Omaha daily bee., 1906-09-29
LOSS OF LIFE At MOBILE.
Victims Of the Storm VariOusly Estimated
from Five to Fifteen.
DAMAGE TO PROPERTY is ENORMOUS
Many Boats Are sunk and water IL
Seven Feet Deep I'm Wholesale
District-City Under Mar
tiaI Law.

injured. 5000 houses damaged, the business
section devastated and a property loss of
fully sSoO0.0OO. is the effect of the tropical
hurricane upon the city of Mobile The
storm, which struck the city about
Wednesday midnight ragged for hours, the
wind reaching velocity of ninety miles an
hour The water from Mobile bay was
blown into the city by the gale and for a
time was seven feet deep In the wholesale
dtstrict. which includes that section from
Royal street TO the Alabama river The
loss of life is believed to be mainly among
.negrees, although conditions are so cha
otic that definite information is impossible.
Shipping suffered severely
Among the steamers sunk were the river
boats J. p Schulz the Mary Il. Staples.
the Mary s. Blees, Cana, Overton, Hattie
b. Moore, City OF Camden. the United
States revenue cutter Alert and many
other smaller craft. 1t is feared that the
crews of these boats have been lost.
Militia I'm Control.
The city has been placed under control of
the militia. Nobody is permitted on the
streets except newspaper men and persons
wearing badges. Much apprehension is felt
for the suburban towns, as 1t is feared
they have been obliterated. The chances
are that the loss of life on Dauphin island
is heavy. Many fishermen live there and in
other outlying marshy districts, and from
these no tidings have been received
The suffering in Noble is severe. The an
limitation of transportation facilities has
shut OF all supplies and unless help
reaches the city soon great distress will
result.
Every church in Mobile was damaged,
through Christ Church cathedral and st.
Francis Street Baptist church suffered
more than others. The damage to the for
mer is estimated at $4,000 and ST. Francis
street Baptist church at $4,000. Mobiles
shipping suffered more than anything else
Many of the river boats are now beached
or sunk, all complete wrecks.
Revenue Cutter sinks.
The docks and those of private cor
porations are fearfuily wrecked The
revenue cutter Alert has gone down in
Mobile river. 1t was rammed by some other
vessel and sunk Immediately. The crew
is believed to have escaped. but nothing
has been seen of them. The city was put
under martial law at dark Thursday and
no person allowed TO enter the wholesale
district. The city authorities were quick
| to act. ftt
All wharves from Frascati street, the
| extreme south end of the city. as far up
| the river as Three Mile Creek are total
wrecks. This includes aiso the new Mobile
and Ohio docks and the Louisville and
| Nashville docks
Telegraphic COMMUNICATIONS Is paralyzed,
with poor prospects OF wire for several
| days
Electric light companies. street railways
and in fact ali business has been sus-
pended The Mobile & Ohio road was the
first road to get train out of the city,
its first string OF cars having left Mobile
at a. m. Friday. Numerous sawmills
| located in the northern and marshy dis
! tricts have been either washed away by
| the terrific waves torn to splinters by
the wind. Their lumber and timbers are
scattered over the city or floating down the
slowly falling river.
The harbor steamer James d Carney,
plying between Mobile and the eastern
shore. lies beached Just across the river
and opposite St. Francis street It's sides
are Jammed in and its superstructure blown
away.
Fort Morgan stin Isolated.
Much fear is entertained for Fort Nor
gan. where the government quarantine
station is located and many soldiers are
| quartered. In the city many persons and
much live stock were rescued only after
heroic efforts. Provisions are almost ex-
hausted. Restaurants feed many, but have
few supplies on hand. Ham and eggs con-
stitute their food supply. These. too. will
soon become exhausted. Wholesale houses
lost many thousands of dollars from food
and willingly paid as high as sibo an hour
for common labor and earnestly begged
men to accept such pay, so frantic wefe
they in their efforts to save goods. Even
at this figure few men, white or black
would accept work.
Words cannot describe the terrors of the
storm. Between 6 p m. Thursday and noon
Friday trees fell and roofs were crushed
by the hundreds. Through the streets,
carried by the terrific wind. were hurled
thousands OF pieces OF slate, tin roofing,
cornices, shingles and all kinds OF debris.
Blinds were blown from their fasienings
and windows smashed as though Of tissue
paper Many people were seriously In
jured and cut by the flying slate and tin.
The railroads have started wreckcrs out to
clean up and repair tracks, bus their task
| .s herculean.
telegraph Omees Flooded.
The once Of the Western Union Tele-
graph company was six feet under water,
It's batteries were flooded and It will be
some time before business can be re-
sumed. The Postal Telegraph building,
while not quite as low lying. also suf-
fered severely. The New Cawthorne hotel.
just completed. and the Bienville hotel.
facing Bienville square, are damaged to
the extent Of 5000 each. and the Windsor
hotel. 5000; ST. Andrews. 5000; the South
ern, ss.O0o. The Southern Supply company.
estimated its loss at 100000. Among the
wholesale houses that have sustained the
greatest damage are:
Pollock g. Bernhelmer. wholesale dry
goods; the English Manufacturing Wagon
company; ST. Jacobson. dry goods; Dor
gan & Young Hardware company; Cum
bingham Hardware company; Barney-Cav-
anaugh Hardware company; Mobile Drug
company; r. o. Zadek Jewelry company;
Draper a Burns, clothing; American Sup
ply company mill supplies; Christian Sup
ply company Cleveland Bros. wholesale
grain; n. O. Bush s. Company, grocers: :
James Mcdonnell company, grocers; the
Marshall-Lyons Grocery company: Muscat
& Lott produce dealers; the Mobile Brew
cry; the Bienville Brewery; the Dixie Chair
company; James McPhillips Grocery COM
pany. and many others.
The Merchants bank, the First National
bank and the Lienkaun banking estab-
lishments were inundated.
There Is no way TO arrive at correct