Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1895-03-16
TYPHOON IN MANILA
APPROACH OF THE TERRIBLE WIND
AND EFFECTS OF ITS VISIT.

The Inhabitants Are Warned by Signals
and Have Ample Time For Preparation.
Breaks Up With Deadly Squalls and
Closes In Devastating Floods.
Early in the eventful week warnings
came from our excellent observatory
that trouble was brewing down on the
Pacific to the south and east, and about
Friday the No. l typhoon signal was
displayed. The news respecting the
storm was indefinite, but the villain
was supposed to be moving northwest,
headed directly for us. Saturday up
went signal No. 2, and in the Afternoon
No. 8, and in the evening No. A. Sill
everything was calm and peaceful, and
Sunday morning dawned pleasant but
for the exception of haze. Early in
the forenoon up went signal No. 5,
which is only three from the worst one
that can be put up-No. s, and now ev-
erybody began to get ready for the in
visible monster. All the steamers and
ships in the river put out extra cables,
and the former got up steam. No craft
of any kind were permitted to go out of
the river, and the fleet of ships in the
bay appeared to be putting out their
spare anchors. Still everything was
calm, but the haze thickened, and low
sand clouds began to sail in from the
China sea-
Just after we finished tiffin, at our
little seaside house, our gaze was riy-
eted on native coming down the street,
dressed in black coat, with shirt hang
ing out beneath, in true Philippine GUS
tom, and wearing white trousers and a
tall hat. He carried sort of decorated
cane, marched down the center of the
street and gave utterance to solemn SEN
timents in deep, musical voice. In
short, he was the official crier to herald
the coming typhoon, and as he marched
along the bells in the old church rang
out wild, warning plea. The natives
opposite us hastily began to sling ropes
over the roofs of their light nipa shan
ties, and one Of the English fellows
who lives just back Of us had already
stretched good sized cables over the
tall, sloping tin roof of his domicile. A
sort of hush prevailed, and then sudden
gusts began to blow in off the bay. The
scud clouds increased and appeared to
be in terrible rush. The roar of the
surf became louder and louder, and one
after another of our oyster shell win
dows had to be shut. The typhoon was
advancing slowly, but it's course was
sure.
Our o'clock dinner passed, and now
the wind began to howl Before going
to bed we moved out of our little parlor
such valuables as might be most missed
by being carried through the air, in case
our roof came off, and went to bed
amid terrific din. Sleep was impossi-
BILE. Our house trembled like blushing
bride before the altar, and for a trium-
phal eXit-wedding march-the tin was
suddenly ripped off our secondary rain
shed roof like so much paper. Great
pieces of tin were slapping around and
up against the house and would have
sawed a head or hand off had one at
tempted to poke itself outside. At $3.50
a. m. we took a look into the "sala. -
No glass would have stood the gusts
that came bouncing in from the bay,
but our oyster shells did not yield. The
noise outside was deafening. The house
hung together, and we were thankful
that we were not off in the bay. The
wind lulled in the early morning, and
at a. m. came some of the most ter
rible changes of wind, the deadliest
squalls and most terrific blowings ever
felt. Down came all the wires in the
main street; over went half a dozen
nipas on one side of us; crack, bang,
broke off some great venerable trees.
The street was mass of wreckage as
far as we could see, and few signs of
life We're visible
All the rest Of the day the winds
blew most fercely, but we could see
that the center of the typhoon was pass
ing off to the northwest. l sailed out
in the afternoon and managed to keep
along behind the houses and reached
the Luneta, where all the lamps bent
their heads, with broken glass, and
where the huge waves were flying far
up into the air as they dashed against
the sea wall The clumps of fishing and
bathing houses were battered in pieces,
and those which weren't minus roofs
and sides were washed up into the road
as mere driftwood. The natives were
out grabbing logs, while the fishermen
families were crouching behind a stone
wall watching their wrecked barns"
and We're sitting on their saucepans,
furniture and babies to keep them from
sailing skyward. The vessels out in the
bay were throwing the surf high over
their bows. One Of them seemed to be
ashore and her stern very near the break
ers. A steamer had broken adrift and
run into another, losing all her anchors
and chain. But all things have an end,
and at night the winds and rains sub
sided. The typhoon was wide in diam
eter, and so was not as destructive as
the one in 1882.
After the typhoon came the floods, and
the river overfowed and flooded all the
adjacent low country. The water GOV.
cred the road to the club to the depth
of three feet, and two of my friends were
nearly drowned by trying to drive when
they should have rowed The poor pony
walked off into the field, in the dark
ness, by mistake, into eight feet of water
and was drowned. The boys nearly got
stuck inside the trap, but managed to