Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1893-10-04
FURY Of THE WAVES
Caused Many Deaths in
the South.
SETTLEMENTS DESTROYED.
Appalling Reports From Louisiana
Alabama and Florida.

NEW ORLEANS, Oc'. 4-Raports OF the
heavy storm on Su lay aul Su dav night
are reaching the city very slowly, owing
to the almos, general prcstration of tele.
phone and telegraph wires The storm
extended about six miles up the river
sbove the city aud did considerable dam
age To sugar cane in that section.
From Bayou Cook il Is repor ted that
ths settlem' nts Of the fishermen have
been completely demolished, aud that the
loss of life has reached the appalling fig
ure OF 80.
Grand Isle, "A summer resort lying In the
gulf. directly in the path OF the storm. is
said to have been utterly destroyed, and
It is known that the loss of life is large.
Many people were there spending tire
|~early autumn season. The hotels and the
two long rows Of cottages which consti-
tuted the resort are said TO be no more,
and il Is feared that the loss Of life at this
point will he very great.
In the parisl of Plaquemine, the villages
of Bomhemia aud Shellbeach were wiped
out and at least four lives lost In each
place
On both sides of the river the sugar, rye
and orange crops suffered greatly, and on
the west side the loss Of life is reported to
have been very great. IL will he some
days before the full extent Of the damage
wrought will he known, but il is feared
here that the grand total will pale into
insigniicance the number of deaths re-
ported from the storm which recently de-
vastated the Atlantic coast
A Fishermsn's Story.
A lone aud ragged fisherman from
Bayou Cook came to the Socula canal,
opposite Pointa la Hache, yesterday,
and reported that of the 800 people who
comp used the colony but 30 ha succeeded
In escaping the fury OF the elements. The
fishermen had all retired sunday night,
as usual, and though the wind was blow
ing pretty hard, there was no forerunner
of the terrible catastrophe that followed
AS the night grew apace, the wind in
creased in velocity, and the water rose
with startling rapidity, aud before the un-
fortunates, who had no possible means of
escape, had time to grasp some floating
object, they were overwhelmed with the
awful might aud found their fate in
watery graves.
He had clung To "A tree throughout the
night, and when morning dawned the
scene Of wreckage that spread before his
view was simply terrible. OF the many
little cabins which had sheltered the pros
porous lony the pight before barely one
was standing OF the 800 or more human
beings who inhabited them, but tenth Of
the number lived to tell Of the nj ght of ex-
periences filed with horror. He describes
the visitation as in the nature "A tidal
wave, which swept everything before it.
While nothing definite was received
from Grand Isle, there was general inn
preston at Point a la Hache that dire dis
aster had occurred there, and il was even
reported that the water had swept over
the island, carrying everything before it
in its awful fury, and much concern was
felt for the safety Of the two or three hun
dred inhabitants who were known to have
been there. The report also says thar the
big hotel had been blown away
Report has IL also that the settlements
at Chenier Amauanda, which Is directly
across the bay from Grant Isle had been
the scene Of "A terrible loss Of life, but this
also lacked conf nation. No communi-
cation WAS possible with thes4 points, and
IL will be several days before the extent of
the calamity there Is made known. 1t
was also reported that several casualties
had occurred in the neighborhood Of Fort
jackson, but there was no way of getting
at the particulars.
The -reatest damage by this storm on
the left bank of the river from New Or
leans To the gulf is to the crops, and espe-
cially rice, which suffered severely.
The orange crop OF Plaquemine is ruined
to the extent Of quarter Of "A million
dollars
The Louisville and Nashville railroad Is
covered up. a mile of it's track at En.
glish- Lockout has been wrecked