The Indianapolis journal., 1893-10-06
CAPT. TERREBONNE'Si WORK
SiXty-TwO Persons Saved with
Great Risk to Himself.
Hundreds of Bodies Lying in the
Marshes Unburied- for
the Survivors.

OF 1C0; at Bayou Andre. 72. out OF 80; at
Bayou Dufort. 10. out of 75. Reports from
other places may swell the total number Of
victims to {. 500.
The hero of the hour around French mar.
ket is Capt. Rudolph Terrebonne. the big.
bluff commander of the lugger Good Mother.
He is being lionized by his countrymen.
and from W hat Is said of Captain Terrebonne
By the refugees from Cheniere. he deserves
all of the praise and credit that 10
accorded HIM. Captain Terrebonne. dur.
ing the height Of the cyclone. risked his
life half dozen times in saving the lives
of men. women and children who were un-
able to help themselves. While the storm
was at its fury the house Captain Terre.
bonne occupied began rocking to and fro.
There was two feet Of water on the ground,
but, nevertheless. the captain caught hold
of his wife and one child. while his seven-
teen-year-olc son seized another one OF tho
children and they left the house. Captain
TerrebOnDe weighs $50 pounds and is pow
erfully built. but 1t took all of bis strength
TO keep from blowing away. Some
distance from his house was
two-story house. and to this place the cap.
tain made his way with his family. In the
house he found several people crouchod in
fear OH the lower floor. The captain then
left IN search of those who were in need of
assistance. AT almost every step he found
some unfortunate whom he took TO the
house where his family was He continued
doing tins for over on hour and during that
time managed 10 save sixty-fOur peODle.
who were on the point of giving up when he
came TO their aid. After the sixty-four
PEOPLE had been safely landed in the low
er portion of the house tho building began
to sway to aud fro The crowd became
panic stricken. and would have dashed out
INTO the storm had not the captain placed
his burly form in the doorway and pre-
vented them. He requested everybody
to 60 up stairs. knowing that if
the house went in those on the
second floor would have better
chance of escape than the people on the
death by falling timbers. All but three
obeyed the captains orders. As soon as
the majority reached the upper floor the
building collapsed. The sixty-two people
on the second floor escapsd injury. while
second floor sank down and rested on the
debris on the ground. Every body held on
to the timbers. and were prevented from
blowing away. The sixty.twO people re-
manned in this situation until daylight.
when the wind lulled. Captain Terrebonne
lost sister, who was drowned.
WHERE THE LOSSES OCCURRED.
With the information that has reached
tho city to-day from Grand Isle. from
Chenlere Carminada, from Bayou Cook
country and the territory adjacent thereto
and from that section lying upon this side Of
the river. from the upper line of the parish
of Plaquemine 10 the quarantine station.
from the Lake coast and else " here. IL 10 now
possible to give fair calculation
of the loss Of life and extent of
the damage done by the late storm. In the
Pointe Ia Hache country the death list
to-day has been swollen to eighty, and the
searching parties are still ont. with tie
prospect OF increasing he number TO an
even hundred at least. The destruction
OF property and crops in the same COM
Around She'll Beach and st. Mnlo
the nsiahborhood Of thirty. On the
Misslsslppi sound and vicinity probably
score of people have been lost. with reports
coming IN that the Chandelsur ieiands were
swept away and that great damage re-
suited. with attendant loss OF life. Tho
loss TO shipping Will amount TO many thou
sands of dollars. 1t Is believed now thas
the loss of life in the Bayou Cook country
will approximate two hundred. Scores Of
fishing smacks and luggers have been de-
stroyed and the country swept clean OF Its
houses. The loss OF life on Chen.
1eT6 Carmln6u8 Will DO over LOU.
The Chinese camps on Bayou Senet and
Bayo Andre have suffered severely, and
many were drowned there. 1t in fair to
estimate. therefore, that between seven
teen and eighteen hundred people perished
In the storm.
The property loss will be several million
dollars. There were three or four hundred
craft engaged in the oyster or tish indus.
try, and half of these have been wrecked.
turned bottom uD or sunk. The result IS q
Ia llnwur tnr hv1ur . d
scarcity of oysters for part of the season.
at least. In prospect. Now Orleans obtains
large proportion of her oysters from
Bayou Cook. Bayou Barataria and
the lower end of Jefferson parish.
From persons arriving on the Shell Beach
train this morning il was learned definitely
that the loss of life at Pointe a In Hache
has now reached eighty. Fifty-seven
bodies were found yesterday in the vicin-
ity of Grand Prairie and the old quaran-
tine station the larger part OF whom were
Austrian colonlsts who were engaged in
the oyster business on the bayous near
Grand Prairie
The majority OF the bodies were was he'd
out To sen or fsr into the marshes. The un-
fortunates were found In every imaginable
place. Some wero lying high and dry on
the land. where It is supposed they were
washed by the water after death had re-
lievod them from their sutlerinRs. some Of
the dead were buried under the wreckage
of their houses. which evidently col lspsed
without warning. The bodies werc mutt
lated and torn In q most horrible manner.
Arms and legs had Teen pulled troEi the
bodies and were seen floating in the pools
IN the depressions in the field or lodged on
an elevation. whore the water had
brought them. Cotfins wero out OF
the question. and the bodies not
claimed by relatives OF friends were
inferred In trenches. tour or fire bodies
being placed in one trench. The suffering
OF the Survivors IN being relieved as met rs
possible. and PROVISIONS were sent ont tins
morning the entire population of aIl the
food aod drink. Dead bodies are floating
around on every side. and the situation is
unparalleled Ia the history of the South.
Dead May Reach $500.
ST. LOUIS. Oct. 5.-.The Republics special
from New Orleans says: the return Of
eseral of the relief parties sent 10 the
storm-stricken districts of tho State fully
confirm the news of yesterday. The cor
rooted lists puts the total number of dead
ct 2.04i. This may be increased
some five hundred by the news
from the st. Bernard marshes. Lake
Borges swamps and from tho vessols lying
off the Louisiana coast Such news as is
had from tho latter show them to have
suffered greatly, few Of the smaller ones
escaping. There IL great oomp plant all
throughout tho Bayou Cook section Of
the stencil from the dead bodies