Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-10-12

Key West, Fla, Oct. 11--As a result
! of the hurricane which struck the
| southern coast Of Florida this morning,
| Key West tonight is a mass of wreck
| age and the damage to property IS es-
| timatad at $2,000000 Martial law was
proclaimed by the mayor at o'clock
and the Key West Guards are patrol
ling the city.
The United States government has
been asked to dispatch troops here
without delay to assist in patrolling
the storm swept area.
Chaos reigns on every hand and few
people remain in their homes, hum
dreds of which either have been total
ly wrecked or damaged. 1t is impos-
sibe at this hour to say whether there
has been loss of life.
While the hurricane is the worst that
Key West mas ever experienced, the
local weather observer announced to-
night that the indications are that the
entire east coast of Florida will suffer
terribly tonight
OF the hundred local vessels in the
harbor this morning but five remain at
anchor, the others having either gone
To sea or been washed upon the beach
eS. ne SlTttlS dloIlS, lile Water lioit
are n mass of Wreckage.
Brick as we'll as frame buildings
throug hout the city suffered alike from
the fury of the heavy wind and many
narrow escapes from death or serious
injury have been reported
Besides the several score of resi-
dences either totally wrecked or blown
from their pillars nine factories were
partially destroyed. No. / and l3 houses
of the fire department were destroyed.
the fremen narrowly escaping, but SELF
eral of the horses being killed. The
top Of the First National Bank was
blown off, the post o'ilce damaged and
two running gears Of the government
coaliEG stations were wrecked. Every
telephone and electric light pole on
DIVA! street, the principal thorough
fare of the city, was blown down.
1t is known that many have received
serious injury and unconfirmed re-
ports are current that several lives
have been lost. The storm reached its
height at l o'clock this afternoon, when
the wind had an estimated velocity of
100 miles an hour. There was a hard,
steady blow from A. M. to 3 p. NJ,
when the wind began to die down and
by 4 O'Clock the center Of the hurricane
had passed this poinI
AS soon as the wind had subsidized
rlunderng began. The city police
force was unable to cope with the sit
uation and the mayor decided to take
stringent measures to suppress the
looting and q announcement of mar
tial law resulted Almost every ma
| tA1 tI,n
city's population of more than 10000.
about one-half of whom are employed
in the cigar manufactures sponge
fisheries and salvage companies.
Miami Fla, oct. n.-At 5 P. NJ the
gulf storm is growing more furious
here and the wind is driving from the
south at great rate. The sky Is
overcast with q sulphurouS yellow,
houses are being unroofed and limbs
being blown from trees. The fury of
the storm is still great.
All efforts by the officials of the Flor
ida East Railroad here to communicate
with the men at work on the roads
extension on the Keys of the extreme
southern peninsula have been in vain.
Between $500 and 1000 workmen are en-
poyed on the construction work on the
! lower keys, where there is slight pro-
lection from the fury of the storm.
Grave fears are entertained for the
safety of these men, the apprehension
Icing intensified by recollections of the
! hurricane Of 1906, when $40 men lost
! their lives and ncalculable damage to
property was done. 1t is said that the
construction camps are better fortified
now and ii is known that the engineers
on the work have been preparing for a
big blow for number of days past
Tampa, Fla, Oct. 1.-THE barometer
is going up here now, reading 1856
The local weather bureau advises that
the storm will probably pass over the
eastern center of the states, sweeping
towards the coast, probably taking in
Jacksonville and Savannah.
Jacksonville, Fla. Oct 1.-THE storm
was central at Key West at noon to-
day, the wind reaching a velocity oil
70 miles an hour and doing consider
able damage to small shipping in the
harbor. At o'clock this afternoon the
center had shifted to midway between
Key West and Jupiter and was NOV
ing northeast with increasing violence.
The weather observer here calculates
that there is danger of the storm strik-
ing Jacksonville between midnight and
dawn.
st. Augustine, Fla, Oct. lin re-
spouse to urgent appeals from jack
sonville. fast launch left here at 81
o'clock this afternoon to warn resi-
dents along the coast lowlands for a