1909 — Sep 20-21, Hurricane, LA/MS; esp. Terrebonne Parish, LA –350-353
Compiled by B. Wayne Blanchard Nov 2012; modified Aug 2017 and Jan 2020 for website: Deadliest American Disasters and Large-Loss-Of-Life Events. https://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
[Note: Frequently referred to as the Grand Isle Hurricane. Hurricanes were not given names at the time and were often referred to based on locale near landfall. We do not do this in that we believe it possibly misleading, leading one to think there was great loss of life on Grand Isle, when there was not. The greatest estimated number of deaths was in Terrebonne Parish on the coast of Louisiana below New Orleans.]
— ~400 Times Picayune, New Orleans. “1909: Grand Isle destroyed by hurricane.” 10-13-2011.[1]
–350-353 Rappaport and Fernandez-Partagas. The Deadliest Atlantic Tropical Cyclones… 1995.[2]
— 353 Roth, David (NWS). Louisiana Hurricane History. 4-8-2010, p. 29.[3]
— 350 Barnes. Florida’s Hurricane History. “Appendix: The Deadliest Mainland [US] hurricanes…” 311.
— 350 Bedient and Sebastian. “An Introduction to Gulf Coast Severe Storms…” 2012, p. 8.
— 350 Blake, et al. The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense US Cyclones…, April 2007.
— 350 Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters. EM DAT Database.
— 350 Dunn and Miller. Atlantic Hurricanes (revised). 1964. Appendix B, Table 30, p. 320.
— 350 Gunn. “Louisiana hurricane, September 20, 1909.” Encyclopedia of Disasters (Vol. 1).
— 350 Hebert and Taylor. The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense [US] Hurricanes… 1983.
— 350 Hebert/Jarrell/Mayfield. The Deadliest, Costliest…[US] Hurricanes… 1993, p. 80.
— 350 Jarrell et al, 2001. The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense [US] Hurricanes…
— ~350 Monthly Weather Review. “Special Report…” Sep 1909, p. 624. A “conservative estimate.”
— 350 Sav, Thomas. Natural Disasters: Some Empirical and Economic Considerations. 1974.
— >325 Blanchard tally (if one includes 29 possibly attributed to this storm off Cuba, total is 354).[4]
— 300 Wellsboro Agitator, PA. 9-29-1909, p. 4, col. 1.
— >160 Galveston Daily News, TX. “Many Bereaved in Monday’s Big Blow.” 9-25-1909, p. 1
— 100 Atlanta Constitution, GA. “100 Left Dead by Hurricane,” 9-24-1909, p. 2.
— >55 New York Times. “Death List Grows in Hurricane Area. Fifty-five…” 9-23-1909, p. 13.
Summary of Fatalities
Louisiana (300)
Mississippi (>23)
Gulf of Mexico ( 2)
Sub-total >325
Cuba 29 Steamer Nicholas Castina off southern coast of Cuba, ~Sep 17.[5]
Breakout of Hurricane Fatalities by State and Locality (where noted)
Louisiana (300)
— 300 Atlanta Georgian. “300 Reported Dead. Louisiana Towns Swept Away…” 9-22-1909, 1.[6]
— 252 Galveston Daily News, TX. “Horrors Revealed in Storm’s Path.” 9-26-1909, p. 1.
— 1 Baton Rouge. African-American woman.[7]
— 4 Bay Jena, Sep 20. Gas screw E Puir Si Mouva foundered. Merchant Vessels 1910, p. 407
— 2 Bayou La Mannere (?). Atlanta Constitution. “100 Left Dead by Hurricane,” 9-24-1909, p.2.[8]
— >4 Desair. Mr. & Mrs. Henry Schlesser and children. Atlanta Georgian. “300…” 9-22-1909, 1.
