The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 16, 1901, Page 1

VOLUME XC-NO. 77. SAN FRANCISCO, FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 1901. —— PRICE FIVE CENTS. BOTH SIDES COMMITTING ATROGITIES RebelsDefeat Colombian Force a Few Miles From Colon. Mutilation of a Slain Soldier| in Revenge for Political Tortures. LR Guards Still Xept on Trains Between | Paname and Colon to Prevent Interruption of Traffic. S o KINGSTON, Jamalca, Aug. 15.—A large | number of wounded men belonging to the | Government troops were taken to Colon Monday. This is regarded tion of the of tacks. | B | the ettack made the Government | troops S few miles out of Colon, } the rebe ted the Gov force | e latter afterward | in the abdomen with both | s was a reprisal for | ment of nollt-‘ was e Gover: amouna has to be practically useless owing | attempts to mount heav; The Colombian Gov now negotiating for the pur- chase of the steamer Bernard Hall of the West and Pacific Steamship Company verpool. | Flee to Escape Danger. The Darien brought forty passengers | leave Colon in or- danger and to avoid y say the chances of 1ccess seem better than ever mencement of the re\'(\lu-‘ Consul at Colon has | against Jamaicans be- | Colombian Govern- against the rebels. kept on board the | trains running between Panama and Co- | lon. entered a protes ing compelled by ment to fight Protecting the Isthmus. Aug. 15.—It has mow | termined that the United | 1 be represented on the Pacific us of Panama as well side. held in readiness at San | wa is coming down to | to be ir readiness to go point. While the formal | ot been issued one or the | hese ships is to proceed south to | American interests. The | it will be the Ranger, er down the coast and the ot appear to warrant the presence of a battleship. Venezuela and Colombia Not at War. The State Department is without any | itional word from Colombia or Vene- the disorders. le does re was no actual war be- d Colombia, for he | diately cabled if | ¥ reports from the bat- ve been fought in Tachira, Venezuelan border, he did not be- 1 exaggerated to any great ex- ointed out that a single bat- volutionists in South Amer- ft more dead on the field whole Spanish-American in says to-day: hat the of Venezuelan It is this that terest of the' public on Venezuela is not on le consequence the United States.t Already the Cabinet at W gton has | announced that it has taken over the in. | terests of the Colombians in Venezuela. Already Mr. Hay has spoken of taking | energetic measures. Already the Amer- | ican press is shouting ‘Monroe,’ its old | war cry, which does not mean ‘America for Americans,’ but ‘America for the United States’ And already it is an- nounced that the States will undertake, 1t | need be, to bring President Castro to his | senses. Citizens of the United States have | in the rich arsenal of thelr slang a word ¢ which they make use frequently, not | in conversation, but also in thelr | diplomatic interferences. This word is| ‘grab.’ It is not impossible that the whule Venezuelan and Colombian affair will end by 2 bit of land grabbing and that here and there territory will be taken that win teach President Castro that it is danger- ous to attack the United States and will teach Colombians that it is dangerous to get it to defend them.” Pt A STRIFE IS HURTING TRADE. Commerce Between Various Countries | and Venezuela. San Francisco has less interest commer- cially, apart from the through traffic be- tween the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of United States, in the countries of Venezuela and Colombia than have the ic coast cities. The exportations of dise from San Francisco to Co- lombia in the year, 1829 amounted to only and in 1990 to only $104,507, accord- | statistics furnished to the| On the Pacific the merc the ing Chamber of .Commerce. coast of Colombia there are probably not over 50,000 persons dwelling. The ridges | of the Andes shut off access from the Pa- cific coast to a large part of the western Continued on Png; Two. Thus fer the| | fraires, expressed a firm| | i | | | ” | Z No Soundings Taken, but Contractors Claim That Operations Have Been Successful. RCH ROCK, menace to coast mar- iners and on which many a ship- ping fortune has split, went sky- ward vesterday afternoon. Thirty tons of gelatin did the trick. ‘With a low rumble and a sharp subse- quent explosion this landmark of the northern bay flew helter-skelter into space. Timbers, rock and sea water beat into a foam spread for a half-mile around the one time jutting rock. A small-sized