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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 1906)
4 1 -- SCENE OF DlSm Valparaiso Splendid City and Port of West Coast. ENCIRCLED BY MOUNTAINS Handsome Buildings Along Narrow Beach and Palatial Residences on Steep Cliffs Reached ' ' by Elevators. 'Valparaiso !a a fortified seaport of, Chile, and the most Important commer cial town of the Western Coast of South America. It has a population of about 160.000. It is the capital of the province of that name and is situated on a large bay In the Pacific Ocean, 75 miles west northwest' of Santiago, with which it Is connected by rail. The lower central section of the city is constituted by the Almedral, having reg ular and attractive streets and containing the principal business houses, the Plaza Victoria and the National Theater. To the northwest of this section Is the quarter of the city known as the Puvrto (or port), in which are situated the greater number of public buildings and the vast warehouses which line tna quays and docks. In this portion of the city, however, narrow and crooked streets are Btill a feature, but the newer sections of Val paraiso have an attractive, modern ap pearance, the buildings in the business quarter being massively built. Bay Surrounded by Hills. The Bay of Valparaiso, which Is well sheltered on three sides, la bounded by ranges of hills rising from 1600 to 1700 feet high, on the slopes of which a con siderable portion of the City of Valparai so is built. On the south side of the bay are the spacious suburbs of Nuevo, Male con and Gran Avenida, from which passes out one of the finest of thorough fares of Valparaiso, the Avenida de las DeMcas. Among the monuments in Valparaiso are thosw to Columbus, Wheelwright (who established steam navigation on the Chilean coast). Admiral Pratt and Thom as Cochrane, organizer of the Chilean navy. The city has various academic and collegiate Institutions, a naval school, school for marines, museum of natural history, hydrographlc bureau, etc., and Its industrial establishments comprise foundries, railroad and machine phops, sugar refineries, breweries, distilleries, large bottling works and factories of all kinds. Elevators connect the lower parts of the city with the villa section on the heights. The port of Valparaiso Is the terminus of many important lines of steamers for Europe by way of the Straits or Magellan and Panama, and Is the center of the South American coasting services. It contains numerous foreign colonies, composed chiefly of British, German and French merchants. There Is a custom house wharf, alongside of which steamers of any tonnage can moor, but most of the loading Is done by lighters from a quay surrounding the town. The harbor Is ' defended by moiWn, well-mounted batteries. ' Many Previous Earthquakes. Severe storms and a tidal wave at Val paraiso June 30, 1899, wrecked the rail road and did great damage to the city. Valparaiso was visited by severe earth quakes in 1730 and 1S22, and by lesser shooks in 1839 and 1S73. It suffered from fire in November, 1858, ana March 31, 1806, a Spanish fleet laid part of It in ruins from bombardment. It has been a city of calamity. Much of the foreshore has been raised by earthquake. Where Valparaiso stands the enterprise of 'the Chilenos. aided by English and German capital, has built the finest port on the west coast of South America. The harbor is spacious and beautiful. Ten months a y?ar it Is safe for shipping. The remaining two months, when north ern gales are frequent, vessels are often driven from the anchorage and compelled to cruise about In order to avoid the rocks on which the city is built. The harbor is circular in form, with an entrance a mile or two wide facing tne north. According to William E. Cur tis, late Commissioner from the United States to the governments of Central and South America, .trade is practically con trolled by Englishmen. . Miscalled Vale of Paradise. Valparaiso means the "Vale of Para dise." However, this is a misnomer, for there Is no vale; neither are there any symptoms of Paradise. A mountain ridge, almost perpendicular, forms a crescent around the bay, towards the shores of which descend steep rocky escarpments. Here and there, water courses have fur rowed ravines, or barancas as they are called, which offer the only means ol reaching the outer world. Along the narrow strips of sand which lie between the sea and the cliffs, the town stretches three or four miles. In some places, there Is width enough' for only a single street, at others for three or four running parallel to each other. The only artery of commerce In Valpa raiso is "the Calle Victoria," stretchinR around the entire harbor and skirted by 11 the banks, hotels, counting houses of wholesale flrmsv shops of retailers, gov ernment buildings and fine private resi dences. During the day the Irregular rows of houses, of different shapes and A 'I inr elevations, clinging to the precipices, look as if an earthquake would easily shake them Into the bay.