The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1896-10-07
A FLORIDA VILLAGE DESTROYED.
WAVE OF DEATH.
Wind, Water and Fire Desolate Cedar
Keys.

Cedar Keys, Florida, is place of desola-
ton and death. 1t was n thriving town OF
900 inhabitants. Today many Of the peo-
pie are corpses, scores of others are injured
and there arc but few houses left standing.
Twenty corpses have been recovered, but
few have been identified, so mutilated were
they by falling timbers. Many of the corpses
were dug out of the mud in which they were
buried by the tidal wave that swept over the
town Tuesday morning.
The town Is situated at the mouth OF
the Suwaneo river, on number OF small
keys, connected by n number of bridges. II
had no protection, and went TO pieces when
the West India hurricane with velocity Of
so miles an hour came roaring from the
gulf. The storm struck the place about $3.50
Tuesday morning and continued for several
hours. Though warning had been given,
nothing Indicated n blow ofunusual severity.
Up to IL o'clock the night was calm and
quiet. At that hour a moderate breeze
sprang up from the eastward, increasing
gradually until 30-mile wind was blowing.
About n. IN. IL blew tornado and sudden
ly changed to the southwest. bringing in
deluge of water, the tide rising two feet high
er than In the memorable gale OF 1894, which
was Mt that time said to be the worst storm
on record
At o'clock an immense tidal wave came
In from the south, carrying destruction with
1t. Boats, wharves and small houses were
hurled upon the shore and breaking into
fragments, covered the streets with wrcckHge
and rendered them almost impossible. While
the torrents of water was rushing through
every open space, II would take the strongest
man of his feet Ii was this tidal wave that
caused the principal loss Of life. Many
homes were swept from their foundations
and the inmates drowned.
OF the 20 bodies recovered ~ are white
t.ht alfx hnt
to the Whitson family, q mother, four child
ren and young lady visitor. The other
four white victims were men. OF the eight
negroes only one, Peter Woodson. has been
identified.
The loss Of life at Cedar Keys proper IS as
nothing in comparison with the number of
spongers and fishermen who were drowned,
The Mary Eliza came in this morning dis
mnstcd. She reports that at dark Monday
night nearly 100 vessels were anhored ON the
sponge bar below Cedar Keys, and all of
them but about 20 were lost These boats
carried from four to ten men each, and the
loss Of life was great. Eight corpses have
already been washed ashore. The schooner
Rosalia was sunk and eight Of her crew were
drowned.
The handsome Methodist Episcopal
Church South the Cedar Keys high school
building, the Christian church and three
colored churches, the Suwanee ice factory,
VOLTS cedar mill and the Eagle Pencil Com
pany's mill, also the large lumber mill OF V.
]. Herlong and the planning mill of George
W. Myer x Sons and scores Of private resi-
dences were wrecked by the wind and
waves. Some OF the handsomest and ap-
parently most substantial buildings are dam
aged beyond repair.
Reliable news of the storm from the west
ern part of Levy and Alachua counties have
just reached Jacksonville. Net less than 200
families are left destitute, all their houses,
s.. n
what they had gathered was blown away
with the buildings.
The difficulty in recovering the dead at
Cedar Keys arises from the fact that the
town is built upon several small keys. The
bridges connecting these keys were swept
means OF boats, OF which there are but a
few left. Then, too, most of the victims
were buried deep In mud and many of the
bodies will probably never bo recovered.