The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1896-10-08
IN FLORIDA.

Further 1ntelligence Of the Great Hurri-
cene Tuesday-Ths Properly Damaged
IN the State win Foot Up million Dol.
isrs-suily One Hundred Lives Lost.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla, Oct. S.-The
West India hurricane struck Florida
Tuesday and though II lasted but three
hours at each point visited, was the
most disastrous storm experienced In
Florida The damage to property in
the state alone will foot up million
dollars Fully hundred lives were
lost and perhaps 10000 people were
rendered homeless. The course of
the storm was from Cedar Keys ON
the gulf coast, north by north.
east to and through the thriving
town of Lake City. Through path
fifty miles wide, few houses were left
standing, the wind at times blowing
at the rate of one hundred miles an
hour. averaging 80. In this city, dis
tant from storm center fully fifty
miles. the wind for q minute blew one
hundred miles an hour and for Eve
minutes seventy miles an hour. In
Jacksonville scores of buildings were
unroofed and trees blown down. The
storm had the characteristics of tor.
nado. 1t skipped some places in its
path, bounding over to others where
ruin was wrought Cedar Keys was
exposed to the full force of its fury.
There a score of fishermen on the
sponge banks were drowned and their
vessels were wrecked. A tidal wave
visited the town and inundated it.
During the tidal wave fire broke out
and an unusual spectacle was wit
messed of firemen fighting flames
almost shoulder deep in water.
Four miles of trestling of
the Florida Central and PEN
insular railroad, entering the
town was wrecked. LakeCity had almost
every tree in town blown down, and for
two days the streets were impossible.
Two people we're killed-a prominent
lady, Mrs. Frazier, and Negro boy.
Here many houses were razed, while
roofs of others went whirling through
the air. Lake City is in Columbia coun-
ty, which has great lumber interests.
Half the yellow pine timber was blown
down and lumber and turpentine men
lost thousands of dollars, as the lumber
is badly splintered and will soon be at
tacked Dy WormS
In Baker county, which adjoins Co.
lumbia, not score Of houses out of q
thousand were left standing. Grain
stored in barns was blown away or de.
stroyed by rain, crops in the fields, in
cluding cotton, were destroyed and
thousands of cattle were killed. The
immense lumber mill of Eppinger &
Russell, at Olustee was destroyed, in
cluding stores and residences, and
many people were hurt, though none
were killed, the reason being that they
sough refuge in deep ditch traversing
the town.
At MacClenny, in the same county,
the same tale might be told.
Sanderson, few miles distant, was
almost wiped out. All of the men
employed in the turpentine farms and
lumber mills are not only homeless but
without food and famine there is inn.
pending.
The prominent citizens of each Of
these towns have organic relief com.
mittees, and have issued appeals to the
public for aid.
billiards, in Duval county, was also
devastated and people killed and
wounded by falling of houses upon
them. Each of these has issued an ap-
peal for aid.
The storm did not touch the orange
belt of Florida, but confined itself to
the middle section, where the chief in
dustries are lumber, turpentine, cotton
raising and general farming. Coming
as the storm did, just after harvesting
the people rendered homeless and
without food will be charge upon
charity for fully six months.