- Beautiful Buildings and Stores. The business portion of Valparaiso, along the beach, shows some beautiful architecture, more elaborate than any where else in Central and South America. No city in the United States with the population of Valparaiso has so many handsome shops or so, numerous costly and luxurious ' articles. The people are wealthy, and the foreign element is large and rich. The place Is famous, as is San tiago, for the extravagance of its citizens. The private residences of the rich are palatial. Millions of dollars are expend ed. There are magnificent clubs, public reading-rooms, picture galleries, etc. Parks and plazas are filled with superb fountains, statuary, bronze and marble. Santiago Is reached from Valparaiso by a railway similar in equipment to those of Europe. The scenery along the line Is picturesque, the snow caps of the Andean peaks being1 constantly in view, and Aconcagua, the highest mountain on this' hemisphere, being seen the entire distance. A few miles from Valparaiso and the first station on the road is Vln del Mar, the Long Branch of Chile, where many of the wealthy residents of "the country have fine establishments and usually spend the Summer. It Is the most fashionable resort of South Aracr-, lea. The Journey to Santiago Is made in about five hours. Climate Like St. Louis. The climate of Valparaiso is simi lar to that of St. Louis or Wash ington. The people, believing that fires are unhealthful, wear the heav iest underclothing. The shops do not open until 10 A. M., closing from 5 to 7 I'. M., to allow the proprietors and clerks to dine; are then opened again until midnight. The shops are in the arcades or portals, like the Palais Royal, in Paris. The Bantlagoans boast that everything that Is found In Paris may be secured at their shops. There are whole blocks in Valparaiso In which nothing but corrugated iron to SCENE IN THE INSIDE COCRT OF THE HOTEL VINA DEL MAR, SHOWING THE tCXCRIANT TROPICAL VEGETA TION WHICH BKAl'TUqtS THE CITY OF VALPAKAIS. " houses may be seen, both roof and I walls being of the same material. Peo- I pie expect an earthquake every once In 10 days the year around, but heretofore no great damage has been done. The temblor, a quivering or shaking of the ground, has bet.n quite common. Convulsions of the earth when they crack and roll like the swell of the ocean, have been confined in former years to the mountain districts and the neighborhood of volcanos. PRINCIPAL FIRMS OF CITY. American and European Capitalists V ' Which Lose by Disaster. NEW YORK, Aug. 17. The principal bankers of Valparaiso are A. Ed wards & Co., W. R. Grace & Co., Williamson, Balfour & Co.. the Bank of Chile, the Bank of Chile & Germany, the German Trans-Atlantic Bank, the Span ish Bank of Chile, the Hypotrearlo, the Italian Bank, the Mobillaro Bank, the National Bank, the Bank of Santiago and the Bank of Tarapaca & Argentina. The shipping- companies of Valparaiso include the New York & Pacific Steam ship Company, the Pacific Steam Naviga tion Company, the West Coast Line, the Gulf line, the Vlllo Steam Packet Com pany, the Chilean Navigation Company, the South American Steamship Company and the Lamport & Holt line. Among the leading commercial houses are W. R. Grace A Co., the Chilean Trad- THE MORNING OKEGONIAN. SATURDAY," AUGUST 18. 1906. BIRDSEYE VIEW ivt - lng Company, James & Alexander Brown, R. W. Bailey & Co., C. I. K. Lassander, A. L. Ardrlce & Co., John 9. Beaver & Co., Duncan, Fox &. Co., Balfour, Lyon & Co., Edmond, Sons & Co., Herbert Jones & Co., the French Commercial Society, Deutsche & Co., Agulllar, Brama & Co., Davis 4 Co., Wlegand & Co., G. Paolo Gasso, Graham, Rowe & Co., and Weir, Sott & Co. The Central and South American Tele graph Company early today received this message from Valparaiso: "People demoralized; all business houses closed; no prospect of an early restora tion of lines to Santiago or Buenos Ayres." LOS ANDES SUFFERS BADLY Town Far North of Valparaiso Has Many Wrecked Houses. LONDON, Aug. 17. A dispatch to the Reuter Telegram Company from Buenos Ayres this evening says: "Telegraphic communication with Chile Is still Interrupted. Santiago and Valparaiso are completely cut off. The Pacific cables are only working from Equique northward. It . is cer tain that a number of houses have been wrecked at Los Andes." Los Andes, also known as Andes and Santa Rosa de ,Los Andes, is a town of Chile, province of Aconcagua, 18 miles by rail from San Felipe de Acon cagua, capital of the province of Acon cagua. San Felipe is 40 miles north of Santiago, with which It Is connected by rail. Chilean Minister Has No News. WASHINGTON. Aug. 17. Washington Is without advices tonight regarding the earthquake in Chile. Neither the State Department nor the Chilean Legation re- i celved any dispatches regarding tbe dis aster. The Chilean Minister Is absent, and