The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-10-03

u"htN. TOrty-Glght hours ago II was q
thriving town OF 1900 inhabitants. TO.
day many Of the people are corpscs
scores OF others arc Injured and there
are but few houses lcft standing
Twenty corpscs have been recovered
but few have been identified. so mutil.
ated we're they by falling timbcrs
Many of the corpSes were dug out o
the mud in which they were buried by
the mighty tidal wave that swept ovel
the town Tuesday morning.
The town is situated at the mouth OF
the Sewhnec river on number OF
small keys connected by n number o.
bridges. 1t had no protection and went
10 pieces when the West India hurrI.
cane with n velocity OF eighty miles
an hour, came roaring from the gulf
The storm struck the place about JIG
Tuesday morning and continued fOI
several hours. Though warning had
been given. nothing Indicated a blow Oi
unusual severity. Up to II O'clock the
night was calm and quiet. At that hour
a moderate breeze sprung up from the
eastward. increasing gradually until a
thirty mile wind was blowing. About 1
4. M. II bicw perfect tornado and
suddenly changed to the southwest
bringing In II perfect dclugc OF water
the tide rising two feet higher than In
the memorable gale OF 1894. which wn-
at the time said 10 be the worst storm
on record. At : o'clock an immense IT,
dal wave came In from the south. car
rylng destruction with IT, Boats
whaTvcs and small houses were hurled
upon the shore and breaking into frag-
ments. covered the streets with wreck.
age and rendered them almost !mpas,
sable. While the torrents nf wnter
were rushing through every open
space, II would tHke the strongest man
on his feet. 1t was this tidal wave
that caused the principal loss OF .ife.
Many houses were swept from their
foundations and the inmates drowned.
or the twenty bodies recovered
twelve are whites and eight cOIored. on
the whites six belonged to the Whit.
son family, Il mother. four children
and young lady visitor. ,rh, other
four white victims are men and have
not Yet been Identified or the eight
negroes only one, Peter WOodson. has
been identified.
-
The loss Of life ut Cedar Keys pro-
per Is as nothing In comparison with
the number OF spongcrs and fishermen
who were drowned. The Mary Eliza
came In this morning. dismastcd. She
reports that dark Monday night, nearly
one hundred vessels were anchored on
the sponge bar below CeIar KEYS. and
all Of them but about twenty were
lost. These bonts carried from four ii
ten men each. The loss nf life was
great. Eight Corpscs have already
been washed ashore. The schooner
HoSalla, wag sunk and eight OF her
crew drowned.
The handsome Methodist Episcopal
Church South, the Cedar Key high
school building, the Christian church
and three cUi0red churches. the Sc
vance lee factory, Wolf's Cedar Mil
and the Eagle Pencil COmpany's mill,
also large lumber mill Of V. j. HerIOng
and the planning mill OF George W.
Myer X Sons and scores OF private res
!donces Were wrecked by the wind and
waves. Some OF the handsomcst ana
apparently most substantial buildings
are damaged beyond repair. Relia bic
news OF the storm from the western
part OF Levy and AIaChua counties
have just reached Jacksonville, Not
less than two hundred families are left
destitute, all their houses. fencIngs and
crops arc totally destroyed. and what
they had gathered was blown away
with the buildings.
the difficulty IN recovering the dead
arises from the fact that the town was
bnllt on several small KEYS, The
bridges connecting these keys were
swept away and the only cummunICa-
ton ~ by means Of bouts, OF which
there are but few left. Then, too,
most W the victims were buried drcp
III mud by thr tidni wave and many Of
the bodies VIII probably never be re-
covered
BEYOND the bar there are Il score Of
mast1 visible Just above tls, water and
ench top Indicates the burial place or u
spJnGlng schooner and its crew,
II is possible that many ur the YES
sells were blown out into the gulf and
rode out the hurricane, bit thc Mary
l;llzn's captain thinks by far tho
greater number are beneath thu water
with their crows. He says that there
WAS not one chance In thousand for
such frall craft 10 live In such hurrl-
cane.
Two gentlemen who went down the
coast a fnw miles this morning, re-
turned to Cedar Keys this afternoon
and reported finding the corpscs OF
eight men washed ashore. These men
were the crew Of Epunging vessel and
the crews 1r most uf the other vrssels
have undoubtedly met similar flitc.
II is expected that FOR days to come
corpscs Of ths spongcrs Will be found
along the Caast
The steamer Gertrude Is disnnntled
and abandoned trtrcn miles south OF
Cedar Keys. The Mallory IL fast IN
the SuwnnCc river awampS. The stcnm-
ers Belle Of Suwunec and 9. d. Owens,
were both wrecked IN The Suwnnrc
river. The Owens Is fast IN tho river
swumpg. while the Relic steamed
slowly this afternoon into Cedar Keys
with both EmoScstuCks and all upper
warltS gone.
In Cedar KnyN those who cacapcd
death had terrible experience. When
the tidal wave came and overwhelmed
the houRcE many OF tho inmates noatGd
IN tlsr water. ClincinR to pieces of tim
Der; others chung to tree topq for
hours until the water rcCrdad They
were bufrrtcd by wind and waves and
many men tainted. clpgIng even while
unconscious with 4 death grip To the
SuC0Imhng limhs.
All show the effects IN their clntlrlng
ana bruised ilcsh, but are thankful To
"Ernpr with their lives Many others
are Still unaCcountch FOR. and families
and friends are filed with anxiety,