The Jersey City news., 1906-09-28
GULF COAST SWEPT
Hurricane Hits Southern Tier Of
States and Does Damage In
Many Localities.
PENsAcoLA's SEVERE LOSS.

Every House In Florida City Injured
by Wind--Water Front Strewn With
Wrecks-New Orleans Threatened by
Tidal Wave - Communication With
Mississippi Towns Cut Off.
Washington, Sept 28.-Earthquake In
the West Indies and a hurricane that
swept the south and now is travelling
into the northwest were the cause of
hundreds of startling messages to the
weather bureau.
Tremendous damage has been caused
by the hurricane, and 1t is feared that
many lives have been lost. In Pensa-
cola, Fla, alone the damage is esti-
mated at $3,0O0,O0O. The hurricane
blew over the gulf of Mexico for about
twenty-four hours before it struck the
coast New Orleans suffered severely,
but it appears that Pensacola was
struck the hardest of any point
Mobile and the Mississippi coast were
isolated for many hours.
Worst Storm of Century.
The wind reached a velocity of
eighty-eight miles an hour at Pensa-
cola. 1t is believed to be the worst
storm in Florida since Pensacola vii
lage was blown away in 1799. A dis
patch to the weather bureau from Pen
sacola says: 1T is reported many lives
have been lost between here and the
navy yard. All the houses in and
around the navy yard are under wa
ter, and women and children have
been taken in boats from second story
windows
every house in Pensacola has suf.
fered damage, and many roofs are
blown off. Telephone and telegraph
and electric light wires are in tan
gle. The water front is strewn with
wreckage for several miles on either
side of the city, and vessels are piled
on the wharfs or where the wharfs
once were in utter ruin. Big iron
steamers and many lighter sailing
ships are lying high and dry up in the
city, where the tide was never before
known to reach. Everywhere wharfs
have been swept away or are damaged
beyond repair. There Is no street car
traffic, and communication with the
outside world is practically cut Of"
Loss of Life Feared.
1t is feared great havoc and loss of
life will be shown when reports from
the entire section along the coast
come in.
For two hours no information could
be obtained on rumor that tidal
wave had swept over New Orleans.
Communication was cut off by the hur-
ricane, and when finally a wire was
restored it was to find that the city,
while safe from the fate of Galveston,
had been badly damaged and that all
points along the coast had been left
partially in ruins. The waters of Lake
Pontchartrain were five feet above nor
NAL while the storm was at its height,
and there was serious overflow into
New Orleans. The veering of the wind
to the northwest had the fortunate eff
feet of driving the waters of the lake
toward the gulf.
The damage to the railroads in all
directions is heavy. Reports to the
OluGlulS Ol IlC 11OQlSNtllC t1l1U lNt1c1lNltAC
road from the superintendent of the
Mobile and Montgomery divisions In
dicated that the losses approximate
$1,0OO,000
New Orleans Reports Damage.
The first long dispatch received from
New Orleans read:
"All efforts to penetrate even the
edge of the food caused by the hurri-
cane on the coast to the east and south
of here have been fruitless Twenty
four hours have passed since the last
message from the exposed towns. APP
prehension was increased by the fact
that these places, beginning att Lake
Catherine, the farthest point east
reached thus far, are much more ex-
posed to the wind and water than the
larger gulf cities, which have harbors.
"From Lake Catherine eastward the
exposed towns are: Bay st. Louis, Pass
Christian, Mississippi City, Biloxi,
Ocean Springs, Pascagoula and Scran
ton. These places face Mississippi
sound, across which the wind has a
long sweep. Some of them extend up
TO lHe very DFink OI lue SOunu anu III
places are protected by banks not
more than six to ten feet above normal
sea level Many of these banks are Of
soft earth.
Correspondents Cut of.
"staff correspondents of local news.
| papers who left here and distributed
themselves along the sound in antici-
patton of the storm have not been
heard FROM Although their papers
have tried to reach them by round
about kilograms northward into the
middle of Mississippi and then to the
coast not an lntimation of the situa-
ton has been received. Not only is
all rail, telegraphic and telephone COM
munication cut off with the Mississippi
sound towns, but there are no immedi-
ate prospects of news by boat. No
craft has come up the Mississippi river
after dark
Wealthy Man Killed.
Linlithgo, N. Y, Sept 2s.- Clifford
Bonneville; who made more than $780,
| 900 by discovering that the rock along
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