Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1886-09-21
MIR. JAcKsoNs ADDRESS.


Mr.. PRESIDENT, FELLOW BUSINESS
MEN, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
You have listened TO the story of the
destruction of Charleston by my friend
DR.. Todd, and he has not told the
half, but sufficient to convey to your
minds that desolation and ruin has be-
fallen the Southern City by the sea.
1t seems needless for another word
to be spoken In order to accomplish
what we have assembled for, therefore,
l will be brief.
The City of Charleston has received
a terrible blow. Her homes, churches,
store-houses, hotels, public buildings,
hospitals, charitable institutions, de-
pots are wrecked, some are levelled to
the ground, even the strongly built
brownstone jail is shattered from base
to tower, and is unsafe to enter. Tenn
porary stockades are being erected for
! the prisoners.
Ruin and desolation meet the eye,
turn which way one may.
Tuesday night, August 81, can
never be effaced from the memory Of
its inhabitants.
Without o moments warning, q
subterranean roar was heard, build
ings shook from garnet to cellar, the
fearful noise growing louder and
louder, buildings swayed to and fro
like trees in storm, and then came
the crash of tumbling houses, and SIM
ultaneously, mingling with these notes
of horror, came shrieks and wailings
of frightened men, women and chill
dren, who, as they rushed forth into
the street, were enveloped in clouds Of
dust and mortar and falling bricks.
i The conclusion extinguished many
of the street lamps, hence through the
darkness, the surging, excited, de-
spending throng were rushing from
! danger into danger, darkness and
death, and with no other covering
than their night apparel, seeking
! places of safety.
:. We may picture to you feebly the
destruction; the camera will show you
the tattered buildings, but tongue,
pencil, pen or camera cannot tell,
.. paint, sketch or portray; neither
can the eye see all, and it will never
be known, except to those who passed
through that terrible night.
From the first account published
and all the following, as far as possi-
: BILE, have read, and will say with
out fear of contradiction, that none
were exaggeratlons. l have looked
over the illustrated paper, they have
fallen short in sketching the facts.
: With other Wilmingtonians, spent
+ two days from early morn until late al
!; night, walking through the desolatiOn
? and destruction, and there are in my
memory sights snd scenes that time
:, cannot, with all its rust and mould,
, tarnish. / wish / were able to portray
], them to you, but this impossible.
With few of our party, started
!. out as the dawning light was awakine
y the people from slumber and they
were crawling from their rude homes
!. One of the first things to attract my
7 attention was a sleeping family in Q
dearborn, the horse was tied close by
and under the dearborn was little
!; girl of perhaps five years of age sleep
|. ing upon the drivers seat with NJ
covering but her own clothing; ther'
- was no rom for her with the family
T and alone she slept in the darkness.
= Then passing into Citadel Park, orr
of the most grotesque sights that coult
:, possibly be presented in civilized
). city met our gaze. There were the
temporary homes of the people of thu
: vicinity, constructed more rudely thar
D / can describe. Made up of stor,
q boxes, bits of boards, old tin, the elf
), OF the cyclone of a year prior, pieces o
oil cloth, carpet, door mats, in fac
:, about everything which would aid il
] atfording shelter. Some of these
3 were not of sufficient length for thu
persons, or of sufficient height IL
permit the body TO be in an uprigh
position when fitting on the ground
Very few had any flooring but mother
earth and some no other covering bu
the canopy of Heaven.
There were no sanitary provisions
/, whatever, and as ! walked Lmone
them and looked into their rude homes
and talbe WITH the occupant Il feared
that disease might be lurking there.
We reached East Bay and Battery
Park just as the sun peeped over dis
n tant Sullivan's Island. In this park
!. there were many tents, some goot
n ones. Many of the benches were oc-
d cupied by sleepers, one of whom was
o protected by an umbrella. l recalled
lmy walk through this park when al
Twas beauty. The dwellings opposite
were joy to the eye; now they are {
perfect wreck, and, as thought of thu
, past and viewed the present, tear
came TO the eye and sorrow to thu
heart. We travelled on and on, meet
ing naught but desolation.
Men told me of the effort of thei
lives to secure home, and now
as the last dollar was paid, destruction
came and they are dazed, disheartenet
and cannot recover from the great ca
lamity unaided.
On the 28th OF August, 1885, thu
great cyclone passed over Charleston
doing damage to the amount of ont
and half million of dollars; they have
met this unsided, but have not fully
recovered, and now to meet this disas
ter they are not prepared.
II l have a copy of the News aht
Courier of Wednesday morning, Sep
TENDER 1. Except the last page, thil
paper was in type before the catastro
, phe. Twenty-one and a half columns
are devoted to statistics of the yea
lending that day. They tell of tn,
Isixty-six millions of business during
the year, and gauge the future there
by, and are looking out with courag,
'. and hope.
1 will read few lines from these
:, pages ,n., -. n..o, o,s. .ns r..s ,,,