Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1898-10-06
FIERCE HURRICANE.
Georgia and South Carolina Coasts
Swept by a Terrific Wind.
MANY LIVES BELIEVED TO Be LOST.
The Rice Crop Practically Destroyed
Damage to shipping Conslderable-Low-
lands Along the Rivers Submerged
Rescuing Parties nc Work.

Savannah, Ga, Oct 3.-For Is hours,
from three o'clock yesterday morning
until six o'clock last night, Savannah
was in the grasp of West Indian cy.
clone. During that time the wind
blew steadily from so to 70 miles an
hour. While the city escaped with
comparatively little damage, the loss
of property among the sea islands of
the Georgia and South Carolina coasts
is believed to be heavy. For miles in
every direction around Sayannah the
lowlands along the rivers were sub
merged. Only one fatality has so far
been reported-the drowning of gne-
gro while attempting to reach the
land from a small island, near Thun-
derbolt-but heavy loss of life is
feared on the South Carolina sea
islands, where such fearful loss of
life occurred during the great 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 the entire country is a
lake with only the hummocks visible.
At noon the water was eight feet
above the highest tide. Driven on
shore by the northeast storm, it filed
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 rice growers alone will
be from $50, 900 to S75, 900. OF the en-
tire rice crop along the Savannah
river, valued at $3.50, 900, all but about
IS per cent. was lost in this and the
preceding storm. The damage to ship
ping is considerable. The wharves at
the quarantine station at the entrance
to the river here were partially carried
away. Four vessels which were at
anchor at the station were torn from
their mornings and driven into the
marshes. At Thunderbolt and Isle of
Hope, suburbs of Savannah, all the
DOdJ uOuSGo Ou JllC Ddhho anu
of small boats were carried away.
The extent to which the railroads
suffered is not fully known. The
naval stores and cotton and lumber
yards of the Plant system are sub
merged, and the tracks of the Central
railroad of Georgia and the Georgia &c
Alabama railroad around the city are
covered.
On Hutchinson's island, opposite
Savannah and operating the city from
the South Carolina shore, there were
many negro families rescued by boats
by revenue steamers Tybee and Bout
we'll. One man with child in his
arms, holding the little child above
his shoulders, started to cross the
dams with the water up to his waist.
His wife with another child, stood in
the window of their house, the floor
of which was already flooded by the
rising water, and watched her hns-
band feel his way step by step along
the top of the treacherous dam, one
false step from which, or a caving
bank would throw him into swift
moving current Finally he was
sighted from across the river on the
city side. A boat was put off and
after half an hours effort the man was
rescued. Upwards of 100 people were
brought from the island to the city in
boats.
Yesterday rescuing parties were at
work. The extent of the storm is I'M
known, and until telegraphic commu-
nication is restored or news is received
from the country between Savannah
and Jacksonville, over which the heav-
lest part of the storm passed, the full
extent of it's damage cannot be told.
At Charleston, S. G., much alarm
was occasioned by the hosting of cy-
clone signals by the weather bureau.
1t was feared at one time that much
damage would be done, but such was
not the case. During the day the
wind reached a velocity of go miles,
and the tide rose III feet above nor
NAL. Several streets in the city were
submerged, causing much inconveni'
ence, but traffic was not interrupted,
nor was the city cut off from commu
nication either by rail or wire in any