The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1893-09-04
BEAUFORT AND PORT ROYAL.

| Drhorolti AND pottE ROYAL.
One Hundred Lives Lost on the Coast
"A Tidal Wave Struck Port Royal
after the Tornado.
Augusta Chronicle.
Nearly hundred lives were lost
around Beaufort and Port Royal.
This was the startling information
that was brought to the city from
| these two places by Mr.. e. M. Averill,
general freight and passenger agent of
| the Charleston, Sumter and Northern
railroad, who was so unfortunate to
have been in Beaufort all during the
| storm.
He arrived in the city on special
train from Yemassee, and brought up
the first news that has been received
from this portion of the coast
since the storm. Upon his arrival he
was seen by a Chronicle reporter and a
full account of the storm was obtained.
Mr.. Averill had the following to say
y" AS you know we have been com
pletely cut off from the outside world
down in Beaufort and Port Royal by
the storm, as all telegraph wires are
down and the railroads badly washed,
and am sure the people have no idea OF
the great extent Of damage done and
how many lives were lost.
am unable to state exactly how
many lives were lost, but I do not
think Il would be exaggerating the
number in the least, when l say that
nearly n hundred people were killed
and drowned. Over twenty-five OF.
these l saw myself, and received my
information in regard to the others
from reliable sources.
1t is utterly impossible to picture
the horrible suffering and misery that
Sfnrrn in,
Beaufort and Port Royal, and the
great damage it has done to property.
"Out Of this one hundred people
who were drowned there were about six
white persons, the remainder being
negroes. The negroes were so fright
ened and terror-stricken, that in many
cases they were killed and drowned by
not having enough sense left in them
to desert their shanties and seek a
place Of safety.
Twenty persons were drowned on
Paris Island, a short distance from
Beaufort, where the United States
naval stores are kept and where they
are building large dry dock. Only
two of these were white men, one a
mechanic engaged on the dry dock and
the other the resident physician Of the
Island. The other white people on the
Island had q most miraculous escape as
the water swept over the entire Island
and carried almost every thing away
with it. For hours it was between
fifteen and twenty feet deep, with the
wind blowing at the rate of i2O miles an
hour.
"The people in Beaufort and Port
Royal were most apprehensive in re-
gard to the fate of st. Helena, small
island about three or four miles from
beaufort, as they were unable to hear
q single word from there up to the
time left. and it is thought that
number of fatalities had occurred at
this point. Some thought that the en-
tire place had been swept away, but do
not think that this is true. In all pro-
liability, quite a number of the resi-
dents have been killed.
Z" I am positive there must have been
fully twenty-five lives lost between
Port Royal and Seabrook, small
station only few miles from the
harbor. / visited this section and saw
the majority of these men who we're
| drowned, and from what I hear they
have not learned OF all of the deaths
around that section. In this instance
all of those who were drowned were
| negroes and worked on the plantations
| around Beaufort.
Zone of the saddest cases that I
this negro section was at an old negro
shanty where happy family of seven
once lived-an old man and his wife
and five children. When we reached
| the spot whore his house once stood we
found the old negro weeping; keeping
guard over his loved ones, and it was
all we could do to get him away in
order that the dead could be buried.
This is only one of the sad instances of
the terrible storm, for in several cases
whole families were swept out of ex-
| istence.
"Three strangers were killed, one
in Beaufort and two in Port Royal.
They were all drowned, but their
bodies were recovered. So far no one
has been able to identify them.
Very mcagre reports have been re-
ceived from q portion of the coast near
Beaufort whore it is pretty thickly
settled and it is feared that quite q
number of negroes have been killed
When lleft Beaufort and Port Royal re.
ports were coming in hourly of the
damage done to the surrounding coun
try and also of the lives lost.
"The steamer Pilot Boy of Charles
ton which was tied to Waterhouse's
dock was swept away, carrying along
with 1T large portion of the dock
this steamer was followed by three
tugs, Juno, Weymouth and Alliance
and all four Of the boats were swep
up on the Bluff and left there high ant
dry,
Three pilot boats were swept in the
marsh about 500 yards from the chan
mel, two of them are almost tota
wrecks.
"The Alma Cumming, large boa
that was loading at the Sea Island
Chemical Works, was swept from it
mooring and washed up on the beacl
and badly injured.
The pilot boat Palmetto which wa
tied up at the Port Royal docks was al
most blown to pieces and finally sunk
few yards from its mooring.
" A large steam pile-driyer, the pro
perty of Capt. Karmer, of Charleston
| was carried up the Coosaw river abou
, 500 yards and then landed on th
, marsh. The pile-driver is an immens
thing, but it was swept away witt
) as much ease as II 1t had been small
, boat.
: "All Of the dredges of the Coosa,
mining company were swept ashor
J and the majority of them badly in
) jured. Fortunately there was no on
4 killed on any one OF the dredges, bu
2 quite number had very narro,
+ escapes. Also great many of thei
lighters were carried inland Us far a
D two miles. Several OF these lighter
\ wara total wFaNka and ofhara Il VOL