The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-09-18

Jacksonville. Fla, September 13.-Be-
ginning Friday morning on the east
coast, and Saturday morning on the
west, and lasting "A hours at each,
south Florida has been swept by the
cyclone ever known in the
history of that part of the state. The
wires went down at the beginning, and
railroad service was delayed.
At Miami the wind attained a velocity
of Go miles per hour. The car shed of
the East Coast railroad was lifted from
its foundations clear of the cars that
were under it and demolished, not ever
scratching the cars. The tin roofing of
the BeIcher block was torn off and
blown across the street, completely de-
molishing the front of the building on
that side. Great damage was done to
plate glass windows. Large trees were
uprooted and several small houses were
blown down, but no one was hurt. Sew
eral small boats were sunk in the bay.
Passengers on the East Coast train
which arrived in the city tonight re-
IOI ICo 11IdAS H1CShS d4O4I5 l1S Z
tween Miami and Hobe's Sound. Among
them is one fourmasted and n three
masted schooner and several smaller
vessels. None of their names is known.
One of the Standard Oil Company's
large steamers with two barges, is
beached near Boynton. The crew Of
fifteen men were saved. Bodies of two
unknown white men drifted on the
beach near n
The storm did not extend as far south
as Key West, n did no damage as far
north as st. Augustine. Trees n
small houses were blown down at Cut
Ter. At Stuart, Is acres of pineapple
sheds were blown down, as well as the
saw mill and sheds across the river and
the building occupied by the ~postofhee
at Wa Wa. The racing yacht No. %,
was blown up into the woods, where
b now lies high and dry. The resi-
dence of Captain Mcneil was blown
from it's foundations at Stuart. At Ju-
piter the wind blew rs miles per hour,
with the rain falling in torrents.
Taking a day in crossing the PENN
Sula the storm struck Tampa Saturday
morning, soon attaining a velocity Of
20 miles per hour, n ragged all day,
the roofing of the Almeria & De Soto
Hotels was blown off. Several cigar
factories were badly damaged at YbOr
City, and several buildings were I'M
rooted. In Tampa, the Hampton block
was unroofed, and six small buildings
Were blown down. No loss of life is
reported. An unknown man was struck
by a falling roof and badly hurt, but it
is thought he will recover. Street lines
made no efforts to run cars. The wires
lpaHinC from TIA m ra in oil 1irnotinnS q ra
down n the city is in total darkness.
Other places on the west coast and
in the interior a not been heard
from, and it is feared that when reports
come in the damage will be vastly in
creased The orange fruit crops have
been greatly injured, the fruit being
blown from the trees or cut up by
thorns.
The wires west of Madison went down
at 8 o'clock tonight. indicating that the
cyclone is now raging in middle Florida.
FURTHER DETAILS OF THE
STORM DISASTER.
Jacksonville, Fla, September IA
The wires south of Palm Beach nd
Tampa are still down and will not be
in operation for a day or two yet.
The Western Union Telegraph Com
pany sent a large force of men and a
camp train down the East coast last
night.
Further details of the Florida storm
disaster came by mail and by passen-
gers on incoming trains.
The steamer InchulVa. of Liverpool
owned by the Inch Shipping company
from Galveston loaded with lumber and
cotton seed meal and pound for Hamp-
ton Roads for coal went ashore near
BOyntOn Friday night at 9 o'clock.
M 49, l.
floated at will striking the beach with
great force and breaking INTO three
pieces. The captain and mate and
fourteen of the crew We're saved. Nine
were drowned. among them the en-
gineer. The boats had a hard time
landing. One boat with five men in
it was battered 10 pieces by the waves
and its occupants were drowned.
The schooner Martha T. Thomas 80
tons Captain Watts with a cargo of
lumber bound from Appalachicola TO
Baltimore was wrecked nine miles
south of Jupiter The schooner Is split
in half The crew were all saved.
AT Palm Beach the damage was Sc
rious. Gruber'S opera house was par
tally unroOfed as we'll as his business
block on EarciSSuS street and his
Warehouse. The Seminole block suf-
fered heavily and the Palm block to a
small extent. The roof of the Tropical
u building IS gone and all the glass
in the tower front blown out. The
Lake Worth News was also a heavy
suferer.The Masonic Temple. the Dade
county state ban and the New Jeffer-
son block were also greatly damaged.
OF the latter a portion Of the roof was
torn off. All the boats on the AXE
front except three were sunk and are
total wrecks. On the east side the
loss is heavy. The hotel Royal Poin-
ciana was slightly damaged.
Beyond blowing down a number OF