THE JAMAICA EARTHQUAKE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13857, 21 March 1907, Page 2

THE JAMAICA EARTHQUAKE.

. , STORY: OP AX KYE WITNESS, Tho (following-lcf.lor was written to his wife -i 0 Hnu'lam! by Mr L. J. Bertram, C.jl.G. (brother of .Mrs J. .7. Maekie, of thin c who is Auditor-general of Jamaica E— \ . "I dtVhopo that you haye not wen frightenc'd ma of your irits by the report of our cati bquako. 'With iny usual luck, Death hat} just run his fingers through my hair, ami Jeft, me scathlcss. At 3.34- p.m. yesterday -I was in the Marine Board room when twe felt the shock. The other fellows bolt, sd out; I remained where I was. I thounltt it Vwm a. loujr aud very bad slake, and was quit -blinded by the clouds of. dust that-filled th w room. When I gol- outside, ,to my surpri so any bicycle was covered by tho .bricks <. if t lie collector's office, ami liero 1 had tV> leavo it. Black fountains iwcro spurting tip through'llie ground, and all the rum store* were in rnins. I /ilturricd aft' lo 'liny office, but. to my horror .found Harbom' street -blocked with tho ruins of the walls of the 6toros on both sides. Tolepho no and' power wires were all over tho place. ' Men and women covered with blood everywhere. I got to my office and locked up something of value; rushed out 'again lo iixl Harbour street, ablaze. I got out tlio tiro bose, about. 100 yards, and dragged it«ower-the masses of brick in iho middle of t-lao street with the object of keeping ithcfr.w- olf the offices. Young rusliW only and mo —~ was covered up by omuof his office walls. Another man begged- me to turn the. hose on to Macliado.'s. where, he said. 10 cigar,imkerti were -under the ruins—tho firo was jiart getting at. the place where tliev were. Eor nearlv an '-hour and a-half 1 stood close tmder 20ft of loitering walls and fought that-fire. Whether, the men were saved or not 1 don't know.' li.v this time t-lio tiro bad como down the other side of the street. and'a puff of wind drove the Haines right-down on me. 1 made a desnernto effort to get- tho hose away. but J was absolutely, (load bent, ami foil down. I had lo drop Iho nozzle and crawl back a few yards to breathe. I went kick again and iiiudo another effort, but my muscles were gone, and f had to give it- up. Mr Sale and his little, tiro brigade worked like demons, but after lie left the hand-pipe 1 was absolutely alone. The people seemed to bo quite demoralised. It took me an awful time to get home. When 1 had picked up a bit. I went out again, ami .rot some rice 'cooked for a lot of pcor folk, whose houses were flat. 1 got- a fewwinks of sleep in a cottage, and then went home- to trv and save my belongings at about 5 o'clock this morning. The house ,'s ;L dangerous ruin, like every other twoslorev b'r.iek house in Kingston. The .Tnmiiica Club i<s all to pieces, and ——. u'ho was playing billiards at the time with ——, rushed out and was killed by the falling walls. It is impossible to say how m'aiiv were destroyed' in this way—i.e.. bv the walls falling outwards on them as they rushed into the street. . of mv office, lias le-jt two bows and two girls: one bov is still Iving under the ruins of the Savings Haul;. The surgeon of the Port Kingston did « operations between yesterday, and to-day.''