The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-10-05
HAVOC ALONG MOBILE BAY.
The Storm Kings Fury Among the
Summer Resorts PitileSS.


Never Before Known-Fifteen Hun
dred Trees Acoss Public Road in a
Stretch Of Only Fifteen Miles-Ho-
tells, Pavilions and Summer Cot
tages Demolished by the Combined
Force of the Winds and Waves.
Mobile, Ala. Oct. 4.-The tale of the
storm has been told. Not only daily, but
hourly reports reach here of additional
disasters and with it come the sad tidings
of more lives sacrificed upon the altar of
the storm king. From Baldwin county,
which skirts the eastern shore of Mobile
bay, from Blakely to Mullet Point, dis
tance of forty miles, and along the shores
of Bon Secour bay to Fort Morgan, dis
tance of twenty miles, come reports Of
great destruction TO property, but thus
far there has been no news of other hui
man sacrifices from this direction.
AT Blakely, the destruction
wrought among the forest and turpentine
orchards is reported to have been very
great and many fences were swept away
and gardens damaged.
FORTY MILES OF DESTRUCTION.
All reports are unanimous that for forty
miles along this shore, forests have been
devastated to an extent unknown in the
history of this section. Every steamboat
wharf, private wharf, and bath house
along this entire stretch of coast, on
which are numerous summer resorts
to which the citizens of Mobile flock to
spend the heated term, has succumbed,
partially or wholly, to the devastating
powers of the winds and the waves.
Parties who witnessed the storm from
some of the summer resorts give graphic
descriptions of how the waves ripped the
plantation wharves apart with much
more ease than a lady rips thread from a
seam and when the waves had done their
part in the work of destruction, the wind
took up the broken debris and dashed it
away as if to give vent to its fury.
1,5OO TREES DOWN.
Some idea of the devastation wrought
in the forests of Baldwin county may be
cleaned from the fact that there are l,500
trees across the public road from
Daphne, the county seat, to the Loxly
logging camp. a distance of fifteen miles
In distance of two miles 240 trees were
counted across the logging road of the
LoXlY's, who also had their boom and
warehouse at Spanish Fort swept away.
At Howards, the hotel pavilion and
capped injury, but the entire wharf is
swept away, while the water was six feet
deep at the foot of the bluffs, and when it
subsidized 1t was discovered that new
beach had been made.
A quarter of a mile below Howards, at
Daphne, the county seat, about half of
the fine wharf, which extends from the
high bluffs fully half mile into the bay
has been swept away. The pier-head and
of a nd
gone and about twenty-five feet or more
Of the shore end.
HEAVY DAMAGE AT AIoNTRosE.
The wharf at Montrose, farther south,
is also gone, as are all the fine private
wharves and bath houses, while many of
the summer homes have been damaged
and the little catholic church that stood
on the summit of the bluffs 200 wards
from the water was completely wrecked.
This is said to be the highest point on the
Atlantic coast from Tampico, Mex, to
Montrose.
Farther south, at Battles wharf. the
wharf was demolished and some 30 or 40
yards of the bluff and roadway are
washed away.
A half mile farther south, Point Clear,
the Long Branch of the south, extends
westward into the bay. On this
point stands the Grand hotel, facing
south, while in the rear of the hotel the
north wharf extends into the bay nearly
half mile. The storm seems to have
taken special delight in demolishing this
wharf, for the waves even dashed away
the strong pieces and cross beams, leav-
ing nothing but the gaunt pilings to stand
sentinel over the ruins.
THE WHARF WASHED AWAY.
Around in front of the hotel was the
short south wharf, which was also de-
moiished and the wreckage deposited on
the sandy beach and grassy lawn in front
of the hotel. The hotel, with its broad
galleries, presented a splendid target for
the demon of the storm, and the wonder
is that plank of the structure
stands to tell the story AS it
was, the waves which usually
lap the beach in quiet ripples !
100 yards away from the front of the |
hotel, dashed with surly roar over the |
Verandas and beat against the doors like |
a bowling mob at the barred entry to
some jail, demanding prisoner Ever |
and anon hinge tim6ers and pieces of !
wreckage would be dashed up to be used |
as battering ram by the waves. The
wreckage and debris is piled high in front |
of the hotel and the west end Of the point |
has been washed away. Some of the gal. |
leries of the outbuildings were swept |
away and, according to some, the dining |
hall has been completely turned around. |
The summer residences owned by promi- |
nent and wealthy Mobilians, and located |
along the curve of the shore south of the |
hotel, are said not to have suffered any |
damage, further than the loss of all the |
small craft, wharves and bath houses. |
Farther south, tn wharf at Zundell's |
was carried away.
1000 LIVES LOST AT GRAND ISLE.
New Orleans, Oct. 4-The first |
authentic news came from Grand Isle this |
morning, when lugger reached the canal |
from the island The man in charge re-
ports that the steamer Joe Webber was
blown to pieces and that several of the |
crew were drowned. The storm was ter
rible at Grand Isle and Cheniere Can't
NADIA. At the latter place only two houses
are standing and the lugger man reports
that several hundred people have been
drowned The loss Of life caused by the
storm will probably reach 200.
The Joe Webber was not alone in her
trouble. The j. McSweeny, consort of
the Webber also met with total demoli-
tion. With these two steamboats, went
the entire crews 10 watery grave. Such
survivors of the frightful scenes Of Sun
day night as reached the city were mostly
Austrians. ignorant of the English Ian
guage, and besides that by reason of the
excitement caused by the strain on their
nervous system, they were very poor
subjects from whom 10 secure an intel
igeut account Of what trans niPed