St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1886-10-21
whole subject and puts it in the way
of thorough reform and reorganization.
A BIG STORM.
A Texas Town Drowned Out--Serious
Losses.

The wind and rain storm that ragged
with such destructive violence on the
Gulf coast last week Tuesday night,
set off in a northerly and northeaster-
" direction and did great damage in
places West later in the week leveling
telegraph wires, blowing down build
ings and wrecking shipping. But all
this was nothing compared with the
destruction wrought OH the Gulf coast.
Sabine Psss, Texas, at the mouth OF
the Sabine river that divides that state
from Louisiana, appears to have been
almost wiped out of existence. The
wind rolled the waters of the gulf in
upon the town from the south and the
turbid waters of the Sabine river and
lake on the north broke through the
banks and completed the disaster.
Over so lives were lost out of a total
population of about 400, and most OF
the buildings were wrecked. Cameron
parish, comprising a large section OF
marshy lOwland along the gulf coast
of Louisiana also suffered terribly. All
| the members of seven families perish
ed in the flood, and many others I'M
known were swept away, while thou
sands of cattle were drowned and val
liable crops were ruined. Not house
was left standing within five miles of
Lake Sabine, it is reported. Terrible
losses of life and property are also re-
ported at JOhnsOn's Bayou, which is
in Cameron Parish and near Lake Sa-
bine.
The wind storm reached the West
from the south and generally cut of
telegraphic communication as it went
along. Wires were laid fiat, buildings
blown down or unrOOfed, and shipping
wrecked. 1t struck Chicago in the
morning and gave the Western Union
telegraph company more trouble than
any other for five years. On the roads
west the wind was very heavy, and
along the main line of the Michigan
Central furious. In all directions the
wires were badly interfered with.
The water works tower at Kanka-
kee, ILL.,, fell with crash and caused IA
loss of $4,000. Odd Fellows temple,
| Centiver's brewery, Hake's bOttling
works and the Adams express Office,
together with some of the principal
business buildings of Fort Wayne,
Ind, were unrOOfed. Three frame
dwellings caught fire and were burned
I At MOnrOeville, Is miles east of Fort
Wayne, brick barn blew down kill
ing Mrs. S. Nj. Williams. The storm
struck Toledo, O., about noon and
from that time until 3 o'clock the We
lOcity of the wind was about As miles
an hour. Reports from Northwestern
Ohio bring tidings of similar damages,
the most serious, so far, being to the
court house at Napoleon, which was
injured to the extent of $1,000.
Wires throughout Michigan are al
most all down and it is impossible to
learn the extent of the storm. In the
neighbOrhOOd of Detroit a gale pre-
vailed all the afternoon, the wind
reaching 50 miles an hour. All river
craft were tied up and trees, roofs,
plate glass and electric light towers
suffered considerably. Owing to
crushed wires, many of the electric
lights did not appear and a large part
of the city was in darkness.
A terrific gale accompanied by rain
set in at Buffalo, N. Y, Thursday af-
ternoon, and at midnight the wind
was blowing 65 miles an hour. "The
island" inhabited by squatters, was
flooded and the water was rushing in
huge waves all over it. Twenty mine
houses were destroyed and over 100
persons made homeless. The roof of
the Western transportation house was
blown off, causing u blockade of the
Lackawanna track. Michigan and
Main street were flooded 700 feet from
the dock. Ohio street was completely
flooded. All the lumberyards on the
island were wrecked. The damage to
shipping is very great. At O'Clock
/ the rear wall of the new music hall
went down with a crash.