Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-09-28
OVER 5000 LIVES LOST.
Estimate of the Local Forecast Ohcfai
at Galveston.

The weather bureau has received from
its local forecast official at Galveston. Mr.
/. NJ. Cline, report on the great hurricane
Of September S. The report Is remarkable
in several respects. 1t gives complete
scientific record Of the great storm, with a
succinct account of the damage done, a
man of the ruined area of the city and
records Of the meteorological instruments
at the station UP to the time they were
destroyed by the hurricane. Mr.. Cline was
one Of the sufferers by the disaster His
house. which was one OF the substantial
structures in the beach section of the resi-
dence district became the refuge of fifty
persons about the height of the storm
The house went down in the general wreck
and thirty-two of its inmates, including
Mrs Cline, were killed. Mr.. Cline and his
assistant, Mr.. J. c.. Cline. rescued three chill
dren, and one woman escaped to the center
OF the city after drifting about in the gulf
for three hours on the floating wreckage.
Mr. Cline speaks in the highest terms of
the work of Mr. John d. Blagden, one of
the observers at the station, who stood by
the office till all the instruments had been
blown away. Mr.. Blagden, knowing the
Importance of the barometer record and
fearing to trust the Paragraph or auto
matte recording instrument, took readings
of the mercurial barometer through the
height of the storm at flve-minute inter-
walls. The instrument showed a minimum
reading of 2S 80, the lowest ever recorded
in this country.
The report says that the usual Fremont
tory hurricane signs were entirely wanting
IN the storm of the Sth instant The wind
through the 18th and early morning hours of
the Sth was fitful from the northeast. and
storm signals were displayed. At am. of
the Sth the lower section of Galveston was
flooded by a phenomenal tide advancing in
long swells directly in the teeth of the
wind. This fact was wired to the main
office at Washington. The wind however,
did not reach storm velocity till 8 Dr.
after which it steadily increased, accompa-
MED by rain. Warnings We're sent out by
wire and verbally that the wind was due
to shift by the east to the south, and that
the worst was yet to come. People were
advised TO seek substantial shelter in the
center of the city for the night, and thou
sands from the low beach section needed
this warning and were saved when the
general crash came.
The wind before pm. reached hurricane
velocity and a record of over eighty-fou
miles an hour was maintained by the ane-
mometer for five minutes When the wind
reached 100 miles an hour about 8 o'clock
the thermometer was carried away. There
was a brief lull as the storm center passed
and then the wind swung to the southeast
and blew with increased velocity 1t is
estimated that this gust reached a velocity
of 100 miles hour.
Mr.. Cline's map of the area of total de-
struction. checked by the estimates of the
insurance underwriters, indicates that
1886 houses We're totally destroyed The
loss of life, he says. will never be exactly
known, but 1t Is estimated at over 5000
The property damage will exceed $50 OOo-
600