this morning. on
american officers. They will be landed
within an hour and inasmuch as theIr
commander is Il man Of experience. il 5
Very likely that they viii be able 10 help
greatly In clearing up the situation
i2ls entire section Of the city. including
all hotels, has been absolutely DESTROYED
The camps that have been created lust
outside of the city are AT the present
inhabited 10y men and women who all Of
their lives have been used to the greatest
of luxury. This morning they face fam.
inc
HHrbor Closed Ia shipping.
The magnificent landlocked harbor is
absolutely closed to shipping because of
the fact that when the earthquake hap
pened the lower strata Of rocks that have
always been more or less feared have
made the entrance 20 the harbor a oues-
tion OF pilotage, was erected while the
"side walls" fell into the bay. This
means that it viii be many. many days
before shipping can reach the city.
Vigilance committees which have been
organized by the government are doing
their best To administer the laws. Their
efforts have for the present proven I'M
aVallnE. This IS not because they did
not do their best but simply because of
the fact that following the disturbances
everybody led to the hills and the native
population. far Outnumbering the whites
the latter, for the first time in \
great many years IS practically unarued
In The looting liz the city a great ouau-
tlty o. Ticn material was stolen bTt II
now appears that the banks have escaDad
unscathed. However. the troops on di,ty
used their weapons with good effect dur-
ins the iast twelve hours. and il fs varv
possible that the foreigners VIII be in ab-
solute control Of the situation by Q o'cIool,
to-day
The stencil that is coming from the ruins
is almost unbearable Your corTeSoondent
penetrated the heart of tho citv dr,rira,
the late hours last night. and. aItbopob
II was impossible to gain more than q
meager general belief of what had han
pened it appeared to him that the entire
city, so far as the business section is co7,-
cerned. had been. .annihilated. There has
been no organized attempt to fight tho
fires. In fact the only work thar has
been done has been to save several Of the
old-time structures that are located ON
the sand plains behind the city.
It is impossible to state Just what tbe
loss of European life is
Conflicting stories Told.
Holland Bay. Jamaica, Jan. 1e-So
much confusion exists in Kingston that
conflicting reports Of the damage done
by the earthquake of Monday are re-
ceiyed No two Of the courier. arriving
TO file cable dispatches can tell the same
story The subtelegraph station. 5ust
outside the city. is not in good working
order, and hence nothing trustworthy
comes from there.
According TO the best advices received
here. the dead will number from 100 to
800, and. perhaps, 1000 injured. They are
mostly negroes Although nearly every
house is damaged to some extent by the
earthquake. most of the city was spared
from the IRE. The water supply was dis
CONTINUED On PACE NINE