Saturday night and most of Sunday the fiercest storm in many years prevailed over the northern and eastern part of the country.

 

The damage by the storm will aggregate several millions of dollars along the entire New England coast, not to mention the loss inland. Sea-faring men declare that not in the last half century has there been a gale so severe to shipping interests as this. All along the coast the shores are strewn with wrecks, and the loss of life is appalling. It is feared that the death list for the Massachusetts coast alone may reach three score, in addition to the terrible loss, 160, on Steamer Portland.

 

Every sea port has its own list of disasters to shipping and destruction ashore. But of all places along the New England coast south of Cape Cod, Vineyard Haven’s noble harbor presents the scene of direst disaster.

 

Sunday was the most eventful day that the town has known for 40 years. From early morning until late at night the water about the port was strewn with wreckage, and vessels were constantly driven ashore, many of them to be dashed to pieces.

 

It is known that at least ten men have perished, and it is very probable that as many more have lost their lives.

 

Twenty-one schooners, nearly all heavily laden, and one barkentine are ashore; four schooners now lying at anchor are totally dismasted; two others were sunk, and one bark is resting at the bottom, entirely submerged. Many other vessels were battered and partially striped of their rigging.

 

Many of the vessels driven ashore were obliged to part their cables, owing to the great danger of collision with other vessels which had broken adrift.

 

The vessels sunk, ashore or badly damaged at Vineyard Haven include the following:

Sch. Leora M. Thurlow, sunk.

“  Annie A. Booth, dismasted.

“  E.J. Hamilton, ashore.

“  M.E. Eldredge, ashore.

Bkn. Nellie M. Slade, ashore.

Sch. James A. Brown, ashore.

“  Newburgh, (Br.) ashore (in steamboat wharf.)

Sch. James Ponder, Jr., ashore.

“  Canaria, (Br.), ashore.

“  Rebecca W. Huddell, ashore.

“  Lucy Hammond, ashore.

“  Abby K. Bently, ashore.

“  Bertha E. Glover, ashore (on fire).

“  Sadie Willcult, ashore.

“  Marion Draper, ashore.

“  J.D. Ingraham, ashore.

“  Chas. E. Raymond, ashore.

“  Geo. H. Mills, ashore.

“  Quetay, (Br.), ashore.

“  Winnie Lawry, ashore.

“  Nellie Doe, ashore.

“  E.G. Willard, ashore, burned.

“  Edith McIntyre, ashore.

“  William Todd, sunk.

“  Caritu, (Br.), ashore.

“  Flora Condon, dismasted.

“  Hattie M. Howes,  “

“  Tay, (Br.),       “

“  Rondo,            “

“  Pafetta, (Br.), waterlogged and badly damaged.

Sch. George, (Br.), bowsprit gone.

“  E. Waterman, dismasted.

“  Delta, (Br.), injured in collision.

Barges Falcon, Byssus and Beaver sunk, crews saved.

 

Of the vessels ashore some will be saved without much injury, while others are broken up in a manner that will render their repair expensive and in some cases impracticable.

 

One of the saddest disasters occurred at Cottage City, between the Oak Bluffs and Highland wharves. Sch. Island City went ashore early in the morning, and all hands perished.

 

Sch. Addie Sawyer, Calais for N.Y., with lumber, was wrecked on the north side of the island. Capt. Norwood, the cook, and seaman Ashley were lost. Mate Dudley and Herbert Tapley, sailor, were saved.

 

Sch. Lunet is sunken on the rocks near Tarpaulin Cove light.

 

Aside from the wholesale wreckage at Vineyard Haven, the most serious disaster resulting from the storm in this section of the state was the wreck of the big steamer Fairfax, 270 feet long and 2550 tons gross, which occurred on Sow and Pigs reef at 5 o’clock Sunday afternoon. The Fairfax now lies fast on the reef with little prospect of being released. Everybody on board the steamer was saved.

 

 

 

 

Edgartown has seldom experienced a fiercer storm than that of Saturday night and Sunday, and any amount of damage, mostly light, was sustained in various parts of the town, and fences, trees, &c., blown down in promiscuous confusion. About a score of chimneys went by the board, among others from the residences of Benj. B. Worth, Fred’k Warren, Mrs. Teller, T.S. Wimpenney, Jason Rose, William Fisher, Chas. M. Norton, Alonzo D. Fisher, Allen Mayhew, Jos. Kent, and Marshall Mead and H.W. Gridley (Chappaquiddick). The windmills and towers on the premises of Dr. T.J. Walker, Capt. Chas. W. Fisher, and James E. Chadwick were blown over, and the Russell mill at Tower Hill lost most of its vanes. The engine house of the M.V. Railroad was completely wrecked, the cupola blown from the depot building, a large balm of Gilead tree near the Richard L. Pease estate was uprooted, falling across Main stree, the roof was blown from the barn of Henry Smith at the Swimming Place, and a miscellaneous amount of damage done in all parts of the village.

 

Along the water front it was fortunate the wind did not get into the southwest, and thus it was the injury to boats and piers was comparatively light, Boats Pilgrim, Knickerbocker, Leila W., Mabel H., Fairy, received some damage, either to hulls or sails, and Osborn’s floating stage went on a cruise down harbor.

 

State steamer Lexington, laying-up at Osborn’s wharf, pulled her bow clear from this wharf early Sunday morning and swung off, heading towards Collins’ wharf, but a volunteer force of men searched her again without hurt to the steamer.

 

Fishing sloop Annie, Blankenship, went ashore on the flats south of Collins’ wharf, and the fishing schooner Jonnie, Kruse, drifted the length of the harbor from near Harbor Light and brought up at Collins’ wharf, without material injury.

