The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-10-21
CEDAR KEYS LEV ASTATED
The Florida Town Struck by a Hur-
ricane and a Tidal Wave.
AN APPALLING LOSS OF LIFE.

The City Wrecked and Many of It's In
habitants Killed or Injured---The Fleet
of Spongers Caught in the Hurricane
and Lost With the Crews---Many
Bodies Recovered---Dead Buried in Mud
JAcKsoNv1LLE, Fla, October S.-Cedar
Keys Is place OF desolatlon and death. Be-
fore the hurricane visited 1t 1t was thriv-
ing town Of 1900 Inhabitants. To-day many
Of the people are dead, scores of others are
injured, and few houses are left standing
Twenty bodies have been recovered, and 1t is
known that many other persons have been
killed. But few of the bodies have been
identified, 30 mutiated were they by falling
timbers.
The storm struck the town at $50 o'clock
on Tuesday morning and continued for sew
eral hours. At An. m. 1t blew perfect hur-
ricaD. The wind suddenly changed TO south
eaet. bringing In q deluge OF water, the tide
rising two feet higher than 1t did In the
memorable gale OF 1884, which was at the
time said to be the severest storm on record.
At 7o'clock an immense tidal wave came
II. Boats. wharves and small houses were
hurled from the shore and broken into frag-
ments. covering the streets with .wreckage
and rendering them impossible, while the
torrents OF water rushing through every
open space took the strongest men of their
feet. This tidal wave caused the principal
loss Of life. many houses being swept from
their foundations, and the inmates drowned.
OF the twenty bodies recovered, twelve
are white and eight oolored. OF the whites,
Ska mother, four children and young
woman visitor.-belong to the Whitson fam
lily. The other four white victims are men,
and have not yet been identified. or the
colored people only one, Peter Woodson,
has been identified. Most OF the victims were
buried deep in mud BY tho tidal wave, and
many Of the bodies will probably never be
recovered.
Deplorable as Is the loss Of life In Cedar
Keys, 1t is nothing In comparison with the
number Of spongers and fishermen who we're
drowned. The Mary Eliza, sponging
schooner, reports that at dark on Monday
chored on the sponge bar, just below Cedar
Keys, and that nearly every one OF them was
sunk by the hurricane. As these vessels
carried from four to ten men each, the loss
Of life Is horrible to contemplate. There
was not one chance In thousand for such
frail craft to live In such storm.
Two men who went few miles down the
coast returned to Cedar Keys and reported
finding the bodies OF eight men washed
ashore. These men were the crew OF q
sponging vessel, and the crews OF most OF
the other vessels have undoubtedly met
similar fate. Four men reached Cedar Keys
In dlngy. They we're part Of the crew OF
the schooner Rosalie, and report the vessel
sunk and eight ottheir companions drowned.
Those who escaped death In Cedar Keys
had q terrible experience when the tidal
wave overwhelmed the town. Mary OF the
people foated In the water, olinging to
pieces OF timber, while others clung to tree
tops for hours, until the water receded. They
were buffeted by wind and wave, and many
are still missing.
While the gale was at its height fire broke
out IN the Bettini House, and 1t was burned.
The force Of the wind demolished the large
and handsome Methodist Episcopal Church,
the Cedar Keys Eigh School building, the
Christian Church, three colored churches.
many private houses and all the flshhouses
except one. The Suwanee ice factory, VOLTS
cedar mill, the Eagle Pencil Company's mill,
the large lumber mill of Y. J. Herlong, and
the planning mill OF Meyer & Sons, just COM
pleted and ready for work, suffered con-
Blderably.