The Indianapolis times., 1929-09-30
HIGH VELOCITY
GALE TEARING
GULF COASTS
Focal Point of Hurricanc
Shifts to Pensacola;
Death Toll II.
TELEPHONE WIRES DOWN
140 Men on Fishing Boats
Missing; CaTrabeIIe Is
Evacuated.


tropical hurricane raging through
the Gulf of Mexico after sweeping
the Bahama islands and southern
Florida, produced gale-like winds on
the gulf coasts of Alabama and
northwestern Florida today.
Apalachicola and Port st. Joe re-
ported winds of f1fty-mile velocity
at a. m. when telephone lines be-
gan to go out, breaking off commu-
nication from those two towns.
The barometer here registered
% 40 at a. m, drop of nine points
in one hour.
The focal point of the disturbance
shifted to near Pensacola at mid
morning, the weather bureau ad-
vised.
Warnings Out
Hurricane warnings were put up
along the Alabama and Mississippi
coasts and it was predicted the
storm would cross the coast line
near Pensacola this afternoon "at-
tended by winds of hurricane force"
The wind reachedsa a velocity of
seventy-f1ve miles an hour towards
noon.
In the weather bureau Office, on
the tenth floor of downtown
building, pictures on the wall
Swayed
Fears we're felt for 140 men OF
thirteen fishing boats unreporteC
here for hours.
The barometer became stationar
here at 8 a. m. Many towns alon'
the northern edge of the gulf wer
cut off, as the high wind tore dow .
wires.
Carrabelle, Fla, was evacuated b.
its 1 ZOO inhabitants during the night
Northern Florida was getting
ready, for the hurricane already
has wrecked two ships and taken
eleven lives-three in Florida and
eight in the Bahamas.
Storm warnings advising prepara-
tions for "the very worst we're
posted at 6 p. m. Sunday; steamers
slipped out from piers, paying out
fathoms of cable and dropping ex-
ira anchors in deep water. Resi-
dents were prepared to move to
higher ground if necessary.
Warnings Sent Far
Warnings extended to Biloxi,
Miss, for experience has shown
that hurricanes usually pass moth
ward across the coastline, through
the Carolinas and Virginia and wear
themselves down to harmless
zephyr out over the Atlantic.
The present storm, however, ap-
pears to be a meteorological freak,
bouncing off its course so often that
attempts to predict the hurricane
area in advance are likely to be in
accurate.
At midnight, the center of the
hurricane was 1875 miles south Of
Apalachicola.
Sunday night. the naval radio
station at Key West received mes
sage from the steamship British
Light, which said:
Report having passed a mast
projecting eight feet above the
water, probably attached to wreck
age"
The British Light was midway be-
tween Florida and the Bahamas
when she sent the message. There
was no clew to the identity of the
ship that may have been wrecked
by the storm.
Key West also received a message
from the coast guard cutter, Saukee.
the steamer Scandia.
grounded forty miles south Of Mi
ami. 1t said:
"Scandia total wreck. Have taken
off five men. Due to very sloppy
sea for small boats, have discon-
tinued for night and laying to of
reef"
Two Are Registered.
Gloyd's register lists two Scan
dias, both Danish vessels. One is an
8,548-ton tanker owned by the Dan
ish Petroleum Company. The other
Scandia is OF 1866 tons &c istry.)
Some concern was felt over the
silence concerning the tug Warbler,
which has not been heard from
since she set out from Key West
Sunday to help the tanker Garnet
off sandbar. The Garnet
Hulings is proceeding to Baltimore
under its own power.
Homestead, Fla, was filed with
refugees today as trucks and
launches continued to bring in more
homeless persons-victims of the
storm on Saturday. Launches piled
the Florida keys and cruised across
farms to rescue possible
Highways to Homestead, town
thirty miles south of Miami, were
covered with water. In the city park
children were playing in knee-deep
water beneath large steel fiagpole
that was twisted into an tnteroga-
ton mark by the wind.