Senor don Manuel J. Vega is the Charge. WILL SEND NEWS TOMORROW Valparaiso Cable Closes, Keeping World in. Dread Suspense. NEW YORK, Aug. 17. At 11:30 o'clock tonight the central cable office of the Western Union Telegraph Com pany received a service message stat ing that the "Valparaiso office is closed until 7 o'clock tomorrow morn ing." No reason is given for this and neither this nor any other message re ceived by the company tonight throws any more definite light upon the situa tion. Disturbances Felt in Honolulu. HONOLULU. Aug. 17. The tide gauges here show a disturbance, apparently of distant origin. Beginning at 5:23 o'clock this morning, three waves per hour have been Indicated, showing an oscillation from the normal tides -of between three and four inches. No Serious Damage at Mendoza. LONDON, Aug. 17. The earthquake shock felt at Mendoza, Argentina, last night, did not result in any serious conse quences, according to a dispatch to the Reuter Telegram Company from Buenos Ayres. OF THE CITY OF VALPARAISO, CHILE , -'1 3 i REGION -OF EARTHQUAKES SUCH DISTURBANCES OFTEN, SAYS W. H. STAVER. Former Resident of Ecuador Tells of Conditions Along Western Coast of South America. W. H. Staver, an American minfhg engineer, who nas - lived in Ecuador a number or years and whose wife formerly resided in the ill-fated city of Valparaiso, was a g-uest of the Ore gon Hotel yesterday and was able to tell more abou,t South American earth quakes than anyone in Portland, when the news or the Chile disaster was reported. Mr. Staver Is very well known throughout the United States and southern countries as a mining ex pert of unusual ability, and he is In sole control of extensive properties In Ecquador, his familiarity with all por tions of South America giving him an advantage over many Americans who engage in business in that climate. "That portion of South America Is frequently visited by earthquakes," he said, in speaking of the Valparaiso disaster, "but the fact that the city is built on hills has saved it from -tidal waves. About 12 years ago an Eng lish vessel was swept in by a wave and is yet in plain view fully 15 miles inland from the water's edge. In Ecuador we have three or four quakes a month, and in the last four years there have been two very severe ones. In addition to those we have there Sangui, the most active volcano in the world, In the province of Canar. This volcano has from 75 to 225 eruptions dally and the ashes from it float as far as 200 miles. "An eruption from the noted Cotopaxl - VlV-jV' ' " i 4 . . is now overdue and the natives look for a violent disturbance at any time. This volcano Is snow covered except ing about the crater and is supposed to have an eruption every 125 years. Shortly after the eruption of Mount Pelee it became active and ever since has continuously given oft volumes of smoke, fire and ashes. It experienced a slight eruption In 1877, but it was not a true one, as the lava was emitted from a new crater. It flowed a dis tance of 25 miles, however, covering houses and, doing much damage, and the inhabitants of Latacunga are still much alarmed over the situation. "During the latter part of last Jan uary there was a severe subterranean upheaval along the western coast of South America, which twice severed the cable of the Central and Southern American Telegraph Company. I vis ited Panama last February and as we entered the harbor there was a small tidal wave, but it did no damage. "The siesmetic disturbances of the last two years have been particularly frequent The men In my employ keep a record of such disturbances, and also of the temperature and rainfall and we often furnish the authorities at Washington with Information, a mat ter which has interested the Ameri cans living in South America very much is the work of the French Gov ernment there in conducting a meas urement of one degree of arc on the equator to determine the size and shape of the earth. The French are doing similar work in all parts of the world and making maps of the entire H IT'"' '1 lilll ".ill 1 world, which will be of Incalculable value to them In case of war with any other country." Mr. Staver had Just returned from Eastern Oregon, where he examined properties near Powder, and he left last night to make his first visit to the famous mining regions of South ern Oregon,, He was unable to express an opinion on the future of mining In this state until familiarizing himself more thoroughly upon the subject by personal inspection. As Bad as San Francisco Shock. . LONDON, Aug. 17. Professor John Milne, the seismologist, reports from the Isle of Wight that his records indicate an earthquake as great as that of San Fran cisco, lasting for five hours, apparently located along the coast considerably north of Valparaiso. SAN - FRANGISCO OF SOUTH VALPARAISO THE GREATEST SEAPORT OF SOUTH AMERICA. John F. Caples, ex-United States Consul, Describes City In Which He Resided for Several Years. Judge John