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Show iTll)AL WAVE iiE'TjEBAteLANDS I all having been" swept away by-the stor.m,Vv . The French . government, upon re-ceipt re-ceipt of news of the disaster,' tools prompt measures to relieve the distressed dis-tressed district and dispatched two warships, the Duranee and Zelee,' with fresh water and provisions. The Italian Ital-ian man-of-war .Calabria accompanied the two, French vessels on their errand of mercy. As the supply of fresh water and provisions was totally exhausted by the storm, it is feared that many lives will be lost before the relief ships arrive. . As the islands were barely twenty feet above sea, leyel, and not surrounded sur-rounded by coral reefs,, it was necessary neces-sary for all the inhabitants to take to the cocanut trees when the tidal wavoc j began to cover the land. These trees , grow to an' Immense height, many reaching an altitude of 100 feet. All of the' lower trees were covered by the raging seas, which swept with pitiless force about and over them. The natives na-tives in the taller trees were safe until the cocoanut roots gave way, and then they, too, were swept onward, tar out into the sea. The 400 survivors brought ONE THQUSAND NATIVES" 'e'N--GULFED BY TIDAL WAVE. Terrible Story of Devastation and Death' Which Comes From the So- ' - ciety Islands Surviving In-, habitants Destitute of Food and Shelter. .News of a fearful loss of life in a destructive storm that swept over the South Sea islands last month has reached San Francisco on the steamer Mariposa, direct from Tahiti. The loss of life is estimated at 1,000 souls. . On January 13 last a huge tidal wave, accompanied ac-companied by-a terrifle hurricane, attacked at-tacked the Society islands and the Puamoto group with fearful force, causing deaths and devastation never before equaled in a land of - dreaded storms, a verification of man's inability inabil-ity to contend with wind and' sea. ' , The storm reigned several days, reaching its maximum strength between be-tween January 14 and January '16. From the meager advices received at Tahita up to the time of the sailing of the Mariposa, it is estimated that by the Excelsior to Papeete gained the ship's side by swimming ihree and four miles from the tops of the cocoanut trees. The Eimeo, though badly disabled dis-abled oy the storm, also brought off as many persons as could swim to her sides, she, like the Excelsior, being unable un-able to run close to the shores because of the fearful violence of the ocean swells, which continued to run abnormally ab-normally high for a week after the tidal disturbances. One of the many acts of heroism reported re-ported is that of a woman who climbed one of the tall cocoanut trees and lashed her little babe to the branches, hanging on to the body of the tree beneath the little one as best she could. There they remained for ten hours, suffering great torture, until finally fin-ally rescued. Thousands of tons of copra and over 200 tons of mother of pearl shells are known to be lost Ine pearl shells are valued at $1,800 per ton, and many valuable pearls may now be lost to the world forever, as these were considered con-sidered some of the best pearl islands in the world. ' " at least 1,000 of the island's inhabitants inhabit-ants lost their lives. It is feared that later advices will add to the long list. The first news of the disaster arrived ar-rived at Papetee, Tahita, January 26, on. the schooner Elmeo. The captain of the schooner placed the fatalities at 600. The steamer Excelsior arrived at Papette the following day with 400 destitute survivors. The captain of the Excelsior estimated the total ioss of life to be 800. These figures comprised only the deaths on the three islands of Hao, Hikuera and Makokau, whose ordinary population is 1,800. On Hikuera Hi-kuera island, where 1,000 inhabitants were engaged in pearl diving, nearly one-half were drowned. On an adjacent ad-jacent Island 100 more were washed out to sea. Makokau and Hao are depopulated. de-populated. Conservative estimates at Tahiti place the number- of islands visited by the tidal wave and hurricane hurri-cane at 80. All of them are under the control of the French governor of Tahiti. Ta-hiti. ' ' The surviving inhabitants are left destitute of food, shelter and clothing, |