The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-11-03

The most terrible storm which has
swept the North Carolina coast, or at
least this section of it, in many a year
was that which reached a climax in the
combined fury Of wind and wave be
tween 4 and $50 o'clock a. m. yester-
day: and certainly so much damage to
property was never wrought by storm
in his immediate section before.
Briefly summarized, the damage is
that various wharves, warehouses and
their contents along the river front in
this city are v~ariously damaged, a
number of river m and tugs are
grounded, twenty or more cottages on
,WrightsvilIe beach are either complete
ly demolished or seriously wrecked,
n many others more or less damaged;
the water front on Wrightsville our
piled high with tangled debris from
beach cottages, sound bath houses, etc.,
t~restles and track Of the Wilmington
Seacoast railroad badly torn up n
wreckage almost or quite as severe as
that on Wrightsville beach is believed
to have been wrought on Carolina
beach,, to say nothing of WharVes de-
stroyed, buildings wrecked and extern
sive damage to shipping at Southport
n the serious demolition of the Unit
ed States quarantine station.
The people of Wilmington were pre-
pared by the fierce wind which swept
over the city at fully fifty miles an
hour yesterday just before day and by
the announcement in yesterdays Mes
senger as to the serious early morning
conditions at WrightSville sound and
beach RI haar az the 61V advanced OF
very serious damage being done both
about the city and to W~ilmingtOn'S
popular seaside resorts, but even with
this ~forewarning they were surprised
and shocked beyond measure when au-
thentic news Of the real conditions, es-
pecially on the beach, was received.
WRIGHTSvILLE SOUND AND
BEACH.
1t was from the cottages on Wrights-
willie and Carolina Beach that news was
sought with especial anxiety. Early in
the day the report was current thar a
large number of cottages were badly
wrecked on Wrightsville beach and
that much the same conditions exist
ed on Carolina Beach. However, no dl-
rect communication could be gotten
with Carolina Beach, nor have the real
conditions been yet exactly ascertained.
Quite a large number of people.went
down to Wrightsville sound on the
first train, which left the city at 2:3O
O'Clock. Messenger representatives
were also on board. Every one was
bent upon seeing for themselves what
wreckage had really been wrought by
the fierce winds and heavy seas.
SCENE AT WRIGHTSVILLE STA
TION.
When the train rounded the curve in
approaching the Wrightsville station
and the winding water front along the
sound and the long treStle or the sea-
coast railroad came to view, those on
board who were fully prepared as they
thought for the worst, were horltled.
The massive railroad trestle was
warped and twisted and for a few hum
dred feet extending from the station
toward the HammOckS the rails ana
ties were torn from the piles and pre-
sented a tangled wreck piled down
in the waters of the sound. Ihe rail-
road tracks, approaching the station
as far toward the city as the Prltchard
cottage. was warped and torn n the
large platform surrounding the depot
was piled high with sea weed and oth-
er drift. To the right and left, stretch
ing around the shore of the sound as
far as the eye could reach, where but
Yesterday, as it were, the famous shell
road wound in beautiful curves was a
mass of deep tangled debris of every
conceivable kind, the wreckage OF cot
tages from the beach and Of boats and
bath houses along the shore of the
sound. Many of the cedar and other
trees which grew along the shell road
and added so much Ito it's beauty,
were uprooted and formed a part or
the tangled wreckage. The FENCES
which enclosed a number of the sound
cottages were torn away and the lawns
were strewn far up toward the cot
tages with debris carried there by the
4;5o 4Lo hi~hoG+ ocoordino RI the nnin-
ion of Mr.. w. A. Wright, since 1852.
1t was, however, toward the beach
where so many people of this city have
their summer cottages, that the eyes
of the crowd turned with much eager
ness, and very soon quite a party or
the most st~out-hearted and v~enturous
men started to walk the trestle toward
the beach, more than a mile further
across the sound and Banks channel.
DAMAGE TO THE TRESTLE.
The walk across the trestle revealed
the gratifying fact that the serious
damage to the trestle is from the
Wrightsville station to about half way
across to the Hammocks, the remain
der of that section 10 the HammockS
being in very good condition, and that
the trestle from the Hammocks across
the Banks channel to the beach is not
seriously injured. In fact that it can
be put in thoroughly safe condition in
a half day by the regular road force.
Both on the Hammocks and all along
both t~restles there are all sorts Oh
house furnishing goods and oth1i
debris from the cottages wrecked on
the beach,, a number of the cottages
having left considerable furniture m
their cottages when they moved up 10
the city for the winter.
1t will be Of interest to note here
that Captain Grant and other, officials
of the Seacoast railroad have naugu
rated vigorous measures to prevent d
horde of wreckers rushing in, gath
ering up and taking away the many
articles Of value strewed along the
trestles and on the beach and shore
of the sound and propose to exert every
effort to have the property identih d.
CONDITIONS ON THE BEACH.
"Breezeland," the first station on
the beach reached in approaching from
h banks chanrel trestle presented a
condition very agreeably contracted
from that plainly visible further up
the beach. The handsome cottage and
grounds "Rreezelaud.n owned hu Mr.