The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-10-03
age to Crops and Shipping.

Country is a aLake-Tremendous Dam- age to Crops and Shipping.
 Savannah, Ga, Oct. 2.--For eighteen hours, from o'clock this morning until o'clock tonight, Savannah has been in the grasp of West Indian cyclone. During that time the wind blew stead fly from fifty to seventy miles an hour. While the city escaped with eompara- lively little damage. the loss of prop erty among the sea islands of the Geor- gia and South Carolina coasts is be- lieved to be heavy. For miles in every direction around Savannah the low lands along the rivers are submerged. Only one fatality has so far been re- ported-the drowning of negro while attempting to reach the mainland from heavy loss of life is feared from the sea islands, where such awful loss of life occurred during the great tidal storm of a few years ago. Owing to the sub merged country and the isolated loca- tion 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 Humlocks visible. At noon the water was eight feet above the highest tide. Driven on shore by the northeast storm JoI sa1o banks and dams, carrying away the remnant of the rice crops that was left by the August storm and had not been gathered and wiping out farm crops. The loss of rice growers alone will be from $50,000 to $75, ,000 Of the entire rice crop along the Savannah river valued at $250000, all but about 15 per cent. was lost in this and the preceding storm. The damage to ship ping is considerable. The schooner Governor Ames, which was on her way to sea with a cargo of 1,500O00 feet of lumber, went adrift in the harbor but was secured safely. The wharves at the quarantine station at the entrance to the river here were partially car- ried away. The quarantine officer and his family and servants were rescued early in the day by tug.
 Four vessels which were at anchor at the station were torn from their moorings and driven into the marshes. Three of these were the British schoon- CT Syarana bound from St. Johns; the American schooner Millville, for Mill vile, N. J., the Fannie l.. Childs, for Boston, all lumber laden, and the Ital- ian bark Franklin. How badly these vessels are damaged is unknown. No news has been received from Tybee since early in the morning and nothing is known of the damage there. At Humboldt and Isle of Thunderbolt, sub urbs of Savannah, hundreds of small boats were carried away. The extent to which the railroads suffered is not fully known. The naval stores and cot ton and lumber yards of the Plant sys- tenn are submerged and the tracks of the Central of Georgia and Central Ala bama roads around the city are cov- cred. The north-bound express on the F.. c. & P. road, due here from Florida at noon, has not arrived. Telegraph wires, except the wire over the Western Union lines are down and the condition of the railroad tracks is known. The telephone, police, light and fire alarm wires are down and the city is in dark ness.
 On Hutchinson Island, opposite Saw annah and separating the city from the seashore there were many negro fami- lies rescued by boats from the revenue steamers Tybee and Boutwell,. All day rescuing parties were at work. To- night the wind has subsided, but the water, which receded with the ebb of the tide during the afternoon, has again risen Considerable anxiety is felt for shipping at sea. The steamer Nachochee for New York and the Mar chants and Miners steamer D. H. Miller for Baltimore went to sea Saturday night. The City of Macon, of the Ocean Steamship line, was due this morning from New York, but has not arrived and the City of Augusta of the same line sailed from New York Friday and was due here tonight. The extent of the storm is unknown and until tele- graphic communication is restored or news received from the country be- tween Savannah and Jacksonville, over which the heaviest part of the storm nassed. the full extent of tis dama ge cannot ba told.