The Express.
London, England, 1851-09-23 00:00:00

TIIE STORM LEI FLORIDA.

The following are details of the storm in Florida,
referred to yesterday
Mojave have been received from Apalachicola, St.
'bike, Newport, Tallahassee, and other places in Florida,
descriptive of the hurricane and flood on the 24th and 25th
of August on the gulf comet of Florida. It is said a more
appalling and terrible hurricane has never been known in
that r glean. The lighthouses at Cape San Blas and Dog
Island are known to have been blown down, and many
live. lust.
Great fears are apprehended as to vessels in the Gulf,
sad ,t is expected that the southern coast and Keys of
Floral., are covered with wrecked vessels, and that hundreds
of human beings have been drowned. Therms rose several
left h.etter than at any former period ; the cotton fields of
Middle Florida are laid waste, and it is not anticipated that
more than half • crop will be eared, and it is feared that
the injury has extended into Georgia.
At Apalachicola the sea rose five or six feet in the streets,
and, itith the wind, destroyed many buildings at the
l
south. rn end f the town, as far uas the Charleston
Basi Agency,o at the cornerand of Centre-sp treet, which house
was al- , destroyed. At Dog Island several lives were bate
and tae British ship John Bryan was lam. A Spanish brig
was lust at the Haulover, and seventeen persons drowned
from .in board of her. Th, re are but two or three buildings
not unroofed or injured at Apalachicola. Groceries and
dry in stores were destroyed to a great extent. At
Old Woman's Bluff, a eteamboat, on the ways, had her
cabin blown off. The steamer Magnolia was lent. Mr.
&nand Ssuith was drowned. He was the only person
amid irons the brig Satarogo, wrecked on Orange Keys in
1,,,. alpairichicoist Adrertiser of August 27 says : Our
city se,, visited on the by the most awful and de-
serentiee gale that we have ever known. The loss of pro-
p, rev I. immense, and the town is almost in ruin.. The
'term cammenced on Friday night about one o'clock, the
wind Irons south-east. 'I he tide being previously high,
aa„,,, rest above our wharves, sod before daylilifllt
was dashing against the brick stores iu Water-street.
The se dud increased as the day broke, and at an early hour
the lesser floors in Water-street had five feat of water in
them. The wind blew with the greatest fury, devastating
everything before it. No barricading of the doors we. of
the lead Wavle°. The gale raged all day, even until after
night Before two o'clock, p.m., the whole of Water and
Commerce-streets was five feet under water, the floors of
the stop's, goods, eounteri, and lumber, all afloat. 'I he
wind was so high that nothing could be done to save either
the e. or their contents. Not one building in Water-
stria t remains uninjured. Many of the roofs are torn off,
sad es( ry one has bad the lower floors, step'., counters, and
goods or store swept off, or so injured as to be worthies....
laseral are eery badly injured. The Exchange buildings,
the offices over the hydraulic prom, and the store occupiea
by 'I he. Orman, the building lately occupied by the Charles-
ton Ilauk Agency, ore a total wreck. The tat'. warehouse
ie badly injured, eel, the side wall* standing. The store
where the Customhouse is kept is almost down, and
all the lower block nearest the bay in ruins; from that por-
tion of town every house on Front or Commerce is swept
sway ; use entire road around the Promenade and along
the boy, as far as Judge SClSMell'a bowie, liu washed away,
carrying down Mrs. Greirtani's house. and all the garden
and yard in front of A. 'lf. Bennett and S. Benezet's houses
nearly to their very doors. Judge Stmoses's house was
also undermined, and is now a total ruin.
At the upper end of the town, the wharves and small
builelina. are all gone, and the warehouse attached to lime.
L. 11,1§t4h,IIN cuttuu press badly injured. Almost every
house in the town is more or lea. injured, and all the trees
and fences prostrated. The Episcopal Church is almost
wreck, and the Presbyterian Church totally demolished.
The storm raged all day with the greatest violence, and
lasted about twenty hours; in the afternoon, the wind
chart/eel to southweat, but did not abate in its violence
until late in the night. So far as we have hi and from,
it as, quite as violent as in the city at the Blufl, and the
boaas are washed down; the strainer Falcon was washed
off th. ways and driven by the storm anal tide some
elis-
lanc,• op the river, anal capsized on au island. All three of
the Bald houses in the district are blown down or washed
awns. and at Dog Island, five lives lost; at Cape St. Bias,
tsp., ai brig of war has been stranded on the beach, and
les, .1 lists lust.
as give no adequate description of the scene ; it was
neat ..slut and terrific. But the destruction and devasta-
te„ to be seen now is truly melancholy; we cannot ascer-
tail, tar amount of loss, but think it a moderate estimate to
say two hundred thousand dollars.
The above account of looses is furnished to us by one of
a committee appointed to make estimates of the individual
and aggregate losses. It is placed at two hundred thou
send dollars, but, in the opinion of many, will reach half
a million.
The roof of our office ha off—we are all afloat—but as soon
as we can clear up the pi and debris, fuller particulars will
be given.
