New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-10-11
uorrNTING UP THE LOSSES.
TERRIBLE DESTRUCTION OF THE
FLORIDA HURRICANE

,vvs BATTERED BY WIND AND
WAVES AND INTERIOR TOWNS
WIPED OUT OF EXISTENCE
RELIEF WORK BEGUN.
ar KEYS Fla, Oct 10 (SpeciaD.-The terrible
.ane of September IS and 80 which passed over
ppr, NJ the State left a terrible track Of death
Vi" sos,ruc,ion Houses twisted all out of shape.
~" s.s standing awry, roofs lying edgewise, trees
V,.,od together like so many giant reeds, gardens
y" zane matches destroyed cattle and domestic
'.,s killed 10y the hundred-all these and many
w." evidences Of the storm are seen on every
Va and 10 the visitor the question presents it
'sa' "uow did any of the people save themselves"
~' soovn death-ist of twenty-three here. with
80 Two hundred injured. and a property loss Of
millions Is Il iV"''''' anu '"N '0'''''"e' vi VIC
catastrophe
",roeether the loss OF life i'm this State will
uni 10 fully seventy-fve. 1t will be weeks be-
- the full extent OF the damage can be learned
." .ha names of those killed or injured secured.
~~umunication with Cedar Keys Is cut off by wire,
~ travel through the storm-beaten section is
.r.neh impossible save on horseback, and is
,.,, and dangerous.
'r.o storm struck this city about o'clock Tues
49, mornng September 90 coming with rush and
II ,oar that were heard for miles. The wind had
-, mild and light all night. and the weather
,..sant Soon after midnight il began increasing
rshv O'clock in the morning IA gale was blowing
- ,hs rate of forty miles an hour. Between ana
80 storm was at its height. the wind roaring and
,rs through the narrow streets of the little VII
W" nd huge waves of dark-green seas dashins
Sc the lanes and streets. carrying death and
s.ruction in their path. Trees were torn up bod
1 ord came sailing through the air. some OF the
sr,. trunks piercing the frames or houses IN one
,.n. telegraph pole was sent through house
~. hinge dart. The water came up with rush
IA soon a wave, towering many feet In the ar
n. hurtling upon the wharves and streets OF Tue
snors Down the principal street rushed tor
49,. ,rresistibe i'm it's force, upon which noated
,.ss NJ house frames beams. trees ana o'hei
a.hris Houses went down before TINS IKE paper
W.. IN. terrified people saw one impending danger
~tue escaping from another. The coquiha-ou'i'
Susss stood the gale, but the torrent OF water I'M
/ ss,m,ued them. and they collapsed and sank in
,rns almost as quickly as the others WINE the
| .rm was raging Il its height fire broke out ana
-. two hotels and several other buildings were
,rtklv DESTROYED. Nothing was saved from thcm
and the people who had gathered there for
safety had barely time TO escape with their lives
r,s loss Is fully $4,000 or double that occa-
stoned by the big storm Of two years ago
ISLANDS IN THE HARBOR SUBMERGED.
In the harbor number OF small ISLANDS, anu
/ for distance Cf ten miles further down are otn-
ers These are low. fiat spots OF land rsihS only
few feet; in some instances. above hlgh water. All
nre inhabited by fishermen and their famhes' Inc
tidal waves washed them, and here IT Is that
the greatest loss of life occurred IL VIII not Do
/ known for weeks yet how many perished
Cedar KEYS is O small village of about 900 inhao-
,tants on the west coast Of Florida. on an island
some four miles from the mainland and connected
herewith by the Florida Central and Peninsular
Railroad whose rails were on earth embankments
and trestles Now its only communication with the
mainland is by boats, all the railroad embankment
having been swept away. The principal business OF
the place is its fisheries and oyster houses feet
of spongers belong here, too, and many of their
vessels we're out in the storm and have not yet
\ been heard from.
1 The hurri cane began in the Caribbean Sea. and
sts path then some 600 miles wide. AS 1t
neared the coast It contracted its limits, increasing
In fury UNTIL when it struck the city, 1t was con-
fined to a narrow belt some twenty miles wide, the
wind blowing at the rate of seventy-fve. ninety and
! even hundred miles an hour at times.
The following is the list. far compiled Of those
killed here:
DR.. ]. c. Spears. travelling dentist Brad Camp
| bell colored: Hall Framing Deer Island: Frank
| Branning. Deer Island; Simmons Branning. Deer
| Island; Samuel Gauseze, Shell Mound; Sam" Rob-
,nson, Shell Mouad; Mrs. Lizzie Dore. Shell Mound
Charles Dore Shell Mound; Walter Dore Shell
. Mound: Mrs. Emma Beecham. Axe Island George
Ravens, Cedar Keys; Frank Ravens Cedar Keys
Ida Branch. Of Tampa
The missing follows, near as can be
learned now:
Samuel ]. Register, Councilman; Mrs. Rosa
Branch, Of Tampa, visitor: Henry Ravens, Cedar
Keys; Joe BROKER. Cedar Keys; Miles Bass, -
Ezel and - Walker, unknown visitors to the city;
TWO men named Stratton. Crystal River.
Besides these, bodies of several negroes, whose
Identity could not be established, have been seen In
The harbor probably lost from the sponging fleet.
ISOLATED FROM THE WORLD
Cedar Keys is now isolated from the world. be-
ing without railroad or wire communication. The
railroad will not be In operation again for five or
six weeks Provisions have been scarce. but now
the people are better supplied. The fishermen in
tend to move their places Of business to the main
land as they ship from there without trouble,
and the oysermen will do likewise. This Will pre-
vent much rebuilding at present
The hurricane as 1t passed north left wide path
many miles in extent, filled with twisted trees
Elng In the widest confusion. In one tangle OF
trunks and limbs strewn here and there. with the
wrecks Of loggers' camps. Small settlements with
PROSTATE houses cultivated fields, with crops blown
entirely out Of the ground. and the fields covered
with debris of all kinds all that remain OF
what was prosperous section Of country, thickly
inhabited In some places. The death list Is In
complete in this path Of the storm In this State
1ne property loss can hardly be estimated. but
VIII amount 10 Millions while the sunerings OF the
S%ople cut off as they are by the impossible con-
uuon OF the country. will be great. -.
a All along the Suwanee River at Tanning. Mani
re springs and other settlements. the people are
"a oespair. The settlements were almost totaly
Wsuoyed: At Fowier's Bluff not building Ws5
s,, standing, and there is hardly farmnon 1s
sssnin twenty miles. Yular. small village OF S9
s%us, with fifteen to twenty business houses ana
S Ss Is complete wreck The people have moth
I 70 eat, and have sent out appeals for aid
, vUods from the destroyed stores have been found
wwenly miles away, Enthusiastically twisted around
me- ne trees In instance big pine tree was
ssssty wrapped up In red and white calico The
ssgpse have gathered up the scattered boards, etc.
ssu nave built lean-tos to shelter them. For miles
Sound this central spot there IL not tree lett
Msldine all being a confused mass Of fallen tim
ss n through which 1t Is almost impossible to picK