The Jersey City news., 1906-10-01
GULF COASTS LOSS
Death and Destruction In Trail
Of Southern States Most
Disastrous Storm.
MOBILE GREATEST SUFFERER

Alabama City Loses 1875 Residents and
Property Valued at $4,000, ,ooO-child
Sees Parents and Sister Die In Flood.
Revenue Cutter Winona safe-Light-
house Carried Away.
New Orleans, Oct "details of the
great hurricane which swept over the
gulf states show it to have been in
point of territory affected, property
damaged and lives lost, probably the
most disastrous the southern section
of the country has ever experienced.
Later reports will, it is feared, add
to the loss of life, for telegraphic COM
munication is only partially restored,
and hundreds of outlying towns in the
storms path have not been heard from
At Mobile 125 lives are reported lost.
Thirty have been identified, and the
property loss is placed at $4,000 000.
Damage to shipping cannSt be estimat-
ed, but many ships are high and dry
and may never reach water again
Twenty-Five persons We're drowned at
Pensacola, the property damage is So,
100000, and scores of vessels were
wrecked.
At the Pensacola navy yard many of
the warships berthed there were beach
ed or sunk. The Santa Rosa hospital
was swept away. The patients went
with the building and are believed to-
be lost
Fort Morgan Wrecked.
Fort Morgan, in Mobile harbor, is a
complete wreck, the loss there reach
ing 100000.
Thirty eight vessels are known to be
ashore in the Mississippi delta. Six
lives were lost below this port, and
damage in the lower Louisiana planta-
tions will reach $1,00O,O00 Fort st.
Philip sustained $4,000 damage.
Four bodies not before counted have
been found at Coden, Ala, and it is
estimated that twenty three lives have
been lost from the oyster feet AROUND
Cedar point, near Mobile. This last
estimate includes among the dead ev-
cry man aboard fishing boat which
has not been heard of since the storm,
Family Lost In Flood.
The drowning at Coden of the Wer-
meth family with the exception of one
daughter is one of the saddest tales
Of the storm.
In the Werneth house were Mr.. and
Mrs. Werneth, their two daughters,
Mrs. Betancourt an aged woman, and
Calvin Williams, a young man. When
it was evident that the house must be
abandoned Mr.. Werneth and Williams
placed the family in small boat and
attempted to reach a nearby grove, but
the boat filled with water and sank.
The elder Miss Werneth, who was an
accomplished swimmer and young
Williams reached tree, which they
climbed. The other persons in the
boat were drowned before their eyes.
Mrs. Werneth made desperate at
tempt to reach the tree in which her
daughter and young Williams. had
found refuge and was within few
feet Of them when a huge wave en-
L.
younger daughter in his arms, reached
the tree and was about to climb it
when the girl slipped from his grasp
and went down. Werneth attempted
to save her, and wave overwhelmed
him. He was drowned at the foot of
the tree in which Williams and his
daughter had taken refuge. The young
G,x
sank and endeavored to leap from the
tree, but was restrained by. Williams.
The two remained In the tree until the
storm subsidized.
Lumber interests Suffer.
It is now believed that the loss to the
lumber interests alone by the storm
will aggregate $10,000,00O. Tens of
thousands of trees of the finest quail
ty have been blown down. The mum
ber of logs that have been carried out
to sea or driven into inaccessible,
swamI)s is enormous. Dealers in tur-
pentine are very gloomy over the out
look
The situation along the coast to the
west of Mobile is now fairly well
known. At Scranton, Miss, one
church, the Odd Fellows hall and sew
eral buildings were blown down. AT
Pascagoula Beach not a residence is
left standing, the river front at that
point Is completely torn up and the
lighthouse there has been destroyed.
Shipping at this point has been badly
damaged.
Cutter Winona Is Safe.
The revenue cutter Winona, for
which much fear was expressed, Is.
now known to be safe. The crew of
the cutter rescued the keeper of the
Pascagoula lighthouse and his family
during the storm The keeper of the
Horn Island lighthouse, just outside
Of Scranton, lost his life. The captain
of a tug which came near the house at
the beginning of the storm urged him
to leave, but he refused to abandon his
post and in short time was drowned.
The entire park of the island on which
the lighthouse was situated is said to
have been carried away by the waves.
Another Storm Coming.
u Washington, Oct. l. The weather