Iditarod pioneer., 1913-11-08
Vivid Description of Catastrophe Which Overlook Nome
 and Solomon
STORIES OF TRUE HERO!SM
Nome Newspapers Account of Destruction Wreaked by Elements on Gallant Little
 City-soIomon Utterly Destroyed

The Nome Industrial Worker of October s contains the following story of the dlsaS- trous storm of October 5, and 7, which is supposed to have destroyed about mil
 lion dollars worth of property
 It was midnight Sunday before the peo- ple of Nome realized that there was a dis aster impending of portentlous possibilities, but as the wind increased in ve.oclty and the huge breakers broke upon the beach with greater and greater fury few there were with residences, stores or cablns along the Sandspjt or the beachside between the Sub marine and Fort Davis who did not know that the night was full of menace and danger As the wind grew more and more violent the electric lights came and went, adding to the forebodlng which all felt. The spasmodic fits of light and darkness added to the horrors of that dreadful and memorable night, when few slept and all prepared for catastrophe.
 The Elite bath house, which stood erect in its four-storied steadincss, first felt the brunt of the waves, and 1t was the hrst to fall
 Two men were having baths in the base ment at o'clock Sunday night when a comber broke in through the windows, pelt- ing their persons with glass unpleasant shower
 Yet, strange as it may appear, there were many who slept regardless of the danger, and when the house was in serious Jeop- ardy, had to be reused. The back porch of the Board of Trade went early in the even ing, and after midnight every business man and resident cn the south side of Front street was anxious to clear out his be lnngngs.
 On the Sandspit, owing to the going out of the Snake river bridge tire inhabitants "ere in serious plight, anI here was sui tered the loss that viii be felt most as the miners and ether workers who had laid in their stock for the winter not only lost that, hut even their personal effects, their cabins and happy homes went by the wayslde into the Snake.
 "As tie dawn broke upon the city it was a sorry sight that met the eye from the Submarine to Fcrt Davis, while the worst had vet to come At the time that day light broke the Elite bath house and the Board of Trade were the only buildings which had suffered seriously, but 1t WAS made evident that the waters were rlslng, the surf getting more and more terntc, and the squalls more and more frequent and furious At its fastest the wind tr&veled at the rate of 16i4 miles an hour, "hle the ar was filled with sand and sp1me from lhe frothing Bering sea. Crash after crash of bull ns Ing the entire length ct Front street hardly made themselves keari above the iearfyl din of the pounding surf. The ocean no longer mourned in flowing puri le but ragad in white and lVid fury a. 1t tore the buildings that faced its wrath as a terrier would shake rat. The flying lass. the drifting of zinc roofing hurled many hundred feet by the wnlds, the debris that was thrown all over tle street by the wind which, with the aid of the surgng waters, tore planking roofing and walls from their positions, made work or walk ing on the streets a matter Ct extreme peril
 Yet there was TO lack of help and a l willingly lent a hand to aid each other. Men who came to town rescued by the valiant work of the trelass lfe-saving crew on the Sandspit and beach boat house men, after they had lost all their personal effects, money and cabins, never mUrmured, but got busy in lending what assistance they could to others in the city.
 Down towards the Standard Oil every building was early wrecked, and the street became impossible, while that section that could be travcle(. over was 8 fcot deep with feel oil that came from some leaking tanks or drums torn loose in the storm.
 Il many provided lunches for the stricken, while the kegoayah Kozga Club worked urremittingly to meet the necessities of a material nature of the hour
 There were many houses with baskets of sandwiches cans of hot coffee and immense dishes of stew, which supplied many with hot lunch. But to mention all who assist ed in this work would be to name practi- cally everyone whose opportunities to do so were unaffected by the storm.
 The ubiquitous movie man with his cam ra was present to take the surf the wrecked buildings and the hurrying throng of work CTS who hastened to place the merchandise in safety.
 And the morning after What a scene of desolation in Nome! Damages are esti- mated at various figures, but none go less than one million dollars The Industrial Worker figures 1t out at one million and a half real and personal loss, but one cannot figure in dollars and cents the actual loss through this dire calamity Fortunately the loss of life is not great. The body of man was found near Peluk. and c. D. Morrison is reported missing. Charlie Dill told a representative of this paper that he saw the body and head of man rising in the surf of the Sandspit Another stated that he knew of man being in the back of the Headquarters saloon when the building col lapsed. But this is merely conjecture. Of narrow escapes from death there were not scores but hundreds, and one man was reused from sleep in his cabin near the Standard Oil when a roof from a building across the street cut right through and fell alongside his bunk
 The work of clearing the debris began early. Among the houses which opened up almost immediately was the Pacific Cold Storage, whose loss was very great, with a 'water sale'' at reduced prices Although w. H. Webb's market on Monday was the Mecca of every hungry person in Nome not