F. Caples, who was a United States Consul at Valparaiso for a number of years and only returned from that city four years ago, gave an Interesting description of Chile's greatest seaport yesterday, when interviewed by an Oregonlan reporter. Judge Caples spent considerable time In Valparaiso and is thoroughly acquainted with that city and the surrounding country. "Valparaiso Is the San Francisco of South America. It Is the greatest seaport on the west coast of South America, and hundreds of vessels from all over the world made their anchorage there. "The city Is situated at the base of a long range of tall mountains, and con sists of really two cities the old. El Puerto, and the new. El Almendral. The city originally was situated at the foot hills of these mountains, but it grew in the direction of the bay," and here we find, the same as in San Francisco, that almost the entire down-town or business district of the city was built on filled or so-called 'made' ground. Narrow streets, low adobe buildings and tropical profu sion of vegetation are the chief charac teristics of the stricken city. The resi dences were mostly made of adobe, one story high, as people were always pre pared for earthquakes. In fact, when I was there hardly a week would pass without Its usual tremblor. When first felt the people would flock into the streets and stay there until It was all over. But earthquakes In Valparaiso were such common occurrences that people did not pay much attention to them. "The business district," continued Judge Caples, "has more pretentious buildings. Buildings of four and five stories are not unusual, all of which were built on the filled ground. "Of the population of about 150.000 In habitants, the majority are native Chil eans, but there Is a large German colony, an English colony and a fair-sized Amer ican colony. The principal street. Calle Blanca, Is filled with modern business houses. Most of these are In the hands of the Germans, but the largest store in the city belongs to an American firm, Grace & Co. A number of large Amer ican firms have their branches In Val paraiso, as that Is the distributing point and the industrial center of the west coast of South America. "The Bay of Valparaiso, which is well eheltered on three sides. Is bounded by an amphitheater of heights, rising to 1700 feet, on the slopes of which a consider able part of the city is built. On its uuth side are the spacious Nuevo Male con and Gran Avenida, from, which passes out one of the finest of the city's thor oughfares, the Avenida de las Dellclas. The lower central section of the city is constituted by the. Almendral, with reg ular and attractive streets, which con tain the principal business houses, the city park, the Plaza Victoria and the Na tional Theater, one of the finest In South America. Northwestward of this section, in the quarter known as the Puerto, are the greater number of the public build ings and the vast warehouses which line the quays and docks. Narrow and crooked streets are still a feature of this part of the city. The newer sections of Valpa raiso have an attractive, modern appear ance, the business quarters being mas sively built. "Valparaiso has various academic and collegiate institutions, a naval school, a My Hair Perhaps your mother has thin hair! But that is no reason why you must go through life? with half-starved hair. If you want long, thick, heavy hair, you must feed it. Feed it with vi regular hair-food Ayer's Hair Vigor. "Well-fed hair stops fall ing out, keeps soft and smooth, and grows long and heavy. Feed your starving hair with Ayer's Hair Vigor! w&S2i: is . - - ,-aL I 7 school for marines, hydrographlc bureau and a 'large museum of natural history. Among the city's monuments are those to Columbus Wheelwright, who estab lished steamship navigation on the Chil ean coast: Thomas Cochrane, organizer of the Chilean navy, and Admiral Prat. "The present population of Valparaiso Is near 150.000. During the Spanish do minion Valparaiso was a place of very little note. It hardly had 6000 souls. "Spanish is mostly spoken and the pop ulation retained many of the Spanish cus toms. On the whole. It was a progressive community, much given over to gaiety, but with a keen sense for development. "A railroad, nearly 100 miles long, con nects Valparaiso with Santiago, the cap ital of Chile, which has all of the Gov ernment buildings. From there the rail road continues Inland into Argentina. "The city was founded in 1534, and has a most Interesting history. It was taken by-Drake in 1578, captured by Sir Richard Hawkins' expedition in 1595 and in 1538 taken by Dutch pirates. It was bom barded by a Spanish fleet under Admiral Nunez In 1866. who laid a large part of the city In ruins. Finally In 1891 it was the scene of the decisive battle between the Congressional party and the insur gents. "Valparaiso has had a number of se rious earthquakes, but If the telegraphic dispatches are correct," concluded