Arizona republican., 1896-10-03
DEATHS BY THE STORM Cedar Keys Almost De-
 stroyed. Many Sponging Boats Co to
 the Bottom. Florida Visited By Tidal Wave That Was Most DeStruc-
 tive.


 Cedar Keys, a town of l, 300 people, at the mouth of the river, was nearly wiped out by a tidal wave during the recent storm and many of its recent are today corpses buried in the mud Of the 150 boats which go daily ito the sponge banks, only twenty weathered the storm. The bodies of the crews have begun to wash ashore.
 The difficulty of recovering the bod ies of those killed at Cedar Keys by the tidal wave of Tuesday arises from the fact that the town is built on sev- eral small keys The bridges connect ing the keys were swept away and there are but few boats left. Then, too, most of the victims were buried deep in the mud and many bodies will probably never be recovered. Beyond tine bar there are a score of masts vis- ible just above the water and each top indicates lthe burial place of spong- ing schooner and its crew. It is pos sible that many vessels were blown out into the gulf and rode out the hur ricane. Mary Elizas, a captain, thinks by far the greater number are beneath the water with their crews. He says there was not one chance in a thousana for sudh frail craft to HSe Tn such a hurricane Two gentlemen who went down the coast a. few miles reported finding the corpses of eight men washed ashore. These men were the crew of spOnging vessel, and the crews of most of the other vessels un- doubtedly met the same fate. It is expected that for days to come corpses of spongers will be found along the coast.
 Many people are still unaccoun ted for and families and friends are filled with anxiety, hoping for the best, but fearing the worst. In view of the ut ter destruction wrought by the storm, it seems miraculous that there is a single person alive in Cedar Keys to- day. The property loss to Cedar Keys is enormous.
 Reliable news of the storm in the western part of Levy and Alachua counties has just reached Jackson vile. Not less than two hundred fam lilies are destitute. Serious injuries have been reported with over thirty families in Levy county The town of Tanning is completely destroyed ex- cept one small house. Tyson & Chairs storehoIse was blown into the Suanee river with it's stock of general merchandise. The town of Needmore was demolished. The postmaster can i find no part of the mail or pos flee | fixtures. Every house at Yulare, Jud- son and lChiefand are destroyed with one or two exceptions, killing people in both the former places. The peo- pie of Bronson have issued an appeal ] for aid Reports from Baker, Suanee, i Nassau and Colum bia counties confirm the story of death and destruction re- lated in these dispatches last night.
 The death list has been increased by nearly a dozen. Columbia county fared very badly. All the county north of Lake City is devastated In Caleb
 Maroum neighborhoom scarcely a res idence or house is left standing. In the vicinity of Payne and Mount Tabor
 postoffice the destruction was great, Exclusive of the hundred spongers
 supposed to have been drowned of
 Cedar Keys, the death list in the state
 proper bfds fair bo reach One hundred
 The property loss will run into mil
 lions. The people seem paralyzed by
 the calamity. In the majority of the
 reports nothing like a detailed de.
 scription is attempted and in but g
 few reports are the names of the dead
 given. It is inferred from tInis tfa
 the majority of those killed outside ot
 Cedar Keys and points at which schoo
 children were the victims, were negroe.
 employed on turpentine farms.