The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-10-03
BIG STORM.
. est Indian
Tornado
DOWN SOUTH.
Shipping and Crops Dam
aged and Lives Lost.

Savannah. Ga, Oct. 2.-For Is hours
from o'clock this morning until s
o'clock tonight-Savannah has been in
the grasp Of a West Indian cyclone.
During that time the wind blew steadi-
ly from so TO 20 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 d.
rection around Savannah the low lands
along the rivers are submerged Only
one fatality has SO far been reported
the drowning of negro while attempt
ing to reach the main land from a
small island near Thunderbolt. Heavy
loss of life is feared from the South
Carolina sea islands, where such awful
loss Of life occurred during the great
tidal storm of 1898
The conditions now are similar to
those during that storm. Owing to the
submerged country and the isolated To-
cation of the islands. no news can be
had from them until the water sub
sides. For eight miles north of Savan-
nah 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 ISL
ands, swept over banks and dams, car
rying away the remnant of the rice
crop 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 $4,000 to $4,000. OF the entire
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 shipping is con-
siderable The schooner Governor
Ames, which was on her way to sea,
with a cargo of 5000 900 feet of lumber,
went adrift in the harbor, but was
rescued safely. The wharves at the
quarantine station at the entrance to
away. The quarantine officer and his
family and servants were rescued early
in the day by a tug.
Four vessels which were at anchor
at the station were torn from their
mornings and driven into the marshes.
Three of these were the British schoon-
er Syanira, bound from st. Johns, n.
b., the American schooner Millyille FOR
Millville N. J., the Fannie L. Childs
Italian bark Franklin.
How badly these vessels are damaged
is unknown No news has been re-
ceived from Type since early in the
morning, and nothing Is known of the
damage there. At rhunderbolt and
Isle Of Hope, suburbs Of Savannah, all
the boat houses on the banks and hum
dreds of small boats were carried
away. The extent to which the rail-
roads suffered, is not funny known. The
naval stores and cotton and lumber
yards of the Plant system are sub
merged and the tracks OF the Central
Of Georgia, and Georgia and Alabama
roads, around the city ara covered The
north bound express on the r. G. q
P. r. r., due here from Florida at
noon, has not yet arrived.
Telegraph wires, except one wire
over the Western Union lines. are down,
and the condition of the railroad tracks
is unknown. The telephone, police,
light and FIRE alarm wires are down
and the city is in darkness. On Hutch
inson island, opposite Savannah and
separating the city from the South
Carolina shore, there were many negro
families rescued by boats from the rev.
enue steamers Tybee and Boutwell,
All day rescuing parties were at work.
Tonight the wind has subsidized, 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 o. S. s.
eompany's steamer Macoochee for
New York and the Merchant & Miners
steamer D. IT. 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 tile storm Is
and until Geographic COM
is restored or news re-
ceived from the country between Sa-
vannah and Jacksonville, over which |
the heaviest part of the Storm passed, |
the full extent of its damage cannot |
be told.