tidal wave was kickedup. Thenall the dis- turbing elements subsided, and what was left of the danger to incoming ships had sunk beneath the troubled waters or scat- tered itself on the flood tide, only to be carried away by the current of the swift- 1y moving stream. The explosion which took Arch Rock away from the sight of men had been planned for many months. Two hundred and sixty holes had been drilled into the resisting rock, and they were all filled with the putty-like high explosive. The touch of a button 4000 feet from the rock set the destructive force in motion. Along the cable the message of annihilation journeyed. Simultaneously with the press- ing of this button the bomb burst. In startling succession a vast body of water, churned into a filmy cloud, rose upward, spreading itself over an area a full half-mile in length and several hun- dred yards in depth, Like a heavy ice- berg in the distance, it floated on the water and gradually melted into the sea. Then the turmoil disappeared® and the relict of shattered piles, planks, dead fish and a crust of yellowish foam told the tale of artificia! force agalnst a natural obstruction that will be seen no more. The blowing up of Arch Rock was a success from the engineering viewpoint. Spectacularly it was pretty mueh of a faflure. Thirty tons of gelatin—the nitro- glycerin explosive kind—and two acres of hard, impenetrable rock when brought into conjunction, and a terrible force ap- plied, naturally suggest a commotion of some sort. But thirty tons of gelatin placed as this was destroys like a deletive, demoniac agency, without creating a fu- ror or a prolonged tempest in its wake. The rock and the wharf timber surround- Ang the exposed portion of Arch Rock was erased. The explosion spread over a wide surface. There was no concentration, no towering funnel of water, no long-dis- tance hurling of stones and timber. The work was accomplished in workmanlike fashion, and the spectacie suffered in con- sequence. When Shag Rock was shat- tered to bits the water rose like a whirling spout with a milky cloak. It took some minutes to subside, and presented a sight that was full of beauty. The emulsion of sea water towered aloft and hung like a grim, huge specter over the scene of de- struction. It remained long enough for the sun to play upon it and produce glim- mering, scintillating light effects. There was none of this yesterday. Broad of base and comparatively low in height the cloud of water that was raised made a speedy ascent and almost as quick a de- scent. It was cf momentary duration and was over with before the spectators on shore and in boats realized just what had taken place. The noon hour was set for the explo- slon, but it was some little time after 12 o'clock before the dull, heavy rumble and the boom was heard. Tugs, launches, fishing smacks, rowboats, yachts and schooners had worked up to the point where the danger limit had been placed and all waited patiently for the upheaval. The Caroline steamed about with a heavy human load on board, the Governor Markham was there with the State of- ficers, the Governor Irwin and the Gov- ernor. Perkins with select guests kept well within distance, and all the smaller craft took up positions within easy sight range. The warning had gone out that no boat of any description should come within a radius of a mile to the scantlihgs that were builded round the rock, and the warning was well observed. On the wharves and hills overlooking the north- ern side of the bay were fringes of peo- ple expectant and hopeful for a spectacle equal in color and beauty to that which attended the blowing up of Shag Rock. Some climbed Telegraph Hill in:order to command a good view, and others went so far as to secure permits to land in Al- catraz. Photographers, amateur and pro- fessional, were perched on tugs and launches, on mainland and island. And O ARCH ROCK, A BAY MENACE TO MARINERS, IS BLOWN TO ATOMS WITH THIRTY TONS OF GELATIN EXPLODED FROM A BARGE A MILE FROM THE SCENE OF DESTRUCTION e SNAPSHOT PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE EXPLOSION OF ARCH ROCK AND SCENES AMID THE DEBRIS OF WOOD THAT WAS LEFT AS A RE- MINDER OF THE JUTTING ROCK. =3 From Spectacular Standpoint the Explosion Is Not Especially Startling all went home disappointed—not because the sight was not worth the seeing, but simply because in spectacular features it fell far short of its predecessor and did not reach the exalted standard of beau- teous splendor set by the skyward jour- ney of Shag Rock. The engineers who conducted