The Portland daily press., 1896-10-03
to the Sultan few days ago as proof
OF the German friendship for Turkey.
REPORTS FROM FLORIDA.
Loss of Life From Storm Greater Than in
Other Sec lions.

Jacksonville Rla., October a.-Cedar
Keys is place Of desolation and death.
On Monday it was thriving town of
1900 hundred inhabitants Today many
Of the people are oorpses. Scores of
Others are injured and there are but few
houses left standing. Twenty corpses
have been recovered and it Is known that
those recovered but few have been identi-
fed, SO mutilated were they by falling
timberS.
The storm struck the place at $50
O'Clock on Tuesday morning and con-
tinued for several hours. At o'clook an
immense tidal wave came in from the
south carry ing destruction with it. 1t
WAS this tidal wave that caused the
principal loss of life, many houses being
swept from their foundations and the in
mates drowned.
OF the twenty bodies recovered twelve
are white aad eight colored. The Mary
Eliza, sponging schooner reached Cedar
Keys yesterday and reports that at dark
Monday night nearly one hundred vessels
were anchored on the sponge bar just be-
low Cedar Keys, and that nearly every
one of them WAS sunk by the hurricane.
AS these vessels carried from four to ten
men, the loss of life is horrible to oOn-
template,
few miles returned to Cedar Keys yester-
day afternoon and reported finding the
corpses of eighJ men washed ashore.
These men were of the crew of spoug-
ing vessel. Four men reached Cedar Keys
in dingy. They were part of the crew
of the schooner Rosalie and report the
vessel sunk and eight of their COM
panions drowned.
In Cedar Keys those who escaped death
had terrible experience when the tidal
wave came and overwhelmed the houses.
Many of the inmates foated In the water
clinging to pisces of timber. Others
chung to tree tops for hours, until the
water receded. They were buffeted by
the wind and many a1e still unaccounted
for.
From Other Florida Points.
Savannah, Ga, October 2.-Advices
which have reached here of the storm g
work in Florida on Tuesday have come
by mail. The wind at Jacksonville was
for minute nearly one hundred miles
an hour.
The storm passed around Tampa and
there was but very little damage result
ing from wind. But the high tides did
several thousand dollars damage to
property along the bay.
At Newberry the damage consisted of
the destruction of nearly one. half of the
property.
AT Graoey, the saw mill plant of
Gracey & Mcdonald. the largest in th at
part Of the state, was wrecked and
thousands of acres of timber destroyed.
The loss to timber in that vicinity will
reach $500, 600.
At McLenny, the Baptist church and
one of the largest stores and number
of dwellings were blown down.
At Gainesville, a building filed with
furnture was destroyed and Warehouse
was molished. A negro church was
also overturned. In Branford the Presby-
terrain and Methodists churches were
blown to the ground. The Drew Lumber
| coInpnny's mill was wrecked. Many
| buildings were unroofed.
| At High Springs trees and houses went
down like cardboards and only half a
dozen houses are left. Women and chill
| dren blown out of their arms and men
were knocked down like nine pins.
Other towns in Florida felt the force of
the blow, but the damage done was
trivial. None of the famous large hotels
suffered to any great extent.
At Lake Butler stores were W rock ed
and church ana the court house were
| Blown down.
Nearly every store and.'dwelling In Fort
White was damaged. Three churches and
| the public school were demolished. The
Plant system depot was unroofed.