Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-04-08
By, Storm and Flame.
Great Havoc Wrought on the
Atlantic Coast.
TES&t2fn GALE AT NORFOLK, VA

Part of the City Flooded, the Government
Docks Damaged and the Pensacola Sunk
Ruin ON the Chesapeake-Raging Fire
at Savannah. Ca, the Loss Being Put at
s7b0.OOO-Hslf Million In Ashes at
Pittsburg -Frightful Run of Railway
Train Through a Dakota Prairie Fire.
BALTIMORE, Md, April S.-The storm Sat
urday seams to have done considerable dam
age all along the bay as far as Cape Henry.
Telegraphic communication is much broken
and details are ueagre. The only informa-
ton to be obtained from the capes is by
means of reports from incoming vessels All
the late arrivals report the storm in the bay
the worst in many years. Old Chesapeake
fairly bumped herself and made things howl
for time. The storm blew all day Saturday
and late into the night 1t was accompanied
by rain, hail and snow, and made the decks
of vessels dangerous. The Norfolk boat
Georgia, which was due here early Saturday
morning, had not put in an appearance up to
late hour last night.
The steamer Baltimore, from West Point,
Va, did not arrive here until 10 o'clock last
night. Capt Nichols says the storm was the
most terrific known on the York river All
the houses in the low lands along the river
were submerged, and the river is covered
with floating cord wood and debris. All the
fish ponds--a hundred or more-on the flats
at the mouth of the river were DESTROYED, en-
failing heavy loss.
The Suns special from Norfolk, Va, says:
The storm here Saturday night was terrific
1t occurred after midnight, and exceeded in
severity the famous August gale of 1879. All
Water street and intarsecting streets on the
wharf front were under water at an early
hour, and it nearly reached up the west end
of Main street and the custom house The
wharves and warehouses all along the south
ern and southwestern portion of the city
were deeply submerged, and the damage is
great all around the harbor, reaching, it is
thought, fully $4,000
The lime warehouses along Water street
took fire yesterday morning and spread to
stables and sheds, and then to the warehouses
of Batchelder q Collins, j. W. Perry & Co.
K W. Pantos a & Co, and John c. Canine,
all succumbing to the flames These were
followed by the old cotton exchange and ad-
jacent buildings, and about 900 bales of
cotton and other stuff
The gale carried away the roof of the
opera house Oh Church street, the Virginia
beach depot, and various buildings in the
city. There was considerable damage in this
respect AT 10 O'Clock there was ten inches
OF water in the station house cell, and the
prisoners arrested during the night had to be
taken out. In the jail was still greater
flood, and the prisoners had to be removed
from the lower TO the upper cells, causing
great excitement among them. The wood
and lumber yards suffered great damage
from submergence, and number OF vessels
dragged their anchors and were driven
ashore. One schooner was badly damaged
by fire from the cotton exchange.
On the Portsmouth side of the river the
lime warehouse of Traut, Terugin & Co,
and other buildings were destroyed At the
navy yard the Pensacola was sunk in the dry
dock, and the new Simpson dock was over
flowed and very badly wrecked. The marine
barracks and other buildings of the yard
were injured by the rain and wind The in
surance companies have lost heavily on the
freight stored in the transportation ware
houses and at the railroad depots, damaged
by overflow. Women and children from
houses on Water street were placed on bales
of cotton and floated to dry land Several
sick persons were also rescued by this
uleLnOu. none OF tine Outgoing steamers
were able to go as far as Old Point Saturday
night or yesterday. They struck the storm
In Hampton Roads and were forced to re-
turn Serious disasters are apprehended in
that section but all the government wires
are down and nothing can be heard
The Suns special from West Point, Va.
says: fatal wreck occurred on the York
river branch of the Richmond and Danville
railroad about two miles above this place
about O'Clock Saturday night. The heavy
rains of Saturday washed out a culvert and
part OF the dam between Tank pond and the
river, and an engine and seven freight cars
plunged into the washout Two men, a col
ored brakeman, and the fireman, Young
man named Durvin, were buried under the
cars and killed. The body of the fireman has
been gotten out, but the colored man has not
yet been found. The engineer named Lynch,
was terribly scaldsd, but managed to crawl
out of the wreck.
During Saturday thunder storm ragged
here while the wind blew gale and the rain
poured. The high tide Of Saturday night
submerged the lower part of of the town and
did considerable damage to property.