the drill- ing and the boring and the filling of Arch Rock with gunpowder gave a plausible, physical explanation for the low expul- sion of the water. The holes were drilled into the rock 35 feet below the low water level. Very little of Arch Rock was -ex- posed to view, the greater portion spread- ing out beneath the surface of the water. At a level of thirty feet below the low water mark two acres of rock presented a working ground for the drillers. Just 260 holes were bored. In these were placed the gelatin and caps inserted with bombs of fulminate of mercury. Then groups of borings were arranged with wire attachments, all finally uniting In the one central wire which was attached yesterday morning and wusrealed for the distance of 4000 feet. The end of this wire was placed on the working barge. By means . of dynamic electricity the current was turned on, the caps set off and then the fulminating bombs did their work simultaneously. Up rose the water and the scantlings and the piles and the rocks. From a broad base the vapor shot into the air in two columns about. 200 feet high. These columns joined midway, leaving a cleft in what looked like craggy double peaked tapering hills of water. ‘When the low tidal wave that followed the explosion got under way the craft in walting started full steam to meet it, but so meager was the watery disturbance stirred up that it died before reaching the launches and tugs pounding along to the place where the arched rock used to be. From every side came fishing-smack and sail-boat. The seagulls ahead of the boats reaped a harvest of the small fish that floated on the water's surface. The Italian fishermen for the time forgot their calling and, pouncing down upon their prey of wood, made a great haul. Packing their boats with lumber, they feasted off the explosion as far as a firewood supply was concerned. The flood tide quickly carried the six-inch caked scum toward the city shores, but the drifting lumber ‘was hooked and hauled by the industrious fishermen, and there was enough wood for all. The wharf that had been built E — Italian FishermenReap Harvest of Wood. around Arch Rock was a big one, con- taining many thousand feet of timber. ‘While nq, definite knowledge can be had | whether or not the undertaking was a | success, the contractors are sanguine that the explosion accomplished all that required of it. An attempt was made at sounding yesterday afternoon, but the water was too rough to secure any satis- factory results. At slack water this morn- | ing the second attempt will be made. R. Axman, the manager of the Coast Con- tracting Company, which secured the con- tract from the Government on a $253,500 bid, says tMat he is perfectly satisfled with what has already been accomplish- ed. The next step in the work will be the dredging away of the 30,000 cubic yards of shattered rock. This, according to Man- ager Axman, will take all of ninety days. The blowing up of Arch Rock repre- sents the labor of of thirty-five men em- ployed steadily for ten months. Six drills have been working for eight months, and thr'e wWeeks ago the first explosive was placed in the tubes. Now that Arch Rock is no more the old salts of the bay are telling what they knew of it and its dangers. Here is a bit of entertaining history told by Pilot Frank Boyd: “When they come to survey that spot they will find every inch of ground in the vicinity of Arch Rock covered with an- chors and chains. Coasters and deep- water ships by the hundred have come within an ace of going on the rock and had to slip their anchors in order to get clear. The anchor, chain and hawse- pipe picked up by the Sea King on Monday was not that of the Autocrat. It belonged to the old American ship High- lander. The Highlander was making port early in 1861 and drifted down on Arch Rock In a fog. The anchor was let go and it held too well, tearing the hawse- pipe out of the ship and nearly all of the bow of the ship with it. The Highlander was afterward got off and her cargo was saved. “The first vessel that I remember being wrecked on Arch Rock,” continued Cap- was | HEH WATER FOLLOWS THE GULF STOA Mobile, Ala., Is Isolated From the Outside World. Many Summer Resorts and Homes in the Track of the Flood. It Is Feared That There Has Been Loss of Life Among Fishermen on Islands of Mississippi Sound. i il ATLANTA, Ga., Aug. 15.