Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-03-13
JAMAIcA Has SUFFERED.
The Island Has Been Visited BY In.
Vulnerable Disasters.


Vulnerable Disasters.
The Island of Jamaica, discovered
in 1894 by Columbus and settled in
1909 under his son, Diego, has been
British possessions ever since 1866,
When it was captured by Cromwell's
troops under Admiral Penn, the father
of William Penn. Since then it has
suffered several disasters, involving
the whole or parts of the island. In
1892 there were disastrous earth
quakes,. and it is curious fact that
the city of Kingston was founded by
the survivors of that earth's tremb-
ling which destroyed the opulent town
of Port Royal.
Nearly 5000 houses in Port Royal
were destroyed at that time, only
few and one of the forts remaining
uninjured The whole island felt that
shock. Chains of hills were riven.
new channels formed for the rivers,
whole settlements sank into the earth,
plantations We're uprooted and all the
sugar works destroyed. In fact, the
whole outline of the country surround
ing Port Royal was drawn afresh,
and the elevation of the surface was
considerably diminished.
noxious miasma, generated by the
shoals of bodies that floated about the
harbor, and heaps of the dead that
lay in the suburbs, slew thousands of
survivors. The town was abandoned
by those who could get out of it, and
they settled on the north shore of the
harbor. That site was laid out short
ly afterward by Col. Christian Lilly.
during the administration of Sir Will
liam Beeston, and became the city OF
Kingston.
In 1882 a severe confiagration visit
ed Kingston, destroying property to
the value OF $2,5OO,00O, and in 1S43
another fire caused $15,O00,0OO DAM
age.
l.. In 1880 hurricane swept King
ston, and a great fire destroyed por-
ton of the city in 1882.
There were two earthquake shocks
at Kingston, each consisting of
large number of tremors, lasting sever
or eight seconds, on Dec. z; 1880. The
shocks were felt throughout the isl
and.
A hurricane visited jamaica IL
1915. The whole island was deluged,
hundreds of houses were washed
away, vessels were wrecked and about
1000 persons were drowned.
In August, 1908, Kingston and the
rest of Jamaica were swept by hur
ricane which almost totally destroyed
Port Antonio and inflicted damage in
various parts of the island amounting
to about $10,000,0O0. Thousands of
houses in Kingston were damaged, the
wharves were battered and several
coasting vessels were sunk.
| On Nov. 10 last an exceedingly
sharp earthquake shock was felt in
the south and the north of the Island
of Jamaica at II o'clock at night 1t
was followed Immediately by sec
ond shock, which was the heaviest
experienced in Jamaica in many years.
The only volcanic formation in the
island is that at Lowlayton and Re
treat estates, in the parish of Port
land, a mile from the sea, in the
County of Surrey, in which Kingston
is situated. There is, however, no
defined crater, and the volcanic ma
terials are the only evidences remain.
ing. The coast formation of Surrey
County is of white and yellow lime.
stone, and the greater part of the
county is very mountainous.
Despite the many earthquake
shocks there have been no signs there
of any disturbance of the earth's sur
face for more than two centuries, ex
cept that smoke has risen almost
steadily out of the ground in the
Parish of Portland, in the northeast
ern part of the island, and about sixty
miles by road from Jamaica. The
inhabitants of the island had become
SO accustomed to the vapory clouds,
however, that they never considered
them as source of fear.