Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1917-02-15
Much Distress Results, According
to Rev. c. S. Williams,
Bucaramanga

Mrs. Maude Newell Williams OF
Baraboo has received letters from
Aer husband, Rev G. S. Williams,
Bucaramanga, Colombia, South Amer
lea. which tell of recent destructive
foods. Mrs. Williams Is now pa
tient in the Presbyterian hospital in
Chicago. The extracts from the let
&ers read as follows:
All communication with the exter-
ior is slow-Very slow. But the flood
is over. I do not know why the mail
service is so irregular, for the roads
are not bad now, and the river is
not unduly high. Pestilence has en-
tered where the food swept every
thing away. To the hundreds
drowned it seems probable that thou
sands will perish from the diseases
which the food has let loose upon
the population Of the inundated re-
gions. They do not say just what
''plaga" Is raging, but it Is easy to
understand. When it rains a. great
deal, the river is filled with the
putrid water out of those swamps all
along both sides Of it's valley. This
makes the water dangerous to drink,
yet they use 1t. Then, too, in this
case, the mortality Of people and cat
tie has been very great At one point
alone on the river it is estimated that
5000 head of cattle were drowned.
While the river probably carried
away most Of these, it is true that
there must be many hundreds of
these cattle and thousands Of wild
animals lodged in the jungle. The
presence of these, probably in close
proximity to where people are return
ing to their ruined homes, must be
very conducive to disease. It would
be impossible for the few people on
the river to bury all those dead ami
mails.
Then, too, there must be much ex-
posture, for every sort of habitation
was washed away. To be sure those
huts were not worth much, but at
least they afforded shelter from the
rain, and these people are now en-.
tirely without protection of any kind.
1t is a sorry situation all around.
Thousands of dollars have been
raised and distributed for the relief
of the sufferers, and steamerlOads OF
them have been rescued from RATS
floating houses, and out of tree tops
These have been taken to Barranquil
la, where they are being cared for
All of those wood, lots, where the
steamers bought their fuel, and which
to those people represented their
only fixed income, are swept away.
Their little plantations of plantain,
corn and yucca, which meant their
food for months TO come, were com
pletely devastated. The extent of
the damage is enormous. One may
not attempt to estimate it!
From a later letter. Written Deem
Der 20, 1915
The floods will affect our schools
materially. Hundreds have lost heav-
lily in the devastation, even among
those who did not live near the river.
Baranquilla is overcrowded with ref
ugees from all the inundated regions.
Every effort and resource of the city
is being strained to care for them.
talked last night with a man from
Miranda Bodega, on the Magdalena.
He says that for days the river was
literally full of huge trees, ranches,
carcasses of cattle, mules, horses,
wild animals of every conceivable de-
scription. Many live creatures were
among them, still struggling to keep
up. The islands soon became full
of such as could reach chem, and as
the waters continued to rise, and to
close over them, they crowded and
fought for the highest spots. He said
there were thousands Of them
snakes, squirrels, monkeys, jaguars
everything the jungle holds. H
was a terrible sight and one he would
never forget.