The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1906-10-02
MOBILE HOLDS HEAD HIGH
AND BRAVELY BEGINS WORK

DemOfali8ed Dy the shocA VI tHoA
losses many OF them mourn for friends
ahie in the extreme. They need assis-
lance. The supplies which are being
sent to them can't DO received too
went down to coden this morning
to see for myself the havoc wrought
by the storm. II II something almost
beyond belief. Where last week stood
a pleasant little village, everything Is
now swept as clean al floor.
/ Houses, fences, trees. buildings. OF
every description. have been swept
away. Only three OF four homes Of the
place remain standing and they have
been damaged to an extent which
makes them poor shelter for the refu-
gees. As stood talking to the ofacer
Of the relief corps sent down from MO-
bile yesterday morning. half dozen
men came to the commfssary tent to
be fed and to have wounds dressed.
Bore Marks OF Struggle.
Each bore the marks OF the strug-
gle through which he had passed. and
each was ragged to the extreme. 1t II
impossible to give a definite descrip-
ton of the affairs at Coden and Bayou
La Batre. 1t Is horrible.
The summer resort IL now a wilder
ness. The dead have reached nearly
half hundred. Litte shacks ana
cabins left standing by the storm on
high knobs, give makesnift shelters to
which the SURVIVOR have to go. The
thought of the dead is appalling. but
1t Is the condition OF the living which
wrings the heart
OF the inhabitants of Coden. fully
seventy five families are u without
adequate shelter. Ae Bayou LIE Batre
am in formed at least eight hundred
have nowhere to lay their heads. The
same conditions prevailed at other
points along the coast. some Of which
have not yet been reached at all by
the relief workers.
Thus there are only two houses left
in the little city of Alabama Port.
Rescuers who went to that place yes
terday say they found thirty-five peo-
pie sleeping in one house, and forty
seven In another.
Heron Bay Is reported to have SUI
fered almost as badly. while other
towns all along the coast have felt
the effects Of the hurricane in varying
degrees.
Conditions at Dauphine Island.
On Dauphine Island there are $50
people without food. and almost with
out clothing. The storm left them des-
titute. AS I stood in Coden at relief
headquarters this morning a party of
five came over from Dauphine. None
Of the party wore more than two gar
ments. and these were of the oldest
kind.
They reported restitution existing
there in its most horrible form. In
Coden the stories is of the survivors
are all alike. except that the tales Of
the escapes differ with individuals.
There Is small difference. The storm
came upon them in the morning about
o'clock. when the water began to rise.
1t came not az a steady increa sing
Mood. but as a volume overpowering.
irresistible. 1t swept away houses,
tore barns from their understrueture.
carried in one terrible rush everything
before it. And with it came the wind
and the rain. the one roaring, whirling,
the other cold, biting, penetrating
through to the skin. In the woods the
trees fell on every side.
A whole forest was leveled to the
ground. leaving only few trees more
staunch than the others standing up
right and alone. but so loud was the
roaring of the wind. SO shrill its
shrek as 1t cut through the heavy
fronts Of the forest. that even the
sounds Of the giant timber in falling
could not be heard.
They were drowned out by the ter
rife din Of the elements. Through this
hell OF wind and water, through the
dense woods. the Inhabitants Of Coden,
those who live to tell the tale, made
their way, some OF them astride their
own roof trees. others on doors and
houses. drifting until they could find
something to cling to, and finally when
the water had subsidized, securing a
roofing on firm ground and making
their way to safety
The work of the Relief Committee
here Is one Of greatest difficulty. Obsta
cles OF transportation in getting sun.
plies to the stricken have to be over
come. Thus far. ony one base Of sup.
plies to the stricken city has been es
tablished.
Supply Base at Coden,
This Is the station established by the
corps sent to Coden by the Mobile Relief
Committee yesterday morning. Sup
plies have been sent through on the
railroad to Alabama Port. but the suf-
ferers from other towns along the coas,
have to make their way overland t.,
Coden to secure food and clothing. TIL,
corps is in command of Surgeon Major
W. H. Oates, of the LIST Regiment. Yes.
terday he took down with him 800 ra-
tons and large supply OF clothing
Tor men, women and children.
The rations We're gone before noon
today and of the clothing only a few
odd garments remain. There is con-
slant demand for more. and It is prob
able that the load which is being for
warded today will be gone before to-
morrow night. The relief workers. up
on their arrival in Coden, found the in.
habitants in that place demoralized Ne.
groes were reported to be looting the
houses destroyed. but the people wer.
too greatly shocked to organize 49,.
Patrols were at once sent out. severa
OF the negroes arrested and put to work
In one place quantity of silver was
found, The patrols have been kept con
stantly employed since then. but n
more depredations have been reportd.
Major Oates Recalled.
Surgeon Major Oates, was recalled
to Mobile by the sudden illness of his
mother this morning. He left Coden or
the same train with me. leaving the
station in charge of Captain #. NJ Mad.
dox, Adjutant of the LIST Regiment He
reported that detail had been sent t.
recover a body reported to be living IN
a vessel ashore on the coast near Bayo,
la Batre.
The situation down here" said Mato,
Oates. cannot be described. l Judge
that there are several thousand peopl,
left homeless by the storm. Those who
have come to us have been destitute
without food, almost without clothing
and without cnt IN the world.
THE food l brought down with me
Yesterday lasted twenty-four hours. In
the vicinity of Bayou LaBatre, there
was almost thousand without shell
ter The first day we succeeded in rails
ing 81 900 dollars for purchasing sup
plies. but now that is gone and they
are dependent to a large extent on us.
The only food supply they have other
than that which we are furnishing
them, Is a small quantity of potatoes
which cannot last long