Birmingham age-herald., 1895-03-21
FRANKS OF THE WIND.
AUGusTA's s EXPERIENCE WITH THE WIND WONDHREIfI. IrS(,A PRS

AUGUSTA s EXPERIENCE WITH THE WIND.
 WONDERFUL ESCAPES.
 AUGUSTA, Ga., March 20.-At o clock this morning Augusta was visited by the most destructive windstorm, or cyclone, since 1878. The cyclone came from the southwest with but little warning, and in less than a minute had passed over the city into South Carolina.
 In it's track there lay destruction, and houses were utterly wiped from their foun- dations and sent in all directions oyer housetops that were not touched by the bounding circular wind.
 Strange to say, there were no fatalities, though in many instances roofs were car ried away while the occupants were left unhurt.
 The majority of the houses ruined were small, one-story ones, as the section of the city over which the cyclone passed is that for the most part inhabited by the poorer class of whites and negroes. Tue path of the cyclone is about mile In length from the first place it struck to where it finally rose aud passed over. The path was in the shape of an 8, and the cy- clone struck about every quarter of a mile, making four descents and rebounding, but the second one was perhaps the worst. This was on Gwinnett street, between Eighth and Ninth streets.
 The first two houses blown down were two small ones on the outskirts of the city. The cyclone then rose and came down again on Gwinett street. The house of Willie Sims, the great colored jockey, which is a rather pretentious one, was the first to suffer. It was twisted about and the chimneys carried away, the doors blown from their hinges and the window sashes forced into the various streets. The small houses were 80 completely demol ished that there was no trace of them ex- cept few bricks from the chimneys and fifteen posts.
 square further, at the corner of Sum- mer and Eighth streets, small house had tbe entire end taken out, leaving the inner portion exposed like scene in a theater. Persons were in the house at the time eat. ing breakfast, but they escaped unhurt. Out houses in the yards were lifted and carried off several squares.
 Three hundred yards further on is situa- ted tbe large flour mill of Miller & Co. It is an immense four-story building, covert d entirely with sheet iron. While the mill was not hurt by the wind itself, it proved a target for the flying bricks, shingles and raIters from the ruined houses. A small out house from yard quarter of mile away came sailing through the air and struck the side of the mill. The force of the missile shattered the iron and the little house was driven into the side of the larger one. Scantlings and boards also pierced tLe iron sides of the mill till it had the sp- pearance of frontier fort after an attack by Indians.
 In front of Miller & Co. 's mill an electric light pole was blown down, and the wires were crossed with telephone wires, which grounded and struck a mule, instantly Killing him.
 Several hundred yards further to the northeast the winds came down again and demolished one-half of the round house of the Central railroad. One of the loco motives in the shop al the time was badly damaged and tue tin roof of the remaining portion of the building was stripped like an orange peel. The roof of the Perkins Manufacturing company was also carried away. The paint shop of the Central rail- road car shops was sprung and thrown badly out of plumb, one side of its founda- ton being blown away. Across Calhoun street from this two small houses were de- molished.
 On Fenwick street near the Southern railway yard house in which were five people was blown away, leaving noth- ing but the flooring, and yet no one was hurt.
 In all about forty houses were badly dam aged and twenty utterly destroyed. The loss Is variously estimated, but it is con- servatively placed at $500 1000.
 Augusta seems to be the only place struck by the wind. Persons who saw it say it looked like whirlwind, and that it rose and fell like a rubber ball. The noise was like that of many freight trains running over long bridge. The width of the path wes not over Atty yards.
 The great cyclone of 1878 passed over part