Virginia Argus. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1796-1816, 1804-09-22
CHARLESTON, Sept. 10.

p"te ~ NINA IN me fzdr6or III Charleston.
On Friday night last, about IL o'clock,
dreadful gale of wind came on in this
harbor, and continued to blow with the
most extreme violence until Sunday morn.
ing, one O'Clock III: wind was first at
norm east, ami IN the course OF Saturday
morning II changed to east, and in the af-
ternoon to south east. 1t is impossible
at THIS time for US to describe accurately
the destruction caused by this gale; the
whole OF the wharves from Gadsden's on
Cooper river, 10 the extent of South Bay,
nave received very considerable damage,
The heads and sides of most OF them are
washed AVA. Of the y=sAe,.:.:r .he hor-
Dor. but three or four have eacaped VIII
OUT injury, several are totally lost and ma
ny more are much damaged. At seven
O'Clock on Saturday morning, the period
CT low water, the tide was as high as il ge-
morally is at spring tides; it appeared that
during the preceding ebb but little water
mad lett the rivers ; at twelve O'Clock il
was from two to three feet higher than it
has been seen for many years, and made
complete breach over the wharves and
drove many small vessels on them, where
they now lie. On General Gadsden's
wharf several stores were washed or blown
down, and their contents Of rice and cot
ton much damaged and some lost. On
1ou,h.Bay, the whole OF the bulwark made
agaipst the water is in ruins, and the house
oil Mr.. William Veitch, built on made
ground was washed down-the new street
made to continue East-Bay, TO White
Point = The co.
breaches through it in many places. On
B.ske's wharf, brick building occupied
as scale & countinghouse, " as beat down
by the bow spirit OF the ship LYDIA.
In the city no ether damage is done than
many houses which were covered with
slate, are in part unroofed, and most Of
he trees IN the streets and many fen
ces are blown down. Great applehensl-
ons were entertained for the safety of the
families on Suilivan's-island, but accounts
received from thence yesterday. were We.
~ favourable, not life WAS lost there ex-
cepJ black hoy. From fifteen to twenty
houses were undermined by the water and
washed away; the inhabitants lof which
lost almost every thing that was in them.
1t is the opinion of some gentlemen who
were on the island and who came up YES
tcrday, that If the water had continued
10 rise for half an hour longer. scarcely a
house would have escaped and many peo-
pie must have persisted. What have been
the consequences of this gale IN h- coun
try, we have not learnt but we fear the
will be distressing--on the one hand it IS
feared that The banks of the river plantati-
cns, we're no. high enough to keep out
the tides, and on the other that the VIC.
lcnce oil the wind has Destroyed the cotton
| plants.
There is one circumstance which took
! place during this gale, which we think
worthy of notice. II wa, high water al
the wharves on Saturday at l2 O'Clock,
soon after the tide began to fall, and at
| SIX O'clock III the evening had fallen about
two feet, il was then expected that the
next tide would be higher than the former
as the fall had been so small but instead
! Ut rising, it continued TO fall little the
whole time of The food, and was not as
high at l O'Clock Oh Sunday morning, the
! time Tor high water, as it was the day be
fore at O'Clock the time of low water.
We suppose that this phenomenon was
owing TO the change of the wind from
east to south east during that period.
A negro man was killed by the fall of
Mr.. Vei,ch's chimney on South. Bay, this
is the only life lost in the city. that we
have heard of. Most of the families re
siding on Souih,Bay, left their dwellings
IN the Course Of Saturday, expecting that
If the gale continued it would be unsafe To
remain in them.
Many OF the coasting craft and wool
boats, are drove ashore on the marshes
aud IN the heads Of the docks, and arc
much injured.
This gale was more violent and of much
} longer continuance, than the one which
took place in 1898; from the description
| given ut the hurricane in 1852, we believe
that to have been the most dreadful, tho
it is to be feared that the loss of proper
~ IS now much greater than at any former
period.
s-.-s1Sz.s z-zr-s
HJ)UH PITTS l. M =