Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1893-10-07
AWFUL NEWS.
Two Thousand Drowned by q
Dreadful Tidal Wave.
PEOPLE OVERWHELMED BY The FLOOD
Details show Frightful Ravages by the
Late hurricane from the Guh-
.sar .iyors In Danger at starva>
ton,


show that the loss of life was appaii-
ing. probably 1000 while the damage
to property will aggregate IS, OOO,ooo.
The first news from Grand isle, sea-
side resort, where many well to do peo-
pie were spending the early fall, came
yesterday morning when several sur
yivors reached here with terrible
stories. 4 tidal wave swept over the
island, destroying life and property on
all sides. DIR. Frey, prominent phy-
stefan, and his wife were drowned, and
145 families, including 500 people, are
said to have persisted. The steamer
Joe Weber was blown to pieces and
several of the crew were lost.
Cheniere Camanda. opposite Grand
isle. was less exposed, but suffered
greatly. 1t was the home OF many
fishermen and constituted quite set
Element.
Early in the morning when the Grand
Isle railway hands were clearing the
debris from the tracks just above Buras
they found the bodies of three little
white girls in fence corner, all hor-
ribly torn on the barb wires. all three
in rags and almost naked. An Italian
recognized them as children he had
seen at Oyster Bayou, but did not know
whose children they were.
A woman who driftcd to shore dashed
to log. with her husband and two
children had taken refuge on board
schooner outside of Bayou Cook and
intended to ride out the gale. When
the wind came up from the west fol-
lowed by mammoth wave, the hus-
band and two children were washed
overheard and the lugger's mast
snapped off at its foot it drifted away.
The woman jumped on the floating
timber and in some way dashed herself
TO it. All night she drifted through
Adams and the neighboring bayous,
and when daylight came she was picked
mp by the lugger Revenue
John A. Seput, one of the managers
of the fishermen. who lived on the
shore of Bayou Cook, said that there
was nothing left either on the shores
of the bayou or it's islands, On Bayou
Simon. which is situated in Grand
bay. there were fourteen fishermen
drowned
The house of John Barger, fisher
man. in Bayou Cook. was washed
away. Four children and the wife
were rescued. but the husband and
two children were drowned within a
few feet of the poor wife.
On Simon island in Grand bay there
were eighteen inhabitants who were
keepers of oyster camps and were wait
ing for the return of the oyster fleet.
Sixteen of them were drowned.
Matthew Weertze and Dominick
Mcrgovitch, two sailors rescued by "a
lugger from Grand isle. said that the
sea was raging all day, and towards
night had increased to an alarming de-
gree. About 10 o'clock the wind had
shifted to the southwest. Far out at
sea, as flashes of lightning would il
Illuminate the darkness, could be seen
mammoth wave travelling with won
derful rapidity towards the island.
Closer and closer 1t came with a noise
like thunder. Then it struck. All was
darkness and the island as far as the
eye could reach was covered with
water. The next flash OF lightning
found the two fishermen far off to the
north of the island and, looking about
In the direction of the island, they
could see nothing but sheet of water,
the island having totally disappeared.
Matthew Shurts, of Gouldsboro. one
,f mi mr.
calamity, who arrived this morning on
the schooner Good Mother, went to the
island about four weeks ago with
George Thompson and negro bricklay-
or, Louis Roberts, for the purpose OF con-
structing a school house. The house
in which he boarded was rudely built
place, but it had withstood many gales
and the occupants of it felt reasonably
safe from the storm. 1t turned out to
be the bier of probably twenty-five peo-
ple. When he reached the city this
morning he showed the results OF the
peril he had passed through. He was
almost naked; the clothes he had on
were torn to shreds, his face was bruised
and he had not yet recovered from the
excitement he had undergone
When Shurts left Chemiere yesterday
he counted but five houses standing out
of a total of about 800, while the island
was covered with corpses.
Nearby to Simon isle is another small
island called Razor island. Here
camp of five men were located, who
were all drowned On Bird island,
which was situated little further to
the westward and is more exposed to
the heavy surf, lived about $50 people
They were all drowned.
IL will never be accurately known
gust how many lives were lost in the
storm. The mighty waves swept with
irresistible force over the land and
with such a great depth that it is prob
able that many bodies and perhaps
,,.rv who are still living were carried