The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-09-29
FIFTY LIVES LOST
City Of Mobile Has Been Heard
From at Last.
It Seems to Have Borne Brunt
Of the Storm.
DAMAGE OF S3,OOO,OOO
" ater From the Bay Blew Into
the City.
Was Seven Feet Deep in the
Wholesale District.
OF s3,OOO,OOO

Miss. Sept 29-Loss of life believed
now to amount to fifty. many persons
injured. 5000 houses damaged. the
business section devastated and
property loss of fully $1,000. 600 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 a velocity Of
ninety miles an hour. The water from
Mobile bay was blown into the city by
the gale and for time was seven feet
deep in the wholesale district, which
includes that section from Royal street
to the Alabama river. The loss of life
is believed to be mainly among ne
groes although conditions are so
chaotic that definite Information is i'm
possible. Shipping suffered severely.
Among the steamers sunk were the
Staples, the Mary S. Blees, CANA,
Overton. Hattie 3. Moore, City Of
Camden, the United States revenue
cutter Alert and many other smaller
craft.
Every Church Damaged.
It is feared that the crews of these
boats have been lost. The city has
been placed under control of the
militia. Nobody is permitted on the
streets except newspaper men and
persons wearing badges, Much APP
prehension is felt fer the suburban
towns, as it is feared they have been
obliterated. The chances are that the
loss Of life on Daupin island is heavy.
MaIy fishermen live there. and in 9TH
er outlying marshy districts and from
these no tidings have been received
The suffering in Mobile is severe. The
annihilatfon of transportation facilities
has shut off all supplies and unless
help reaches the city soon great dis
Every church in Mobile was damaged,
though Christ church cathedral and the
st. Francis Street Baptist church suf-
fered more than the others The dam
GOO and the St Francis Street Baptist
church at $4,000. Mobiles shipping
suffered more than aliytlsine else Many
Of the river hoats sr cow beacmsd or
sunken, ali complies eCks-
Wharves Total Wrecks
The docks and those Of private cor
porations are fearfRlly wrecked The
revenue cutter Alert has gone down In
Mobile river. She was rammed by
some other vessel and sank ir1medfat e-
". Her crew is believed to have es-
capped, 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.
All wharves from Frascati street. the
extreme south end of the city. as far
up the river IS Three Mile creek, are
total wrecks. This includes also the
new Mobile & Ohio docks and the Lou
isville docks.
Telegraphic communication is para
lyzed with poor prospects of wire for
several days
Electric light companies, street rail-
ways and in fact ali business. has been
suspended The Mobile & Ohio railroad
was the first road to get a train out of
the city, is first string of cars having
left Mobile at a. M Friday. Numerous
saWmills located in the northern and
marshy districts have been either wash
ed away by the terrific waves or torn
TO splinters by the wind. Their lumber
/ and timbers are scattered over the city
or floating down the slowly falling river
Provisions Are Scarce.
The harbor steamer James A 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 superstruc-
ture blown away.
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 was. rescued only
after heroic efforts. Provisions are al
I most exhausted. Restaurants feed
many but have no supplies on hand
Ham and eggs constitute their food sup
/ ply 4iCSC lOt Will Sc~At HCSO4A4I -
hausted.
Wholesale houses lost many thou
sands of dollars from flood and will
ingly paid as high as $3.50 an hour for
common labor and earnestly begged
men to accept such pay so frantic
were they in their efforts to save
goods. Even at this figure few men,
white or black. would accept work.
/ Words can not describe the terrors
Of the storm. Between p. m.
and roofs were crushed by the hun
bred. Through the streets, carried by
the terrific wind. were hurled thou
sands of pieces of slate, tin roofing,
! cornices. shingles and all kinds of de-
! bris Blinds were torn from theiz
fastenings and windows were smashed
as though made of tissue paper Many
people were seriously injured and cut
by the flying slate and the tin.
The office Of the Western Union
! Telegraph company was six feet under
/ water, its batteries were flooded with
water, and it will be some time before
business can be resumed. The Postal
| Telegraph building. while not quite as
low-lying also suffered severely. The
new CaWthorne hotel, just completed
and the Bienville hotel. facing Bien-
vile square. are damaged to the ex-
tent of $1,000 each and the Windsor
hotel $4,000; st. Andrews. SO, 900; the
Southern. $4,000 The Southern Sup.
ply company estimates its loss a.
100000.
Family swept to Death.
New Orleans, Sept. 29.=Reports 81
the death OF Captain johnson, keeper
Of Horn Island light house in Missis.
Il sippi sound, and the death of his wife
and daughter we're brought here today
BY the first train into New Orleans from
The east over the Louisville & Nash
vile railroad. This train brought pas
sengers from New York and othel