The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1893-10-20
some STORM EXPERIENCES.
An Orange Grove Correspondent Graphical

iltlill lllt lllultbluNt fi'itltl "
Orange Grove station, and on tn
g." north side Of the railroad, compare
lively little damage is noticeable
Frustrated trees and fences, a biI
n scare and considerable Inconvenience
: that's about all.
I 1t was on the south side and oI
}, Bayous Cumbest and Heron that tn,
people were most unfortunate. Tn
y total destruction Of fences, crops, ant
, in some instances. honseS, boats
seins and nets were the results, leav
ing some of citizens entirely destitute
The following was the experience o
Mr.. Henry Seaman, his young wifi
al d little brother, who were the onl,
occupants of the Inflated house which
no doubt Henry built with hard earn
iGgs, and which was situated about
one and a half miles from his neigh,
Dor. Quite early in the morning the
fast rising tide o%verspread the yard
and into the house, bringing with II
snakes almost without number. They
killed the reptiles until they were
tired, or rather until their situation
became SO alarming as to call attcn.
ton to more serious matters. Snakes
were allowed peaceable possession.
The water was soon so deep that Mr..
). found it necessary to place some of
the planks of his floating floor across
the upper jOistS on which he placed
his wife and little brother, hoping
that the wind would change and the
tide recede before it reached that elc-
waited point but the wind grew
stronger, the tide got deeper and the
waves dashed with more energy, until
the little house succunbed to the
combined forces. and with cracking
and grooming began to move from its
foundations. The unfortunate i'll
mates kept their positions until the
crashing building began to sink and
break asunder. Mr.. s. cried to his
unhappy little family to follow him.
He let himself down into the water
and through the door. Mrs. S. en-
deayored to follow him but failed to
find the opening and probably would
have drowned in the house had not
Mr., 5. found a part Of her skirt and
dragged her out. Luckily the little
boy never l0osened his finn hold on
the lady, and got out also. With eff
forts which they cannot explain they
all managed to gain the roof as it was
leaving the body Of the building.
Then began a voyage which none Of
them Will yer forget. Sometimes
the great pillows would cngulf them.
sometimes their uncomfortable little
llousetop would almost stand on end
threatening to upset sometimes they
would be at n end and sometimes at
the other, often tearing strong boards
from their nailings. Perhaps one of
the most distressing occurrences of
that unexpected ride was the very I'M
welcome visit of a monster gaiter,"
VINO seemed DESTROYS Of taking pass
age with them. Mr.. s. says he does
not eXaggcratc the length of the mon
ster when he puts it at ten feet. Mrs.
). thought him even longer. Mrs. 5.
cried to her unhappy hclpmate :
Push him off !" Did Henry obey ?
They laugh about it now. Poor
boy! Thar was not the first alligator
he had ever met. He knew too well
what strength lay in the great tail
stretched out before him. In fact,
Henry was not laundering after un-
pleasant associations with aligatOrs
that morning. However, he did hol-
Ter at him in as commanding a way as
possible, but his gatership calmly
maintained his position until Il big
wave carried them all under, after
which he was not seen. They were
drifted within half Il mile of Mr.. Ben
Seaman's house, hopeful of being res
cued soon, when the wind shifted and
changed their curse toward the
dreadful gulf! The tide, however, re-
coded rapidly and on a high ridge they
found bottom in four feet of water.
They waded up the ridge to the house
of Mr.. Ellis Clark which had been
abandoned early in the morning. The
laslling of the waves and contact with
drifting timbers Invested Mrs. S. of
nearly all her clothing and she was
almost frozen.
The storm found Mrs, David Be-
sarke with her three little children in
their home on Bayou Cumbest, one
mile from the nearest neighbor.
McssrS. Ellis Clark and Peter b.
sarge, knowing her circumstances,
started very early in the morning to
her assistance, and arrived none too
soon, as there was only n boat left
and the water Vas already surround
ing Mrs. b. They all got into the
boat and passing swiftly before the
wind through the falling timbcrs
they soon arrived at Mr.. Clark's house.
But they were still in unsafe quarters
and proceeded higher up the bayou
with Mr.. Clark's family to the house
of MIR. Ben Seaman. They had not
long to rest, however. The swelling
tide gave them warning that they
were not yet safe. Securing the best
boat available the ladies and children
OF the three families were crowded in
to it while the men waded through
the watN on either side supporting
the boat. With great difficulty they
kept their precious cargo above water
for some time, but the wind and waves
and increasing depth Of water were
too much f0rtthe strong and earnest
efforts of fathers, husbands and
friends, and the little boat went
down. Then followed great excite
ment and struggle for life. Messrs.
Clark and Peter Bosarge, with great
difficulty, succeeded in getting n of
the ladies and two children to the
house of Mr.. Louis VigourouX, but
Mr.. Seaman had more than he could
manage and was driven against a pine
tree, where he, his wife. daughter and
three children remained until the Sc
verify of the storm subsidized. Three
of tho hnus mnnannd La got hold of a