The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1893-09-13
THE. STORM AT COOSAW.
An Account Of the Experiences OF n
Family During the Night of Au-

about ,hrpe feet from the ground. The hnus
| Is set back about 800 feet from the CooSaw rlT
er. a salt water stream about two-and.a nal
| or three miles wide. with n front yard wei
| hlleu with choice flowers and shrubery, bact
yard with some large, fine fruit trees, ana a
the side OF the house good szeu garueh
The house faces the south. ~ o-., ,
: About o'clock on sunday, August 2Ith, j
began raining, the wind blowing quite sunny
from the northeast. That continued al ths
| afternoon and evening. We thought nothing
OF 1t as it Is quite frequent on the sea coast
especially in the fall of the year. To nave littie
squalls. .,
| Al $50 o'clock / retired to my room which
was the wing built on the east side o.
the house, intending To 60 10 rest LOT IN.
night. 1 looked out OF the window on the
east side aud SAW that a large umDfella cnlhI
tree had been blown down by the wind.
told the rest of the family, and after they mao
ali looked out at It sat down To read little
At9oclock, knowing the tide would De iuil
in little over an hour, ana thai u was tne
time for a full moon harvest tide, looked out
to see how 1t WAS. SAW wafer all out IN from
of the yard and went and told my fatber. ne
thought II must he rain wafer. got my UNI
brelIa and went to the front gate TO see. On
a half inches OF water ON the sioe walk. IN
little while 1t was in the yard. went III
and got the yard stick and began measuring
every few minutes. BY 9:45 IL WAS SIX inches
at the front steps. BY lO:l5 II was nineteen
inches ut the steps. l then found II In the
back yard TO be about n foot deep BY that
beds were floating about and also the plank
walk from the steps to the gate. There was
some 800 cords OF wood piled up IN front OF Tue
house, aud that began floating away.
could zee that large shed In the ship yard
had gone down. On the marine railway,
nearly in front Of the house, was large
dredge aud washer. At the wharf, nearly III
front OF the house, were three washers aud
a redge We saw all of these beginning To
rock up and down and float about. Pieces OF
lumber began floating up against lhe 'front.'
fence and soon beat it down. AT IS the
water WAS twenty live inches deep at the front
steps We all said, surely 1t will not rise any
more, for IL Is nova hall hour aiter tne tlue
should turn, and at about that time for ABOUT
twenty minutes 1t was almost SLACK water,
out ABOUT ii o'clock. the wind shifted 10 the
east by southeast and began blowing great
deal harder, and the tide soon began rising
quite rapidly again BY lao the water est ~as a1
the four large houses In the ship yard had
gone, all the wood had gone, the fence had
all gone. and we could see large, dark looking
proved to be the dredges and washers from
down the river. The waves began coming In
and beating against the house. Large qnan.
titles of lumber were floating up, and worse
wash boat, which had been on the marine
railway, were coming towards us.
The waves Soou began beating In at the 'front.'
door so that We had 10 close and lock IL.
had, fastened them around Ok, put the lamp
out In The front rooms, aid all elit TO the oacK
room SO rs to- more easily get out snOnlu the
drrdge aud washer Str. .kc the house. Wethen
turned our attention TO getting the TRUNKS,
etc., of Of the llnor on TO the beds out OF the
water, which was then. ut l2:3O, some SIX
inch, on The f1',"r. We Gould hear the water
rushing and gursling under the house, ana
could hear the waves beating against It, and
the whole house groaEing und swaying like
q ship In a. storm at sea.
went frequently and look ed out OF one OF
the front windows, and by l245 the SIX posts
hat supported the roof OF the piazza had teen
beaten away, aud the whole front piazza
was gone with the six chairs, two benches
and trunk lnaL We're on II. In front OF the
house, heating against IT, was large roof that
had come OFT of one OF the ship yard sheds.
Next 10 that was the wash boat, and next to
that was the dredge, all pushing against the
house, and every time wave would come The
whole MASS would recede some four or nve
feet and come az inst the house with crash
but iukily Tor Us, the roof prevented the
dredye and washer from coming up 10 the
house, or else they would have crushed right
through the miudle Of the house and taken
everything with them. The wind was then
due south.
about 80 the wind shifted back 10 the
southeast, and the oredge and washer then
sided on by the roof, The washer going be
yond the house and passing: but The dredge
coming In q little nearer struck the room thpt
formed The west wing. which was my fathers
Y,
II, over 1000 volumes most of them valunble
works. The dredge Was carried on u big wave
against the study, and the first lick stove In
the whole south side. 1t then receded some
seven or eight feet. and coming In again on
the next wave went right through, carrying
the whole room with II, furniture, books and
everything going with crash that shook
the whole house like an earthquake. IL made
me feel right faint and turned away and
went 10 the back room where my father,
mother and sister were and told them what
had happened.
from fifteen 10 eight, en- Inches all over the
house The front door had been stove In, the
door In the ncX' hall likewise. waves beating
against the front Of the hou.e clear up TO the
roof and the waters rushing through the halls
from The front TO the back OF the house with
almost the current Of Niagara river.
The wind had gotten up 10 furious speed.
as l afterward learned at the rate OF fr0m
ninety to one hundred miles an hour: The
furniture, ETC., was floating all about In the
rooms, and outside was large quantities Of
lumber from the wharves, houses, ETC., beat
ing and pounding against the house Win @ the
waves, the house shaking and trembling like
a leaf before the wind. and all together max
ing sound and roar that WAS deafening.
We, fearing that the house would be beaten
off the pillars, tioated back and dropped, and
we ali injured or killed in 1t, decided that the
hest thing to do was to 20 out OF the back OF
the house into the water and try TO get 10 q
neighbours two-story house some 500 or 6O0 feet
found IT was up TO my arm-pits. l then
went back into the house and reported and
we all four started out. AS my sister stepped
out upon the gangway that connected the
kitchen with the house she went through
Some Of the flooring had been washed up and
washed away. We got her out and she then
jumped down into the water. There were nc
steps-the steps were gone. She then TOOK
my fathers hand and got him down. We
then got our mother down. then Jumped
into the water and we all four clinging TO-
gether, started out to walk TO the neigh6or's
house. But as soon as we got from behind the
\ protecting shelter OF the house we found that
we could do nothing al all. The wind would
blow;us away; the waves would beat us
down, and the under tow would sweep us
under. Any one or nll OF these things would
huppen 10 us II We attempted 10 90 any fur
ther. So we turned and made our way with
great difficulty to large peach tree back o.
| the kitchen.
left my father, mother and sister clinging
to the tree while made my way back into the
house. and getting the kitchen key went back
and got into the kitchen and through TO the
next room, opening the outside door OF IT,
jumped into the wafer. Going back and get
| ting my parents and sister we all waded
around TO that door-po steps there either
and managed somehow TO all get up into tht
room, and from thence into the kichen where
we sat In almost perfect silence for The mex
| hour aud Il hall with our feet dangling IN tht
water, which was near two feet deep, listen
ing 10 the raging OF the elements outside
which were max ing roar worse than thou
sand pieces OF artillery.
About four o'clock we could see the waite
was beginning 10 recede, and In hiteen min
utes 1t was all out OF the Kitchen. ther
went into The house and got lamp. My sis
ter made fire in the stove, and after sweep
ing Out the sush and mud the best we could
went into the house and got some chairs ant
seated our parents by the fire. Before oclocl
ali the water had gone back Into the river.
| We then went out TO the front and took
| uIa nli In oil m n