The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1886-10-21

this week
Hurricane and Overflow.
On the 18th dreadful calamity came
upon the people who dwelt in the coast
country near where the Sabine river de-
fines the boundary line between Louisiana
and Texas. The elemental disturbances
which had prevailed in various parts of
the Gulf for some days eliminated in
hurricane, and the waters rose and poured
in over the land with tidal wave force and
volume, submerging a wide tract in Texas
and Louisiana to depth of several feet.
The town of Sabine was almost entirely
destroyed and many of the people drown
ed. whole families perishing in several in
stances. The settlement at Johnson's
Bayou, few miles east of Sabine, met a
like fate. AS nearly as can be ascertained
upward of two hundred persons lost their
lives. The dead were yet being found at
last accounts, some of them many miles
from where they were drowned. Several
hundred persons were left destitute, and
are now being supplied with necessaries
by the charitable, the relief mostly com,
ing from New Orleans and Galveston.
On the 18th the situation was described
as follows:
An examination OF the country back of Sabine
and Immediately liz the vicinity of Beaumont
shows that the salt water came back from the
coast fully forty miles through the swamp, and
| hundreds of thousands of acres are still sub
merged by water that was forced back and has
no outlet. This tact makes the search for bodies
| very difficult. The carcasses of thousands OF
drowned cattle hogs, horses and fowl, are strewn
everywhere, and clouds of sea gulls aud buzz
yards hover over the des0lated country for an
area of thirty square miles. Parties who re-
| turned to-day from Johnsons Bayou district say
sixty persons are still missing there and search
| ing parties have almost reached the conclusion
| that many OF those missing were drowned and
| their bodies carried out to sea by the receding
| waves
The New Orleans Times Democrat of
the 18th has the following article which
carefully traces the progress of the hur-
rcane and its attendant disturbances:
LII NNIAA SAO1Ah
| While it is scarcely probable that the storm
which prevailed in the West yesterday Was the
direct result OF own Gulf hurricane il is pos
sible that some connection will be found between
| the two. II they are parts OF the same atmos-
| pheric disturbance it will 60 record the
| greatest and most extensive storm known in
American history for century. A storm that
| reached from the most southern TO the extreme
| northern limits OF the republic from Cuba to
| canada " te-cE Aau he G,1f
OF Mexico and The next on the unsalted seas that
| fringe our northern boundary. Three-fourths of
of the States east OF the Rocky Mountains have
felt the effects of this hurricane, and in nearly
| ev. ry has it done damage and sacrificed
| life, in nearly every one il is chronicled as the
| greatest storm for score Of years
Owing TO some defects in our Gulf signal SER
vice, il is not possible TO fully trace and follow
| This awful hurricane. We heard of it first on
Wednesday aud Thursday as in the West Indies
| and on the coast Of Cuba II was then an
nounced as about to enter the Gulf and the sig
| nal service calculated that it would strike this
country about Sunday. There was no way OF
| knowing exactly what portion of the coast il
| would attack, but The chances pointed TO Texas
between Galveston and the Rio Grande, which
| seems sort OF net that catches most of the
| Gulf hurricanes.
| On Friday kilograms from Key West an
| nounced the presence OF the hurricane there,
| where 1t did some damage to the shipping.
| From Friday TO Sunday we lose exact traces of
| 1t. The hurricane as undoubtedly in the Gulf,
| for It was encountered in several places by yes
| sels but it is somewhat difficult to fix its exact
| course. 1t would seem TO have wandered around
| somewhat reckessly, changing its direction seve-
raj times and finally striking the Gulf east Of
the Mississippi instead of west of it. On Sunday
the wind was felt very clearly al the jetties, Pen
sacola and other points On Monday morning
it had reached a gale of thirty miles an hour.
New Orleans began to feel the wind by the after
| noon, aud by night one of the strongest blows
| known here for years was upon US All the
Eastern Guffelt ii. The back portion of the city
was flooded the low swamp lands between here
and Mobile oveIfowed, and damage fortunately
Of light character inflicted on the coast east OF
| this city, in Louisiana Mississippi, Alabama and
Florida On Monday night came the Pointe-a la
Hache disaster which brought such injury TO the
people of Plaquemines.
| The wind continued more or less brisk all
| Tuesday, but the scene of disaster was trans
ferred TO the West Gulf about half way between
Galveston and New Orleans The entire coast
of Eastern Texas and Western Louisiana, which
| is very low only few feet above mean tide,
was flooded several feet by the waves from the
Gulf The town of Sabine Pass, which lies
| in very exposed position, was completely
| wrecked, with heavy loss of life. There were
other losses at Johnson's bayou, La and, it is 10
be feared. other interior points have also suffered
/ Ou w euncSuay tue VIM On Tue 1cA6s Quasi
changed from the east to the west, and the
| flooded lands were thus left bare again.
| This is the last we have of the Gulf hurricane
1t is not impossible that the storm that sprang
up Wednesday night and Thursday morning in
the West is connected with it, This storm, com
| menciDg in the South and West, spread north
ward and southwark. sweeping through Ken
| lucky, Ohio, Illinois, New York and as far as
Canada. The wind reached gale Of sixty-fve
miles an hour, at several points carrying down
ships and vessels before it. There were heavy
losses of property in all the Western States,
wrecks on all the great lakes, and considerable
loss of life Whether there is any connection
between these two disturbances or not-for there
are many missing links-the present week will
remain on record one Of the most tempestu-
Gus and stormy ever known in this country, no
less than fifteen States having been visited by
hurricanes which caused great damage TO prop
erty in all and some loss of life in many Of them.
1t will be known as the storm week OF the year.
w. NJ. Mcintosh, chief clerk in the Comp
troller's Office Tallahassee has been prospecting
- r.. 4 49,. E. l.