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Cadl., VOLUME XCII-NO, 173. SAN FRANCISCO, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1902. PRICE FIVE CENTS. FIVE THOUSAND GUATEMALANS KNOWN TO HAVE PERISHED IN TERRIBLE OUTBURST OF VOLCANO’'S WRATH, AND TWO-THIRDS S | from starvation, exposure and the violence of robber bands. | fully half of the bearing plantations are utterly destroyed. / BIG ALAMEDA MOLE, DEPOT AND TRAINS DESTROYED BY FIRE Flames Break Out in Great Wooden Struc-| | ture and Men Battle in Vain Against the Raging Element. Ferryboat Steams Out of Slip Her Super- structure Ablaze and Leaves Behind Part of Crew to Fight for Life. T an early hour this morning fire broke out on the Alameda nar- row gauge mole, and withina little while both it and the fine depot building of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company were in flames The red glare lighted the heavens and arrested the startled gaze of hundreds of people in Oakland and San Francisco who happened to be on the streets. Reports of the progress of the fire reached Oakland rapidly after the es first shot into the air. I the freight and passenger cars at the mole were soon enveloped, “as was the new freight slip, and all were soon a total loss. In the passenger slip when the fire broke out lay the ferry-boat Oakland. She had left San Francisco gbout 12 o'clock on her last trip for the night, and as soon as she reached the mole all of her crew save those who were to sleep aboard went ashore. Excitement over the probable fate of the Oakland ran high among those who watched the progress of the fire. Telephone messages were sent to this city asking that fire tugs be sent over, and they at once started for the fire, nates of the loss, excluding the ferry-boat from the calculations, were soon placed at $200.000. Fire Chief Ball of the Oakland department hurried to West Oakland and dispatched engines from there to the mole. fla Continued on Page 2, Column € —— el THE PLAZA AT QUEZALTEMNAGO; _— —_—— = IMDIANS . ) . A ssomTiNnG COoFFEE- o = 4 Refugees Arriving From Champerico Say President Cabrera Refused to Let Pleasures OF THE RICH COFFEE BELT IS TURNED INTO A DESERT WASTE REFUGEES reaching San Francisco yesterday on the steathship City of Para bring confirmation of the earlier accounts of the loss of life and property through the volcanic eruption of October 24. Advices from Champerico place the fatalities at 5000, with theusands more facing death Two-thirds of the rich coffee belt of Guatemala is buried benecath sand and ashes, and A LOADED ‘“WITH COFFEE ' COWPEE TEEES 1IN THE BACKKEROUND, LA VirdA,, SUATBMALA B e T G -~ hfl B WELL, KIED UNDER ASHES SCENES IN STRICKEN GUATEMALA AND'PL"HTE* WHO TELLS OF CATASTROFHE — —fe —+ of Fiesta Be Interrupted, and That His fiolky Has Blocked Work of Relief. HE Pacific Mail Company’s steamship City of Para, which arrived yesterday from Central America, had on board five refugees from Guatemala whose stories more than confirm the first accounts of the devastation wrought in the coffee country by the volcanic disturbances of October 24. Thevolcano, which burst into actiyity from El Ro- sario, a'small mountain that has hitherto nestled peacefully un- der the western shadow of Santa Maria, has spread death and’ ruin over the greatest coffee garden on earth and has converted the most beautiful valleys of Central America into parched wil- dernesses. i Men that a few weeks agocounted their wealth by the tens of thousands are to-day homeless and penniless and dependent even for their transportation from this land of ruin and sudden horror upon the steamship companies that yesterday begged for the privilege of carrying to the world’s markets the products of their now buried plantations. The loss of life, as far as can be ascertained, was confined largely to the poor of the land. Of these some five thousand are known to have perished outright, smothered in the deadly dust that in some districts has buried the land to a depth of ten feet. Those that were not killed outright are known to be in sore distress. - The blanket of volcanic ashes not only destroyed their food supply, but dried up the rivers and wells. Without food, clothing, shelter or water, isolated by the desolation of their - land from the outside world that might be -able to help them, they are dying like sheep in a drought. Outlaws Rob and Murder Fleeing Victims To add to the horror of the situation, bands of robbers are scouring the land and despoiling the refugees of such treasures as they have managed to save from the wrecks of their homes and fortunes. The little party of Guatemalans that arrived here yesterday encountered a number of these human birds of prey, but were well equipped for taking care of themselves and were * - Continued on Page Two, Column One. * | | i CHIRA MARES PREPARATIONS IR W Hali a Million Men Under Arms Are Drilling, Great Fighting Force Will Be Ready for Operations in 2 Year. Special Dispatch to The Call. VICTORIA, B. C., Nov. 19.—According to mafl advices received from China, great activity prevails in the navy yards at Hongkong and other points where the British squadrons are outfitting as a re- sult of warlike preparations which have been started by the Chinese Government— for what purpose remains to be seen. ‘When the last advices were received from Hongkong the warships were provision- ing and taking on stores. The sloop-of- war Algerino, 1060 tons: the sloop-of-war Esplegle, 1130 tons, and the first-class cruisers Amphitrite, 11,000 tons, have left Hongkong for the north hurriedly, and the first-class battleship Albion, 12,500 tons; the first-class cruiser Blenheim, 9000 tons: the second-class cruiser Talbot, 5600 tons: the first-class battleship Ocean, 12,- 950 tons, and the first-class cruiser Cressy, 12,000 tons, were being made ready to sail north. The Welsh Fusileers, who were to have left Hongkong, have been detained in con- sequence of the situation. The Chinese Government, which has been secretly enlisting forces in all of thé pgpvinces of China, has ordered the Viceroy of the two Kwang provinces to report to Peking what troops could be raised and be ready for service in those provinces. The Viceroy replied that 50,~ 000 men were ready for service. In this connection a Peking correspond-~ ent of the North China Daily News writes to that paper to the effect that within a few years there will be in all probability anether upheaval in China. He says: * ‘The Empress Dowager never forgets." This is the constant boast of the Empress Dowager and this she always declares to those arcund her whenever the events of 1900 and 1901 are referred to in her pres- ence. This means, of course, that she will not forget her suffering and the sufferings Continued on Page 3, Column €. |