 

Of the coasters in the harbor the Sch. Valetta (Br.) of and for St. John, from Onset with a load of sand, dragged ashore on the Point, and is in a good position to float without damage. Three-masted schooner Cathie C. Berry, of Eastport, 320 tons, coal loaded, went ashore in the Bend, after being fouled by lumber laden schooner George A. Pierce, of Boston, which snapped the cables of the Berry. The anchors of the Pierce, it is supposed, must have hooked into the cable or anchor of the Berry, for the lumberman made out the remainder of the gale safely, but has a broken main boom and gaff, quarter gone and leaking.

 

The crew of the Berry got ashore in their boat Sunday afternoon and were cared for that night at the houses of Robert Norton and Joseph Dugan. The Schooners Wesley Abbott, Peterson, Roundout for Boston, and Mabel Hall, lime loaded, Rockland for New York, rode out the gale in safety.

 

 

 

 

It was a full moon.

 

Not much snow fell in Edgartown, possibly four inches on a level. At Vineyard Haven and the North side a much larger quantity is apparent.

 

The Edgartown town clock gave up the struggle to go at 9.45 Sunday morning.

 

at about 3 o’clock Sunday morning the wind was blowing with hurricane force, the barometer registering 28.9.

 

The gale may be said to have lasted from midnight of Saturday until the same hour on Sunday night. About 11 o’clock Saturday night the wind was east-northeast; about daylight backed to nearly north; thence later in the day from northeast to east, and Sunday p.m. from the north with occasional smothers of snow.

 

Vineyard Haven should be proud of her Seaman’s Bethel and her local W.C.T.U, as well as of all those who nobly aided.

 

A life saving station at East Chop and another at Chappaquiddick Bend, if established, will be the means of saving many lives some day, which will surely be lost if the stations are not soon established.

 

The fine catboat Thelma, Horace Hillman, master, made a New Bedford trip on Saturday with a load of fish, arriving at that port at 7.30 in the evening, before the gale got to its height. The Thelma returned to Edgartown Monday, leaving N.B. at 3.45 p.m., and making the run, via Robinson’s Hole, in less than four hours. The crew on the trip with Capt. Hillman were Sylvanus Norton, Franklin E. Fisher and Walter Hillman.

 

The light three-masted schooner Newburgh went completely through the wharf at Vineyard Gaven, so that at present he bow and stern project from the sides, thus blocking transportation to the wharf. Passengers Monday morning to leave Vineyard Haven boarded the steamer Monohansett from boats, it is said.

 

The old Mayhew house got a good shaking and a portion of the west roof fell in. It will be repaired, and will yet be the scene of happy summer gatherings.

 

All honor to Messrs. Norton and Dugan who threw open their houses to the shipwrecked sailors last Sunday. If reports are true their hospitality was in striking contrast to that exhibited at a house not a thousand miles away. It is difficult to believe that anyone could turn the cold shoulder to unfortunate seamen in a terrible storm such as was prevailing at that time.

 

The storm is called the fiercest since that of Oct. 12, 1878, the occasion of the capsizing of Schooner Etta A. Stimpson in Muskeget channel, and of wrecks everywhere.

 

In addition to the list of chimneys blown down printed above these have since been reported on the houses of Geo. G. Cleveland, Mrs. Mary E. Worth, Katama farm house.

 

 

The New Bedford Mercury of Monday morning says of the storm in that city, “New Bedford joined the Shut-in club, yesterday, the snow storm which began late Saturday afternoon turning into a veritable blizzard, which will safely pass as the biggest snow storm within the memory of the oldest inhabitant. The result was a complete cutting off from the outside world. Probably it was the worst storm since that of Jan. 17, 1867. The wind reached the highest velocity ever known in this city Sunday morning. During the time from 9 to 12 o’clock in the morning the wind blew at a maximum rate of 75 miles an hour on several occasions and the average for nearly two hours was about 50 miles an hour.” Much damage was done all over the city and along the water front. More snow is said to be on New Bedford’s streets than in the past thirty years.

 

Boston - In the vicinity of Boston the gale was the fiercest for years and property loss by wind and snow is enormous. Great loss to shipping in the harbor and bay and the loss of life appalling. Over thirty seamen went to a watery grave in Boston Bay and some forty vessels were wrecked or disabled. Ten seamen went down to death of Hull, and about $175,000 worth of marine property is distributed along the Stony Beach.

 

Gloucester - The gale of Saturday night and Sunday morning caused a property loss in and around Gloucester of about $75,500. So far as can be learned, there was no loss of life. About 30 vessels were torn from their moorings in Gloucester harbor and piled up on various parts of East Gloucester shore.

 

Woods Hole - The terrific blizzard which passed over this section Sunday did more damage than the memorable gale of March, 1888. It is estimated property to amount to $25,000 was destroyed.

 

Taunton - The storm of the past two days wrought more damage in Taunton than any half century. The snow is about 15 inches deep on a level and in some places has drifted to a depth of 10 feet.

 

Providence - Loss of life and immense property loss on land and sea. Fifty-one schooners and yachts were sunk or stranded in Narragansett Bay, and many will be total wrecks.

 

New York - The snow storm, which came out of the west Saturday afternoon, finished its wild work early this morning. In the brief period of its visit, it made Great New York look like a city of the Siberian steppes. It was the worst storm since the blizzard of 1888.

 

Halfax, N. S. Nov. 28 - Numerous wrecks occurred on the coast of Nova Scotia during yesterday’s hurricane. Telegraph and telephone wires being prostrated in all directions, it has been impossible to communicate yet with may points, but the reports so far received show the Atlantic coast line, in the bay of Fundy and on the Prince Edward Island shore.

 

Steamer Portland which sailed Saturday from Boston for Portland was wrecked at 10 a.m., Sunday off Truro, Cape Cod, and 160 persons perished, all on board.