— 7 Drair? Lewiston…Journal, ME. “Gulf Hurricane Sweeping North.” 9-22-1909, 2.[9]
— 1 Lake Pontchartrain. Oyster lugger Washington sinks; Captain Dominic Bondy,[10]
— 8 Leeville, Lafourche Parish. Galveston…News. “Horrors Revealed in Storm’s Path.” 9-26-1909, p. 1.
— 5 New Orleans. Monthly Weather Review. “Special Report…” Sep 1909, p. 624.[11]
–~200 Terrebonne Parish. Monthly Weather Review. “Special Report…” Sep 1909, p. 624.
–~200 “ “ Galveston…News. “Louisiana Mourns Her Storm Victims.” 9-27-1909, p.2.
–150-175 “ “ Galveston…News. “Louisiana Mourns Her Storm Victims.” 9-27-1909, p.2.
— 150 “ “ Galveston…News. “Horrors Revealed in Storm’s Path.” 9-26-1909, 1.[12]
–>100 “ “ Galveston Daily News, TX. “In Terrebonne Parish.” 9-25-1909, p. 1.
–17 Bayou Lafourche, near mouth, Terrebonne Parish side. Large family drowns in home.[13]
–36 Dunbar/St. Louis area. Galveston…News. “Louisiana Mourns…” 9-27-1909, p. 2.[14]
–10 Morgan City fishing party at a Terrebonne parish fishing camp.[15]
— 3 “ Wife and two children of Dick Taylor.[16]
— 1 Sea Breeze. Drowning, M. F. Smith of New Iberia, part of fishing party of twelve.[17]
—>2 Family of Ennis Rhodes when wave battered raft against tree; size of family not noted.[18]
— 1 Unnamed just-released convict on way home.[19]
— 4 Unnamed man who “found four members of his family” dead.[20]
— 5 Named individuals on coast. Atlanta Georgian. “300 Reported Dead…” 9-22-1909, 1.
–John Arends
–James Farrelson
–Bartholomew Iveri
–Victor Pulfol
–Charles Schultz
Mississippi ( >23)
–23 Blanchard tally based on locality breakouts below.
— 3 Bay St. Louis. Atlanta Constitution. “100 Left Dead by Hurricane,” 9-24-1909, p. 2.[21]
— 1 Bay St. Louis, Sep 20. Schooner Clementine stranded. Merchant Vessels 1910, p. 404.
— 1 Biloxi. Man reportedly washed off Biloxi bridge and drowned. NY Times, 9-21-1909. P.1.
— 9 Manchac Pass. Including station agent, wife, and children; drownings, storm surge.[22]
— 2 Jackson. Falling walls. Lewiston…Journal, ME. “Gulf Hurricane Sweeping…” 9-22-1909, 2.
— 7 East Fork. Lewiston Even. Journal, ME. “Definite Reports…Gulf Storm.” 9-23-1909, 10.
Gulf of Mexico ( 2)
–2 Schooner Kate Feore founders, Sep 20. Merchant Vessels 1910, p. 405.
Cuba waters ( 29)
–29 Steamer Nicholas Castina “lost off Isle of Pines Aug. 23 – Twenty-nine lives lost.”[23]
Narrative Information
MWR: “The hurricane which moved northward over Louisiana and Mississippi, September 20-21, 1909, was of the greatest geographic extent and probably the most severe storm that has been experienced on the central Gulf coast….
“The center of the hurricane moved inland between the mouth of the Mississippi and the Atchafalaya rivers, as forecast by the Weather Bureau. The wind at Morgan City backed from the northwest, by the west, to the south, while at New Orleans it veered from the northeast, by the east, to the south. The center of the disturbance moved northward over eastern Louisiana, passing about halfway between New Orleans and Morgan City. Excessively high tides occurred in the eastern segment of the hurricane, flooding all the lowlands on the middle Gulf coast to a depth ranging from 2 to 10 feet. At New Orleans the back water in the river, as result of the storm tide, was 4 feet on the afternoon of the 20th. The storm winds carried the water from the Gulf of Mexico northward, east of the Mississippi River over Breton Sound, eastern Plaquemines, St. Bernard, and Orleans parishes into Lake Pontchartrain, giving the highest tide water ever known in those sections. Reports from the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain indicate that the tide had risen 4 feet up to 7 p.m. on the 20th, when it remained stationary for nearly an hour. From 8 to 10 p.m. there was a storm wave of 3 feet, making a total tide in that section of 7 feet. The water commenced receding about midnight. A break in the protection levee on Bayou St. John near the Dumaine Street Bridge allowed the water from Lake Pontchartrain to flow through and flood a large area, in the western portion of New Orleans, to a depth ranging from 1 to 2 feet.
