Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1923-10-05
HalloWell Local News
PARENTS RECEIVE LETTER FROM MISS
PERRY, M|SSI0NAR Y IN JAPAN, GIVING
VIVID TALE OF EAR THQUAKE CONDITIONS

using 1t Tor hospital, having taken
the patients from the largest foreign
hospital there just before the hos
pital burned. The patients are all
safe. The school gym and whole
yard of the compound is filled with
refugees. Koji machi-klI. including
our house at Hanzomon, was all
burned fiat. Miss Seeds stayed in
the neighborhood until our house
and DR.. Ozaki's new one were gone,
and then made her way safely to
Aoyama. She got very few of her
things packed up and o Masa San
(the maid) hauled them all the way
to Aoyama in a cart, but the most
valuable suit case, with her bank
the way. OF course I am better off
than Miss Seeds or Esther as ] had
so many things here, almost every
thing of Esther's was burned at the
station.
But I feel almost sacrilegious, even
speaking of things in the face of the
perfectly awful loss Of life. We are
| lust beginning to get news Of Yoko-
hama, and con1'tion there are worse
| than in Tokyc pecially' in the loss
! of life.
| So far as we l.now not foreigner
was killed in Tokyo. Here in the
| house there are a number Of Yoko-
hama people and up to now they
can get no word at all from their
relatives there. Think of it, Satur-
day noon to Tuesday night and still
| the awful suspense and uncertainty.
| They have all been just wonderful in
| the way they have borne 1t, so calm
and steady.
Wednesday morning.
left this last night and went to
. bed as I had been up since Ave
. thirty and had lost so much sleep
the last few nights. You see the
quakes have kept coming even up to
now. although we have not had any
! of any size for the last twenty-four
hours Many of the folks in the
folks in the house did not go to bed
at all the first two nights, much less
get any slep. l went to bed every
night but with part of my clothes on
and the rest handy. l slept some.
too even the first night. l did not
see any sense in staying up, there
was nothing to be done and the folks
who did only made themselves more
nervous by talking. But l thought !
might need my strength later and I
better rest while l could Miss Rus
sell and Miss Chase, (they have both
or two others felt and did the same
When a quake would come 1 would
rouse up and wait a little to see If
1t was going to get worse, and when
il did not. | would lie downFagain.
You see | am on the ground floor
so it would not have taken me long
to get out. 1t did give one a rather
queer uncertain feeling to have the
quakes keep on coming. but think
what it must have been in Tokyo. to
keep on having them with the fires
raging all over the city. I cannot
conceive what it has been like down
there. 1t is too terrible to think
about. Esther said in her note to
me that the last things she saw as
she escaped from the station We're
unspeakable For the last three days
we have spent good deal Of time
by the post office and bulletin board,
where any news is given out. 1t has
been pitiful to stand there and see
the people as one after another
heard that the part of the city where
he or she lived had been destroyed
The people with homes and fam
lilies. it seems to me will suffer most
because they had more to lose. and l
think the business people out here
Will suffer more than the mission
aries. for we have the boards back
of us and we know that we will be
given shelter somewhere and our
salaries Will so on. But many of
them We're in concerns where all
their money was invested and they
will he simply stranded. Of course
they will have some help. hut know
they feel more lost and helpless now