Semi=weekly graphic., 1898-10-05
On the Georgia and South Carolina Coasts the Greatest Destruction
 Is Reported.
SEVERAL VESSELS
 ARE DRIVEN ASHORE,
Others Are Overdue and Fears Are En- tertained as to Their Safety Dam age to the Rice Crop Will
 Be Very Great.

Savannah, Oct 4.-For IS hours from o'clock Sunday morning until 9 at night, Savannah was in the grasp nf Q West Indian cyclone. During that time the wind blew steadily from 10 to 70 miles an bour While the oity escaped with comparatively little damage the loss of property among the sea islands otf the Georgia and South Carolina coasts is believed to have been heavy. For miles in every direction around Sa. vannan the lowlands along the river are submerged.
 Only one fatality has so far has been reported the drowning of & negro while attempting to reach the main land from a small island near Thnnderbolt-bu loss of life Is feared on the South Caro- lima sea islands, where such fear ful loss of life occurred during the tidal storm of 1893. The conditions now are similar to those during that storm Owing to the submerged country and the isolated location of the islands no news can be had from them until the water subsidies.
 For eight miles north of Savannah tho country is a lake with only the ham. mooks visible At noon the water was eight feet above the highest tide. Briv- en on shore by the northeast storm it filled up on the islands, swept over banks and dams, carrying away the remnant of the rice crop that was left by the August storm and had not been gath cred and wiping out farm crops. The loss to rlce growers alone win be from $50 900 to $75, ,000
 The damage to shipping is considera- ole. The schooner Governor Ames, which was on her way to sea with cargo of lumber, went adrift in the har- bor, but was secured safely.
 The wharves ar the quarantine station at the entrance to the river were par tially carried away The quarantine of- fcer and his family and servants were rescued early in the day by a tug. Four vessels which were at anchor in the sta tion were torn from their moorings and driven into the marshes How badly these vessels are damaged is unknown,
 No news has been received from Ty- bee since early Sunday morning, and nothing is known of tho damage there.
 At Thundarboit and Isle of Hope, sub- urbs of Savannah, all the boat houses on the banks, and hundreds of small boats were carried away.
 The extent to which the railroads suf- fered is not fully known
 The naval stores and cotton and lum- Der yards of the Pant system are sub merged and the tracks of the Central of Georgia and Georgia and Alabam roads around tke city are covered
 On Hutchinieon's island opposite Sa- vannah and separating the city from the South Carolina shores, there were many negro families rescued by boats from the revenue steamers Tybee and Bout. well
 Considerable anxiety is felt for ship ping at sea 1he steamer Nacoochee for New York, aud th9 steamer D. H. Miller, for Baltimore went to sea Satur- day night The City of Macon was due here Sunday morning. but has not ar rived and the City of Augusta which sailed from New York on Friday WAS due here Sunday night
 The extent Of the storm is unknown. until telegraphlc communication is re- stored or news is received from the country between Savannah or Jackson yillo, over which the heaviest part of the storm passed, the full extent of its damage cannot be told,