Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-04-08
SATURDAYS STORM.
Its Wide Extent and Severe Ravages-
The Pensacola Sunk at Norfolk.

suIts III was especially severe In Virginia,
Chesapeake BAY, and Maryland. Dispatches
from Norfolk say that the storm exceeded in
severity the famous August gale of 1879 All
Water street and interesting streets on the
wharf front were under water at an early hour,
and nearly reached up the west end of Main
street and the custom-house. The wharyes
and warehouses all along the southern and
southwestern portion of the city we're deeply
submerged, and the damage is great all around
the harbor. reaching, it is thought, fully half
million dollars. The gale carried away the
roof of the opera house on Church street, the
Virginia Beach depot, the Masonic temple, and
various buildings about the city, There was
considerable damage in this respect. At 10
O'Clock there was 10 inches OF water in the sta
tion-house cells, and the prisoners arrested
during the night had to be taken out In the
jail was a still greater food, and the prisoners
had to be removed from the lower to upper
cells, causing great excitement among them
The wood and lumber yards suffered great
damage from submergence, and a number of
vessels dragged their anchors and were driven
ashore. One schooner was badly damaged by
hre from the cotton exchange on the harbor
AT the navy-yard the Pensacola was sunk in
the dry-dock. and the new Simpson dock was
overtiowed and badly wrecked and damaged
The Pensacola was being repaired for sea. Her
sea-valves had been opened for inspection and
dlo'heI Que WAS D6lnS cut. Inc TIDE hooded
the deck and she filed with water. and. getting
oil her keel. sank before she could be gotten in
position again. diver will have to be sent
down and her valves stopped up and the ship
pumped out. The damage to the Simpson dry
dock may reach $4,000. The marine barracks
and other buildings of the yard were injured
by the rain and wind. Women and children
from houses on Water street were placed on
bales of cotton and tlOated to dry land Seve-
raj sick persons were also rescued by this
method. All the outgoing steamers struck the
storm IN Hampton Roads and were forced to
return. The storm was terrific on the coast
Serious disasters are apprehended in that Sec
ton, but all the government wires are down
and nothing can be heard.
Dispatches from various parts in Virginia
give particulars of the manifestations of the
storm. At Charlottesville the snowfall which
began Saturday. continued through the night.
The telegraph wires were badly broken down
along the Chesapeake and Ohio and Richmond
and Danville railroads. and all trains were de-
layed; thunder and lightning also prevailed.
Fourteen inches was the depth of the snow at
Winchester as much as fell during the whole
of the past winter.
The steamer Helen. OF the Eastern Shore
line, due at Onancock, Va. from Baltimore yes
terday morning, was driven ashore in Oman
cock creek, below Finney's wharf Va, and has
not vet gotten off.
At Adamstown, Frederick county, lightning
struck the belfry of st. Luke's Episcopal
church, and did about 800 damage About
seventy telegraph poles were thrown down by
the snow between Rockville, Montgomery
county. and Washington
The Baltimore Sun publishes the following
statement from Capt. Nickle, of the steamer
Baltimore, in regard to his experience i'll the
bay and river:
Il encountered the storm about o'clock
saturday morning aswe were going in the
York river. The wind at that time was blow
ing gale at southeast and was accompanied by
constant Hood OF rain, which fell necessarily
until II o'clock yesterday; several showers of
hail fell. did not deem it prudent to leave
West Point until $50 yesterday morning At
that time the rain was still falling and there
was one of the highest seas on | ever saw All
along the way out of the river we encountered
hundreds of cords of wood which had foated
OIL with the tide. The river in many places
was covered with fencing. At the mouth
OF the river all the fish ponds were swept
away, and in this alone the owners win
lose probably 5000. Above Yorktown.
on the south side of the river, we
passed tw2 vessels high ashore, one
three-masted schooner, which looked to be
loaded with railroad ties. The other was
small two-masted schooner. From her posi-
ton do not think she will ever be foated
The three-masted schooner is hard ashore, as
the tide raised over six feet above the ordinary
mark. All the houses along the low lands were
partly submerged. and in most cases the build
ings appeared TO be III the river The families
had 10 move upstairs, as the water had covered
all the lower floors. Near Wind-M Mill point
passed small two-masted schooner sunk and
apparently abandoned. All telegraphic COM
munication was interrupted through Glouces-
ter, Matthews, King and Queen counties. |
have been on the bay for the past thirty years,
and this storm was the worst l have ever en-
countered"
CAsrAwAY's sToRY-SoLE SURVIVOR OF WRECK
The vessels all along the Atlantic coast were
In great peril, and many sad stories of disaster
viii probably come in. The barge Sunrise sank
near the Lewes life-saving station, Delaware,
! and Joseph Coyle, supposed to be the sole sur.
yivor, thus tells the story to the Philadelphia
Press:
Il am from the barge Sunrise. of New York
from Newport News for Providence, with l, 78C
tons Of coal. The barge sank last night al
midnight near Browns buoy. We were in tow
of the tug B. W. Morse, with another barge.
At noon yesterday our barge began leaking
The and wind We're SO high we could not
hold any communication with the other vessels
The name OF the captain of our barge never
knew, except that he was called George He
had his wife and two children with him. The
leak could not be stopped, and at IL D. M the
water had gained so much on that the cap
tain found he would have to abandon his vessel
Our surfboat was put in the water and was held
to the barge by a painter of one-inch rope
l got into the boat first and was ready tc
receive the women and children when the
painter snapped and l drifted away. There
were oars in the boat, but could not use then
| III such a sea as there was, / had not drifteG
far when | saw the barge go down. knew thai
all must have drowned, as there was nothing
Tor them to escape in except a small dory
which could not live any time in a sea like that
nor wouldn't hold the five that were left on the
barge. My boat shipped sea after sea- and
was kept bailing till l threw myself exhausted
on the locker OF the boat, determined to let the
| boat go where she would. was driven toward
the breakwater. / could see the foam and knew
that II was driven against it l would not es.
cape, but my boat, carried by the strong ebt
tide, was carried just past the end, within few
| feet of the rocks
The water was now halfway up to the gun.
vale and was nearly frozen. At little after
uayDreak my boat ran into the iron pier SO
climbed up and let my boat CO. went up to
the Henlopen lighthouse, but could not find
| any one, so made my way here after several
hours work. NV boat was large surf-boat
about 30 feet long. She is pulled up on the
Deacn. Everything is lost out of her except
| ing two life belts with the vessels name on
| them. She was picked up by the station crew
As said, never heard the captains name.
] always called him George He Sras about
twenty-slx years old; his wife Nellie was about
| thlrty-two. She acted as cook and this was &c
| De her last voyage to sea- The two childreu
were named after their parents. The boy
George was six years old, and the little Cir
| Nellie three years. The family we're of Belfast
| Me. There was only one seaman beside myself
l did not know him except by the name Mike
He came from Liverpool, England. My name
/ 10 L GAfnh Axln II So. D.