Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1903-09-25


hundred, steamed slowly into Nor
folk with her cargo badly listed, tsa
hours behind on a run from New
York that should have consumed
only eighteen hours.
The shock of the first sea avail
ened all the passengers, who rushed !
nall clothed, weeping, praying and
screaming from their state, rooms in
an effort to reach the deck and boats.
Every door and window was CLOSELY
fastened. the matches battened down
and orders issued that no soul save
the crew be allowed upon the decks.
already waist-deep in the seetbing
mass of water.
The tales told by many passengers
on their arrival were pitiful, and one
woman threw herself upon her knees
on the dock and thanked God for
letting her reach land again.
During the course Of the storm
several stokers in the crew refused to
obey orders issued by Captain Tapley
and wanted to 90 below. The Cap
tain drew revolver and pointing it
at the crowd ordered them again to
go, to work. They obeyed without
further demonstration and no charges
have been preferred against the men.
1t is reported that sixteen passen-
gers were more or less seriously in.
lured. One woman was thrown
from an upper berth and one of her
eyes was knocked out of its socket.
A shower of small, half-feathered
birds fell all over Old Point. Eigh-
teen dead birds were swept from the
door Of one Office.
After battling for eight hours with
hurricane that sent many much
larger and stauncher craft to the
bottom, the o. s. torpedo-boat de-
stroyer Lawrence poked her crumpled
nose into Norfolk with a foot of
water in her aft engine-room and the
quarters of the officers. The plates
on her bow are badly buckled and
smashed, several seams are opened,
allowing liberal leakage, her bridge
Is carried away, and all over she is
badly Scared up.
That the boat could have wealth
cred the gale is regarded as being
great victory for the seaworthiness of
craft of her class, and that no one of
her crew was lost is regarded at the
navy-yard as nothing short of mirac-
ulous.
The Lawrence was carried many
miles to the north. On her way down
the coast she passed great quantities
OF wreckage, principally stuff which
had been swept from the decks of
vessels.
OFF DELAWARE.
Ii struck the Delaware Capes with
almost cyclonic force. The storm
lasted four hours. The wind reached
maximum velocity of eighty miles
an hour, and the rain fell in torrents.
The schooner Hattie A. Marsh's
captain and four of the crew were
drowned.
Three schooners in harbor dragged
their anchors and collided.
Three barges laden with coal were
sunk in Delaware Bay. Three coal
barges were sunk in the ocean off |
the Capes and their crews lost.
Considerable money damage was
done to the breakwater. The fury
OF the storm was also felt at Lewes. |
Many trees were blown down and
chimneys damaged, while the smoke
stack of the city power-house fell |
and considerably damaged the build
ing.
THE DAMAGE IN FLORIDA.
Little damacn e-..rs 10 forests |
and crops. Reports from Fort Mead |
state that ten per cent. of the oranges
are on the ground. The turpentine
men have suffered heavily, nearly all
the boxed trees being blown down.
The sugarcane crop is almost total
loss. Cattle were killed by the score
by falling trees. |
The Standard Oil Company's
barge, No. SO, oil laden, is hard
aground on the beach. Opposite
Delray, the British steamship In.
chulva is total wreck. The
lnchulva had mixed cargo of about
5000 tons. Nine of the crew of the
steamer we're drowned.
a lumber-laden three masted
schooner is ashore. Her cargo is
being landed, but the vessel will
prove total loss. The American
schooner, Martha T. Thomas, lumber
from Baltimore, is reported ashore
nine miles north of Jupiter. These
are the only wrecks of consequence
reported on the east coast of Florida.
SHIP TURNS TURTLE. Il
The steamship Roxby, which ar.
rived in New York, had on board
domingo Ballo Reyarderay, q Span
lard, the sole survivor of the crew of
% men on the British steamship
Mexicano, which foundered with ali
on board off the Florida coast.
ballo caught piece of wreckage
and managed to keep up until he
was seen by the Roxby and rescued
The Spaniard, through an inter.
prefer, told of the Mexicano's sink
ing. The steamer was bound from {
Iampico for Vera Cruz with a cargo
OF petroleum in bulk, when the full I
force OF the hurricane broke upon {
her. Mountainous seas broke con-
stantiy over the ship, and finally one e
gigantlc wave crashed through her 8
decks. The fireroom was flooded '
and the Meyicano became helpless, Ia
For few moments she wallowed 4
INTO the trough of the seas and then r
she plunged to the bottom. The If
rescued man says hundreds of gal s
ons of oil were poured over the o
'ihip's side in a vain attempt to calm v
,he seas and If possible ss No tba sl,;, .