The Holly chieftain., 1909-09-03
OVER TWO THOUSAND ARE Rem.
DEREo HOMELESS AND FAM
iNE THREATENs THEM.
DEAD LIE IN TRENCHES
RIVER BOTTOMS FOR THREE
HUNDRED NILES LAID WASTE
IN RAGING FLOODS.

OF rescue is going forward in the vast
area ravaged by the West Indian tor
nado and its accompanying cloudburst
last Saturday, reports Of greater loss
Of life keep coming in, making it pos
sible that the death list will go to
1000 and perhaps higher.
Upwards of 1000 are homeless. Fam
lilies are living on roofs Of submerged
houses. slowly starving to death.
An area OF thousands of square
miles. extending from Matamoras to
Torreon, a distance of 300 miles, and
south 400 miles, is practically all un-
der water.
Men and women and children are
floating about on improvised RATS,
masses of debris or housetops. with
out food.
Famine is staring the people of Mon
terey in the face. Crops are de-
stroyed. Railroads are washed out.
Bridges have been swept away. Tele-
graph and telephone communication is
down. The river beds are rushing tor
rents and everywhere is the sickening
sight of death in its most terrible
form.
Dead bodies are piled In trenches by
the relief workers as soon as they are
picked from the whirling eddies. There
is no time for Identification, for pesti-
lence may break out as well as fam
inc.
1t is impossible to estimate the prop.
erty loss at this time for the COM
munity is still inundated.
The damage done in this district
stretching from the mouth of the Rio
Grande to Vera Cruz is unprecedented.
In the Monterey district alone the
loss OF life is. believed to have been
more than 1900. Many small towns
are completely wiped off the map. In
Monterey there is nothing to mark the
spot where manufacturing plants
stood.
Sixty miles of railroad track of the
National Railroad of Mexico were
wiped out in the Matamoras-Monterey
district. The National lines between
Saaltillo and Neuvo, Laredo have dis
appeared. 1t will be weeks before
trains can be run there. There is no
way by which provisions and medi-
cines can be carried.
In the San Juan valley the river
rose SO suddenly that the people had
no time to flee, until now. the Rio
Grande. always treacherous, threatens
millions of dollars worth of artificial
canals.
Reports from Aldamas, Herreras,
Bamone and Sabinas tell of nothing
but death and destruction.
The Soto la Marina river, which
flows into the gulf $50 miles south OF
Matamoras, is on rampage and crops
and houses along the banks have been
washed away. Between Matamoras
and Tuxpan and especially in the VI
cinity of Tampco, the tornado caused
tidal waves to sweep inland, complet-
ing the devastation begun by wind and
cloudburst.
The Tampico-Monterey division OF
the Mexican Central railroad has been
partially destroyed and the terminals
at La Barra- have been practically
wiped away.
The American consuls are trying to
find If any of the 5000 Americans in
Monterey have perished, but so great
Is the confusion that it is impossible
to compile an accurate death list,
Refugees in hundreds are pouring in
with tales OF grewsome horrors. They
say that the losses have fallen heav,.
est upon the poorer classes in the
santa Catarina valley. The poor peo-
pie lived in houses built of a soft rock
known as sillar, which offered no re-
sistance to the torrent. The rich peo-
pie lived usually upon the heights.
President Diaz Immediately took
steps to aid in the relief work. Troops
were put to work when 1t was posi-.
BILE, on relief work, and trains of pro.
visions. bedding and medicine were
started into the zone. Soldiers have
been stationed in various sections of
the district to prevent looting. The
waters recedmg, the soldiers will like.
ly police the whole region. Many resi-.
dents, touched by the appalling mis-.
cry of the sufferers, have thrown omen
their homes.
1t will be several days probably be-
fore the flood has entirely receded
and the rivers are back in their banks.
AT Ell Paso and other cities are large
numbers of refugees.
Subscriptions have been started in
other parts Of Mexico.