St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-10-03
MOBILE UNDER WATER
Furious Gale Sweeps Over
the Southern City.
DAMAGE CANNOT BE ESTIMATED.
Electric Wires Down and the
City in Darkness.
MANY HOUSES SWEPT AVIAN
Busiest Thoroughfares Being
NaVigated in Boats.
CANNOT BE ESTIMATED.
MANY HOUSES SWEPT AWAY
AWFUL SCENE OF WREcKAeE.j

MOBILE, Ala, Oct "A southeast
gale broke here this morning about
O'Clock, and the wind has been iucreas-
ing IL velocity ever since, until at this
hour Il p. m.) it is blowing at least ffty
miles an hour. The barometer is still
falling. The wind has blown the water
IN from the gulf until the river has
reached Royal street, which is
four blocks from the river and at an
elevation of about fifteen feet from the
main river height. There is no possi-
Die chance of estimating the money
damage. All the wholesale and agri-j
cultural portion of the retail district of
the city is some four feet under water
and thousands of dollars worth of goods
have been damaged. The pilot boat
Ida Low has been driven OH the wharf
at the foot of st. Francis street.
the bay boat Heroine was driven on
the Mobile & Ohio wharf and almost
totally wrecked. The Crescent City,
another bay boat, left Point Clear at the
same time the Heroine did this morning
and has not since been heard FROM 1t
is reported that three dredges working
on the channel have been lost. 1t is also
reported here that some fifty miles of
the Louisville & Nashville railroad
along the coast are under water and
that the Biloxi bridge has been swept
away by the gale. Nothing has been
heard from the gardnerS in the marshes
east of the city and the worst is feared.
Telegraphic communication is cut off in
almost every direction, and from the
present outlook Mobile will be entirely
cut off from the outside world when
darkness comes. In this city houses
have been unroofed, trees blown down,
and one cotton warehouse has sue
cumbed to the fury of the gale. All the
smokestacks of all the manufacturing
industries have been blown down.
Street car traffic has been totally sus-
pended, because of the damage to the
electric wires, and the city will no
doubt be in darkness, as the
waves are fast eneroachiug on
the electric light works, which
may be under water in another hour.
The busiest thoroughfares of the city
are being naYigated in boats, and per-
sous are now wading up to their arm
pits in order to save goods. 1t is. con-
ceded by all to be the worst storm that
has ever visited Mobile. The southern
part of the city presents a scene of
wreckage as if it had been
bombarded. The towers on the
court house and Christ church
are tottering. Dredge No. 5 turned over
near the light house, and three men
were thrown into the angry waves. At
great peril the crew of the tug Captain
Sam steamed to the rescue, and saved
two of the men, the other being lost.
An unknown white man lost his footing
while Wading from the union depot at
the foot of Government street, and he
was swept under the bridge and
drowned.
NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 2.-During the
high wind and rain storm of Sunday
night aud Monday morning the Louis
vile & Nashville suffered the most dis
astrous washout in the history of the
road. The line is impossible east OF
Chef Menteur, eighteen miles from New
Orleans, for distance of fifteen
miles, and from the statements of
trainmen it is learned that the entire
line to Mobile had suffered more or Iess.i
Two bridges are reported down-one at
Bay st. Louis, Miss, and the other at
Biloxi, Miss, and traffic is entirely
suspended. Miles of telegraph lines
along the road are down, and communi-
cation has not yet been re-established.
A force of men left for the scene of
trouble tonight and another force is
working from the Mobile end.
The storm reached its height about I
p. m, when the wind reached velocity
of seventy-fve miles an hour. From
that hour the fury OF the gale began to
increase and the wind gradually
changed from southeast to west. The
rain has been falling in torrents the
entire day, and tonight the city is
in darkness and there is not an
electric light of any kind burning. The
bay steamer Crescent City dragged her
anchor seven miles and went ashore ON
the beach between Arlington and Nom
roe Park. about three miles below the
city, on the western shore of the bay.
Capt. Frank Lumsden and crew, and
one passenger, cotton broker
named r. a. Lewis, donned life
preseryerS, and swan safely ashore
through the angry waves. Nearly every
bath house along the western shore was
torn down. and at Morgan's an attendant
named Graham was swept away with
five bath houses and drowned. The
Magnolia and Cooley's warehouses were
blown down, and two unknown negroes
were drowned in the cotton yard.
Magnificent oaks all over the city are
laid low, and the earth Is covered with
the green leaves which fell from the
trees. Houses all over the city have
been unroofed, and fences blown down,
and tonight is is simply impossible to
give details. Nothing has been heard
from the eastern shore, nor from
the market gardeners IN the.
marshes. where it is expected great
damage to property, and possibly loss of
life, has occurred. The storm at this
writing. 10 p. M, has abated and the
waters have receded. There is not
wire in the Western Union Office atford-
ing intercourse with the outside world.
and this is written to be sent
several miles out of town
where it is hoped communication may
be established. The loss of the Crescent
City represents $1,000. Cleveland
Brothers, grain dealers, estimate their
loss between $1,000 and $1,000. One
merchant lost thousand barrels OF
cement, another thousand sacks of
salt, another a quantity of lime. A
large quantity OF grain has been lost It
will be several hours before details can
be possibly known.