The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-01-25
THE TIMBERS GIVE WAY.
TWO THOUSAND TONS OF GUANO
IN nUSGROVE CREEK.

Six Sections Of the Ocean steamsh!I
Company's Whsrves Collapse and
Co Down under an Enormous
weight-The Disaster Occurs Wher
the Hands Are at Dinner and Hc
Loss Of Lifs-The Estimated Darnazt
to Property NOT Less Than $4,000
The Ocean Steamship Company SUI
fered a heavy loss By the giving
way Of the foundation d the vest
end ~ one O. It's wharves At lz.1I
O'Clock .. m. yesterday. Two thousand
tons. Of g1ano went crashing down with
the floor and timbsrs importing
it. into ths Muszrove crock slip and waters
Of the creek over which the wharf vas
built. TIE building with is heavy tiEbsrs
and metal roof collapsed and fell With a
crash. Six sections II tue wharf 80 feet
long and 100 feet wide went down.
The schooner Henry P. Simmons, lying
along side, had her cables parted as II they
were tut pack thread, aad the swell Of the
water was such that 1t shot the vessel across
the slip. col.lding with the steamer DesSoug
lying At tls wharves opposite, damaging
her port 50 that IL had TO be uabinged and
cent % the shop for repairs
4 few moments before the accident the
EimmOos was dischArging guano, but the
men had knocked OF for dinner, and Capt.
Grace was below at the table. When bis
vessel careened be thought she was going
over, and could not understand what had
happened
10 loss or LIFE.
Had the accident occurred ten minutes
later there would have been great loss Of
life, as q number ef hands would have been
passing through the shed 10 dinner, and the
wives and children Of many Of the colored
lougsh orenen would no doubt have been
lost a. they are in the habit Of passing
through the building carrying dinner %
their relatives. As it was. no one was on
that part Of the wharves which went down
The weather was bad ard a drilling rain
was falling, 50 that Smith & Kelly ordered
their team 70 the stable and the hands of
until the weather could clear up. This cir
eumstAnce saved both team and worknen
A MORNING NEWS reporter tried to get
the CON- p2ny's estimate of its loss. but had
TO give It up. One 81 the clerks
Of ths department said that be knew
what the guano loss was, as he
had 70 figure it up for his superior, bu. he
didn't feel justified 10 giving it out. but
dozen others were asked and finally Agent
Jones.
THE LOSS NOT LESS THAN $4,000
De eatimated the amount Of guano that
went down a. z, 90 tons. some Of which. he
said. would be recovered, but be could not
even approximate the los. Reliable esti-
mates, however place the loss at not les
than 81, D9J and q may exceed that figure
BY several thousand Ills is on the theory
that about ons-th.rd of toe guanO may 10
recovered. TIE railroad auth rites were
unable % state at what time the Wharyes
viii b. rebuilt. as that will 10 determined
By President Alexander. who IS a. Atlanta
attending the meeting Il the Capitol Com
miss ion. d which be is a member he is
expected home this morning. The guanJ
was consigned % the Ocean Steamship Con
Jeauy, and was only insured * inst total
loss.
The collapse e the wharves played havoc
with the telephone and electric light wires
but worEmen were Immediately sent 10 the
wreck 20 reel Up the broken wires and make
temporary connections 50 that by nightfall
the two wires were ia working order.
There are various theories as 10 the cause
Of the accident: one that the timbers under
meath the wbarves we're rotten; another
that the storage ofRuAno was greater than
tie wharves. built as they we're, could hold