The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-09-02
THE EADBEY()ND NUMBER
Buried in Trenches by
FiftieS.
The FdlQiIy On Ile SEQ ISIOIdS
Over 1000.
A GREAT CHARNEL FIELD.
Whole Settlements
Swept Away.
HOUSES, CATTLE and CROPS GONE
Starvation For
the Living.

The stories of loss Of life and property
on the sea islands are appalling. Until
the waters have entirely receded it will
be impossible to know the extent Of the
terrible disaster which swept with such
fearful and annihilating force over the
low country.
The enUire chain Of islands along the
South Carolina coast from Tybee north
is scene of indescribable ruin. The list Of
the dead will never be known The only
traces that many of the islands bear Of
ever having been inhabited are the half
buried ruins of houses, the decaying
bodies that lie in the sand and mud, and
are washed up by every tide, the thous-
ands of dead cattle and the remnants Of
the ruined crops
RUIN AND DISASTER EVERYWHERE.
The scene of desolation is beyond piet-
ure. The condition of the living who
escaped the hand of the great catastrophe
is distressing. Their houses are gone,
their crops destroyed, and they are face to
face with starvation.
The dead are buried as fast as they are
found, without cof1ins or even box. Hun
dreds of bodies lie in the mud, where they
are washed up by the tide,
and the earth is thrown over
them or they are rolled into
trenches 1t is impossible to dig graves.
The stencil from the bodies Of the dead
and of the decaying cattle and hogs and
the rank vegetation rotting under the
sun, i3 almost uncomfortable.
The estimates of the lost are almost as
varying as the wind The exact number
will never be known. Those who have
been over part of the devastated section
say that 1880 is not too high an esti-
mate.
THE DEATH LIST ENORMOUS.
The population Of the islands in the
Black district and in the country swept
by the storm is estimated at 10000. The
proportion of the dead is enormous.
Whole settlements were swept away and
nothing is left but the ruins of the houses
and shanties.
Only the most meager information is
obtainable. The only means Of getting
from place to place is by RATS, and here
and there boat, and the reports of survi-
vors of the settlements scattered over tho
islands are the only record of the terrible
catastrophe. One report brought in from
an outlying island was that in the radius
of half mile $50 bodies were found.
Whole families were drowned together,
fbai, ha1feo hafprr in,
ports come from every part of the devas-
tated country
BURIED IN TRENCHES.
In one place the bodies of fifty people
were buried together in one big hole.
Thirty lives were lost at Coffin Point, and
bodies are floating up with every tide.
1t was reported yesterday by some one
who had just come over from Beaufort
that the coroner of Beaufort county had
held inquests so far over the bodies of 293
dead, nearly all of whom were negroes.
Parties arriving from the sea island
section give distressing accounts of the
condition of the people and of the ruin
wrought on every side Hardly any Sec
ton of the country escaped.
now BEAUFORT FARED.
At Beaufort the damage done was
enormous. The entire business portion
of the town is wrecked. Every wharf
and warehouse is gone and the stocks in
nearly every store damaged. The storm
took of nearly every roof, while the
heavy rains which have fallen since Mon
day leaked into the stores and ruined
thousands of dollars worth of goods.
The warehouses of the Port Royal and
Augusta railway were swept away, to-
gether with all the freight that was in
them. Nothing is left of the buildings
but mass of debris.
The court house was damaged to the
extent Of about $780, At River Front
Henry Won Hardenis residence and all out
buildings We're destroyed. His lose will
be &, 600
The Sea Island hotel, one of the ante
bellum residences, having been built dur
ing time when consideration was given
to strength and durability, stood the
storm nobly. The annex, Of recent con-
struction. was badly damaged and the
kitchen totally wrecked The beautiful
trees were blown down. Fences are down