The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-07-30

A CYCLONE In EAST WHINING:
TON SUNDAY.
MI. c. 8. Riggs Eight Room Residence
Blown Eight Feet on the PfIisrs and
HoPelessly Ruined-Nsrrow Escape of
Thitteen Persons Who Were in the
House

Hopelessly Ruined-Narrow Escape oil
Thitteen Persons Who Were in the
House
A severe storm Of wind and rain Wis
tied Wilmington Sunday afternoon
from 1 to 3 O'Clock. The storm came
up from the southwest and was accom-
panied by sewers thunder and light
ming. For an hour the rain fell in tor
rents. and the streets were turned into
rivulets, being badly washed in many
places. On Second street, near Ann, a
great flood of water poured across the
street, broke through the fence in
front of Mrs. NJ. F. Elliott's new resi-
did considerable damage to the founda-
tons. The ground underneath the res
idence was washed out to a deep hole
Of about -four feet, and props had to
be put under the stills of the house as
a matter of ~precaution. The wind
blew down several shade trees in the
city.
In East Wilmington the storm as
sumed the nature Of a cyclone, leveled
corn, blew down fences, uprooted and
twisted off trees and telephone poles,
and wrecked the residence of Mr.. c.
S. Riggs, who resides two miles and
a quarter from the city on the old New
Bern road.
A Messenger representative went out
to AIr. Riggs place yesterday after
nam on6 found hin, ond biC farpi1xy
around the ruins of what was a COM
Portable home on Sunday till the storm
struck it about 2 o'clock. 1t was an
eight room house with an L, and it was
blown off and landed eight feet from
the pillars. The front and rear porti-
cos were completely blown away, the
roof Of the L vas carried away, and
the whole frOme Of the house twisted
and shattered. The chimneys were
bodily carried away with the house
and were wrecked.
When the storm struck the house
there were thirteen people in it, con-
sisting of Mr.. and Mrs. Riggs, their
seven children and the four children of
Mr.. Isaac w. Northrop, who were Wis
iting Mr.. Riggs children. Luckily,
none Of them received a scratch, but
their escape was miraculous.
Mr.. Riggs tells us that he was at his
back door and saw the cyclone COM
ing a half mile or more away to the
southwest. He hollered to his wife to
shut the doors, and by the time he
could shut the back door the storm
struck the house. He saw it whirling
up the tops of the trees and carrying
a vast circle of trash and dirt, and
states hat it seemed to dip suddenly
and the noise Of sticks and chuncks
striking the house was SO great that
none of the inmates heard the timbers
of the house when they cracked. They
felt a jar, but had no idea the house
was off it's foundations. The force Of
the storm was only a few seconds, and
then all was over. Mr.. Riggs found his
wife and children in the passage
screaming with fright and the first
he realized Of the great damage to his
iiooSN ""S "ASh ~ hAN ~ OpS" I'm
back door and could not move it. He
tried the front door and it, too, was
damned, and fearing hat the house
might fall, he knocked out a window
and dragged his wife and children out
into the pouring rain.
The stable and all the ou%tbuildings
were blown fiat. Some of the timbers
Of the piazza were carried a hundred
feet away, and the force of the storm
was 80 great that the watermelons in
the field were torn from the vines. A
calf that was in the stables when they
went down was crippled and a number
of chickens were killed. The dog was
fastened under the timbers of the "L'
and Mr.. Riggs had to cut through the
floor to extricate him.. Among the ru-
ms he found a new tin wash basin
which was brought with the wind, as
it did not belong to Mr.. Riggs.
Mr.. Riggs estimates his damage at
$500, and he has not a dollars insur-
ance. He hopes to repair the house
and rent it, but we doubt whether any
portion of the structure can be re-
paired. He will remove his family to
the city.
The track of the storm seemed to be
about a half mile wide, although we
hear of no other serious damage in the
vicinity. Some Of Mr.. Riggs neighbors
lived only fifty feet away, but their
fence were not even blown down. The
motion of the storm was that of a
whirlwind. Timbers of columns of the
rear piazza were thrown in the oppo-
site direction to that in which the
| storm was going.