On Friday evening last (says the Tallahassee Sentinel
of Aug. 21') a lurid and threatening horizon attracted ma-
vereal attention in town, and the weatherwise prognosticated
a storm. About six o'clock there was • violent squall tram
the south-east and a trecueuiloua shower. In a little while
the squall ceased, but it continued to rain copiously all the
night till about five on Saturday morning. Commencing
again at half-past eight, the wind also began to rise from
the eastward, the horizon to thicken up, scuds to thy, and
every sign to betoken " a blow." The rain poured down
literally in torrents, with only occasional slight intermis-
sion., till about sunrise on Sunday morning. By twelve
oat., k afanoun on Saturday, the wind had veered to the
southeast, and was blowing a gale. At one the trees began
to glee way. At two, still veering southward, the blasts
were rapidly increasing in violence, and worse evidently
coming. Front th,ec to six, or half-past, the cry was
s• :stand from under." 'fall forest oaks were uprooted, or
.y snapped asunder—China trees stood nu chance;
t. ae, . Were prostrated, tin rooting peeled up like paper, roofs
torn up, brickbats flying, and altogether such a general scat-
t,-ratio taking place es is not often seen. From six to ten
ea...ea there was no increase in the force of the gale, but,
it AI'S thing, an abatement. From ten to two, it piped up
aeon and blew "great guns." The night was to, dark to
aae the mischief in progress, except as it happened just
arouna one; but the howling, hissing, whistling, moaning
and gioaniug of the blasts were very well calculated to ex-
cite lively apprehendous of general misfortune.
'I he gale had pretty much abated at four, and daylight
diselood a novel spectacle. l'he streets were all obstructed
with prostrate trees, and the ground covered with twigs,
boughe, leaves, and " whippings" from everything that
mows, In a little walk about the village, we noted the fol-
lowinc—The capitol—the tin roofing of the Porticoes torn
off; a window blown in the representative hall, and general
misfortune among the glass; Bond's warehouse (brick) un-
roofed and blown down ; Wilson's " exchange" building, tin
peeled off,unroofed and timbers of the roof scattered in all di-
reetious ; City Hotel, piazza partly blown down ; Miller and
Brokaw's largo stables, cast half untioned ;
corn. r, occupied by Messrs. Clark and Bestwriek, as
cures, partially unroofed; the brick and slated building
outlined by Messrs. Kindon, half unroofed, and very badly
injured; li. Hayward's new store houses, partly untanned;
Clark's new carriage shop, badly injured;. Bryant's store,
Pla2A4 blown down ; Ricbardson'sstore,untnned; Felkell's
store, untanned, and roof started; Market house blown
down; Anderson's new brick dwelling house (unfinished),
gable ends and chimneys blown down. Several kitchen and
other chimneys were prostrated, and various other injuries
were inflicted, too numerous to mention. The fences were
in a state of woful dilapidation, and the prostrate shade
trees were almost past counting. One citizen tells us he
lam eighteen upon his own premises, which are not exten-
sive. The tin roofing generally fared badly, and more
stores would have been unroofed but for a timely securieg
with ropes. The damage done to goods in store is supposed
to be small.
From the country, we hear that the roads in all
ea. are obstructed with fallen timber. The quantity
blown down is beyond all precedent. The damage done
to plantations and maturing crops by such a flood and hur-
ricane is supposed to be very great. We believe more rain
niece fell in the same length of time since Noah's day.
From below we have had accounts, but will wait further
information. It is stated, however, that the buildings at
St. Marks, with the exception of the railroad warehouses
and Halt's Hotel, are gone. They were few, however, and
generally of smell value. The floors of the warehouses
were beaten out, and the goods stored therein MI floated
away or sunk. At Newport there is said to have been about
six lest of water in town. The steamer Spray, drawing
four feet, took passengers through the streets to the hotel,
the first floor of which was covered a foot. The greatest
sufferer is reported to be Mr. Ladd, in whose storehouse
the water is said to have dashed over the counter. His loos
is estimated at 6,000 dole. MaNaught and Ormond are re-
'what to have sustained damage to the amount of 3,000
dole. These are first report., and we hope that later infor-
mation may put a brighter aspect on affairs. No lives lost
leas whe r , so far as yet learned.
The steamer Spray went down to within a mile and a
half of the lighthouse (as near as she could get on account
or the heavy swell) on Sunday. The house was standing,
anal she saw persons standing in the lantern, who waved
their handkerchiefs.
We learn from St. Mark's that the water ruse above all
previous water marks upon the old fort. Portions of this
514 iertitication, which had withstood the floods of eyes
wet, swept away, and the buildings within it all d
The Custom-house books and papers are all gone-
bring left of the establishment but the iron safe. The
frame house occupied by Mr. Birchett, the deputy collece
tor, on the petal of junction of the St. Mark's and Wa-
kulla. was raised from its foundations, broke in the centre.
aria was dashed to fragments against the old fort. Mr.
Birchen lost everything in the shape of clothing and house-
hold effects. All the houses at old St. Marks (generally
small frame houses of little value), were carried away.
The water is stated to have risen at least twelve feet above
ted uary tide level,
At the terminus, the railroad was washed up as far as
the hotel. The water was two feet deep in the warehouses,
part of the floors washed up, and contents (peinealrally
tagging and salt), a good deal_injured. Cotten
sad
Hoot torn up and 200 bales adrift. Wharf gone and
70 barrels rosin with it. Cotton pleas iajured-e-Rolt's
Hotel not moth injured—the other Iralldinp gene.