St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-10-05
The LOSS APPALLING.
: Continued Fro,n Ffrst Paae.

ScHtiHse0 From FIRST rage.
and resident Of the Bayou Cook settle
ment, lost his wife and little baby.
Jobn ;. Took, a youDg Italian. about
fourteen years old. was struck Oh the
head by a floating skiff aud instantly
killed. Another Italian by the name OF
Luke Butrovich lost his four daughters,
his wife and two of his sailors. They
had all taken refuge on his vessel. and,
as the water grew high. their cable was
found too short and pulled the lugger
beneath the water.
On Simon isle, in Grand bay, there
were eighteen inhabitants who were
Keepers of oyster camps, and were wait
Ing for the return Of the oyster fleet.
Sixteen Of them were drowned.
Near by to Simon island is another
small island. called Razor island. Here
a camp of five men was located, who
were all drowned. On Bird island,
which is situated little further to the
westward and is more exposed to the
surf, lived about $50 people. They were
all drowned.
On Grand bank, which borders the
Grand lake, there were eight persons
killed. Mr.. Schurtz says the night was
narrowing. The wind howled, cabins
crashed and the shrieks and groans of
the wounded and dying made ones
blood curdle. While he remained three
waves washed over him that were
mountain high. but he and the lady and
baby chung tenaciously TO the limbs for
support ana saved themselves from be-
ing washed away in the awful bowling
gulf around them.
The wind was highest about midnight
and continued for
COUPLE OF HOURS.
linen 1t began to abate in severity
until O'Clock, when it was blowing
only with moderate velocity, finally dy-
ing out. While the wind was highest
the rain fell i'll torrents, drifting in
binding sheets and striking the faces
of the unfortunates who, We're clinging
to trees, plants. posts and other debris,
with the force of hailstOnes. When the
wind died out the waves began to de-
crease i'll size and the water that had
swept over the land began to run back
again into the gulf. When daylight
broke the picture of desolaton was
awful to behold. Only here and
there stood a house. Everywhere there
were merely foundations to mark where
homes stood. Trees fell PROSTATE on
the ground. Timber was lodged In
piles in indiscriminate confusion where
1t had been thrust by the mighty rush
of waters. Ruined chimneys suggested
stories of stricken houses. Furniture,
bedding, clothing, stoves, kitchen uten-
sis and household goods. of all kinds
were scattered in promiscuous confu-
sion wherever the vision Was able to
reach.
Here, there and everywhere were the
CHASTITY faces of corpses turned upward
to the peaceful skies, now bright and
beautiful and bearing no trace of the
awful perils of the night. U pom many
of them were still evidences of the ter
rible agony they had suffered before
death came to relieve them of their
troubles. Some had lost their lives in
the
WRECK OF THEIR HOMES,
some had been drowned after esca ping
from the smells which could not shelter
them from the blasts of the frightful
gale, some had probably given up their
lives in vain effort to save those whom
they loved and who were dependent
upon them for protection. Many of the
Door fellows. many of the women and
children, had lived through the night,
but mortally wounded, with nothing to
queuch their thirst and no medical as
Sistance at hand, had given up strug-
gle that very soreiy tried mems souls.
There were broken arms and broken
limbs, bruised and battered bodies,
faces slashed out of all human form.
Many pile of debris was the temporary
grave of family.
Chieniere Caminda lies across from
Grand island, and is separated by
Chieniere bay. Its head is stuck out in
the gulf. and when the storm came up
the mighty waves of the ocean washed
over the face of the stricken land and
swept everything before them. The
Chieniere settlement was even more
| thickly populated than was Grand is
land. 1t was the home of fishermen and
storekeepers, and it comprised colony
of l, 400 souls. with churches and schools
and other evidences of modern ciyiliZa-
ton. Nearly all it's residents were
white people. the Spanish race largely
| predominating. Hundreds of fishing
| smackS were owned by the residents,
and many of these were moored to their
| landing places on the Chieniere lake
| when the
STORM CAME UP.
Others that were not, were either on
their way to or from the city, or were
engaged in fishing for oysters, which is
| the great industry Of the islands. boz
ems of the little craft that were tied to
| posts at the main landing were picked
up by the mighty waters and either
beached in the marsh or torn to pieces
like the houses of their owners. Hardly
any of them escaped injury, and most
of them had been battered to pieces.
Mr.. Schurtz told story that was pit
liable. On mis- way home, (his aim being
| to put the Chieniere as far from his
sight and recollection as possible,) the
| lugger Good Mother, which was bearing
him and party of thirteen TO town,wa
hailed by a returning lugger. The skip
| per of the outgoing craft had learned of
he storm, and was fastening back to
his home. When he inquired eagerly
for news, and was told that mis- family
had been swept from b face of the
earth, tears welled up into his eyes, and
his agony was fearful to contemplate.
The good priest who looked after the
spiritual welfare of the islanders was
among those saved, but he likewise had
an awful experience. The little church
is. or was. visible from Grand Isle. 1t
was frame structure, excellently fitted
up, and had stood for several years, its
| simple wooden props testifying to the
religious character of the Inhabitants,
who had raised it from the depths of the
| marsh. a simple wooden cross adorned
its top. A pretty little matched cottage
| nestled by the side of the sacred edigce