Judge Caples, "this is the most serious catas trophe of any the city ever had. As a whole, the city was very . beautiful and an ideal residence city." RUINED BY EARTHQUAKE (Continued From Page 1.) The shipping in the port was not Injured. The streets which suffered most were Calles Blanco, CondVll and Esmaralda, and those in the Delicias district, where the best residences are. SHOCKS THROUGHOUT CHILE Valparaiso and Other Towns Are Wrecked and Volcano in Eruption. NEW YORK, Aug. 18. A cable dispatch to a morning paper from Buenos Ayres says: According to the Information received here, a large number of buildings have been destroyed in Valparaiso, and the loss of life is said to have been large. for Infants Y - '-J r,,ip.ii,ii-:LJ !i!jJL-ii-- : - .-rir iQrWMJ Castoria is ft harmless substitute for Castor Oil, Pare goric, Drops and Soothing Syrups. It is Pleasant. It contains neither Opium. Morphine nor other Narcotio substance. It destroys AVorms and. allays Feverishness. It cures Diarrhoea and "Wind Colic. It relieves Teething- Troubles and cures Constipation. It rejrulates the Stomach and Bowels, frivinfr healthy and natural sleep. The Children's Panacea The Mother's Friend. The Kind Yon Have Always Bought Bears the In Use For Over 30 Years. WE NEVER DISAPPOINT OUR PATIENTS MEN'S No vitality, prematurely old, with loss of memory, no energy, whose cases In the beginning were simple ailments of sume. contracted disease which was poorly treated. These cases of simple Infection soon develop into deep-seated and chronic debility which soon pass beyond the reach of medical aid unless properly treated. We Care this class of Cases. No Failures. Why Lives Are Wrecked Many men whose cases were simple in the beginning were not able to pay the exorbitant fees charged by many Specialists on Men's Diseases, or who went to specialists who were not qualified to diagnose and prop erly treat these private diseases of men, from lack of knowledge and proper office equipment. The X-Ray-Statlc, Microscope, etc., are all nec essary office -equipments that every up-to-date specialist must have in his office in order to make diagnosis of each und every case and for proper treatment of diseases. We have all these equipments In Our Of fice. We know before we undertake a case .lust what treatment is nec essary to restore the patient to health. In this way we do not fall. We cure our patients. Write for symptom blank if you cannot call. HOURS A. M. to- S P. M. Evenings, 7 to S. Sundays, 9 A. M. to 11 M. ST-LOUIS Medical and Snrelcal DISPENSARY CORNER SECOND AND YAMHILL STREETS. PORTLAND. OREGON. 1 . 1 : .4 3 i .-. ' ..... . 5! I, .:s a f 3 ' 'v. 1- - r p s r" 1 The disturbance was general throughout Chile, and was felt at some points in the Argentine Republic. News of the disaster is meager, owing to the fact that telegraphic communica tion Is cut off, the shocks having thrown down the telegraph lines. From the de tails obtained, it appears that there were several shocks, the disturbance passing south along the Pacific Coast and cross ing the Andes. The shocks were severe, according to the registration of the seis mograph Instruments here and at Santa Rosa and Andes City. The property loss is enormous. Many houses were thrown down, Including Gov ernment House. During the night the volcano Tupan gato, on the Chile-Argentine border, was heard roaring and the people fled to the churches to pray for safety. At San Juan, in the Andes, high winds accompanied the shocks. The shocks at Andes City were very severe. The shocks seriously affected the towns of Rosario, Arenas, Rloga, San Luis and Tucumon. MANY DEAD AT LOS ANDES Mendoza Has Vague News, but None From Valparaiso. BUENOS AYRES, Aug. 17. The news papers this evening publish telegrams from Mendoza (which Is an entrepot for the trade between Buenos Ayres and Chile, with which It communicated by the mountain passes of Uspaltala and Portillo) to the effect that many houses 1n the Los Andes district were destroyed by the earthquake and that there have been a large number of casualties. The Interruption of all means of com munication with Chile causes much anx iety. Many rumors of disaster are afloat. Insurance Companies Lose Much. LIVERPOOL, Aug. 17. Most of the British fire Insurance companies have in terests in Valparaiso, Chile, but the amount involved is not nearly so great as was the case In San Francisco. Up to a late hour this evening the Insurance com panies had not heard from their repre sentatives at Valparaiso. and Children. Signature of DISEASES CURED Pay Unlett Cured TVe eure Skl Dloease. Blood Poison, Varlcorele, Stricture, Jiervou Decline, Weakness, Piles, Fis tula and Diseases of the Kidneys, Bladder and Prostate. Private Diseases Newly contracted and chronic cases cured. All burning. Itching and Inflammation stopped in 24 hours; cures effected in seven days. Established Twenty-five Years in Portland W'a Anil manv weak and sufferlna' men. with lost