—The tropical | storm which has been raging along the gulf coast for two days has to-night com= | pletely isolated the city of Mobile, Ala., | from the outside world. It is known that | much damage has been done along the | water front in Mobile, but whether thers | has been any loss of life or not is mers conjecture. Nothing had been heard from | the country south of Mobile up to the | time the last wire to Mobile failed. | At 4:30 this afternoon the Western Union office at Mobile was abandoned, the water at that time being three feet deep in the | operating room. Two hours later communication was had for a few minutes with Mobile. The As- soclated Press operator there had made his way to the operating room in a boat. He took up his position on top of the switchboard, several feet above the floor of the office, and detaching the Associated | Press wire from its place on the board sent this message: Worse Things Expected. “Am on top of the switchboard hers with a lineman. The water Is over three feet deep in this room and it is still ris- ing. The wind is blowing at the rate of fifty miles an hour and we laok for worse things to-night. The business district is deserted—"" Here the wire failed and nothing more cculd be heard from him, although per- | sistent efforts were made. The water at | 3 p. m. was reported as high as in the great flood of 1393, although at that time the wind was not as high. From Mobile to Fort Morgan, a distance of thirty-five miles, and on both sides of the bay, summer resorts and summer houses are located. These were, it is belleved, in the direct path of the storm. The telegraph line to Fort Morgan runs around the bay through the country and covers eighty-five miles before it reaches the Govermment reservation. f Life Is Feared. t there has been loss of the islands in Mississippl | Sound, Just outside the bar below Fort M These islands are inhab- ited by French fishermen and are only about four or flve feet above the water | under ordinary stages and there was great loss of life in 1803 According to advices received in Ate lanta the Louisville and Nashville Rail- | road has been washed out near Chef Men- | tour, Lake Catherine, Lookout and Rige- lets. Two miles of Louisville and Nash- ville track through the Tensas swamp | west of Mobile is reported under water. | Al trains have been abandoned for the | present. Several bridges are reported out of plumb. The Weather Bureau has sent out spe- cial warnings to-night forecasting high wind for Alabama to-morrow. The Western Unlon Company has gangs of men and special engines waiting at | several points to move toward Mobile as soon as the tracks are clear of water. It is possible that they may restore | communication from this side within twenty-four hours, but from reports of damage done between New Orleans and Mobile it is believed that several days | will elapse before the wires are restored. gt e s Ahnbad It is | life on LIKE A BIG TIDAL WAVE. | Many Persons Believed to Have Been | Drowned in the Flood. NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 15—The storm which has been sweeping the Gulf coast from Pensacola and moving westward during the past two days has prostrated telegraph and telephone wires to such an extent that news from the outlying sec- tions is hard to get. The gravest fears have been entertained for the safety of the people living at Port Eads, which is at the mouth of the Mississippi River, and for the ships that started for sea just before the storm began. The wires to Port Eads have been prostrated since Tuesday night at 8 o’clock, but the Pica- vune reached a man who left there at 2 o'clock Wednesday. He was at Buras, which is sixty miles down the river, and the farthest point with which there is wire communication at the present time. This man describes the storm which swept that section as a regular tidal wave, sim- flar to the one which resulted In such awtul loss of life in 1593. He ¥ays all the people living on the east bank of the river have moved up to the “jump,” which is fifteen miles from' the mouth of the river.. The house of a man named Cob- den, half a mile above the quarantine station, was swept away, and the fifteen members of the family, including nine children, were drowned. The quarantine buildings were badly damaged, but no one injured. The big towboat Chamberlain was driven high and dry in the marsh, but her crew is safe. The Government boat Gen- eral Reese is belleved to have been lost. Captain O'Brien’s house was swept away. but he was on his boat, which was ve- lieved to be outside. The pile driver at Port Eads was sunk. The steamboat Buras was driven ashore near the light- house, and later it was reported that she Continued on Page Two 1 s e Continued on Page Twos