“The highest storm tide occurred between the mouth of the Mississippi River and the Mississippi Sound, about 50 miles east of the storm center. The occurrence of the highest tide in this part of the storm and so far from the center was, no doubt, due to the fact that the storm was moving northwest until it reached the Louisiana coast, and then curved more to the northward. Report from Grand Isle, which was near the center of the storm, indicate a tide of about 4 feet in that section as the highest water on that island was but 2 feet. From the Atchafalaya River westward, the northerly winds held the tides down; however, the winds were high and dangerous as far west as Galveston, Tex.
“Much damage resulted from the storm along the middle Gulf coast, and for some distance inland. At New Orleans five persons were killed either by falling chimneys or coming in contact with live wires broken by the wind, and the property damage is estimated at about $1,000,000, the greater part of which was along the river front, mainly from the sinking of barges loaded with coal. Small craft were torn from their moorings in harbors and suffered much damage.
“More than half the coal fleet along the Mississippi River was sunk. The railroads suffered severe damage. The Louisville and Nashville Railroad lost 25 miles of track, and the bridges at Rigolets and at Bay St. Louis were partly destroyed. The Illinois Central Railroad lost 8 miles of double track and several bridges. Other roads suffered to some extent, but no reports of the extent of their damage has been received. Telephone and telegraph wires in all directions were prostrated, there being but one wire left in operation out of New Orleans, a telephone line to Hattiesburg, Miss. The wireless towers were all blown down….Many towns for some distances inland suffered heavy damage….The total damage in Louisiana and Mississippi is estimated at about $5,000,000. Nearly 200 persons are known to have perished in Terrebonne Parish and about 50 deaths occurred as a result of the storm in other portions of Louisiana and Mississippi. The exact loss of life will never be known, but a conservative estimate places the total number of deaths at about 350. Nearly 4,000 people were rendered homeless, the bulk of these being in Terrebonne Parish….” (Monthly Weather Review. “Special Report on the Hurricane of September 20-21, 1909, on the Louisiana and Mississippi Coasts.” September 1909, pp. 623-625.)
Roth on LA: “On September 20-21st, 1909, a hurricane passed over Berwick Bay before passing inland between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Winds of 80 mph were reported at Thibodaux. The pressure at Abbeville bottomed out at 28.68″. Extensive damage occurred in New Orleans to coal barges, railroads, communication lines, crops, and much property public and private when winds reached 66 mph at 7 PM. Churches in Smoke Bend, Kaplan, Montegut, Pierre Part, and Elton were damaged. Crowley saw a 35% loss to its rice crop. Cotton and sugarcane suffered greatly across greatly across Southwest Louisiana, east of the Calcasieu River. Almost every mill in Iberia parish sustained damage. About 20% of the cotton crop was damaged.
“Significant delays to rail traffic were caused by wreckage strewn across the line from Avondale westward to Morgan City and New Iberia. The launch Maine was sunk in Grand Bay during the tempest. Many sailing vessels were swept ashore near the Rigolets. Damages totaled $6 million. The storm killed 353 people and its 15 foot storm surge inundated much of southern Louisiana.” (Roth. Louisiana Hurricane History. Camp Springs, MD: Nat. Weather Service, 4-8-2010, p. 29.)
Newspapers
Sep 20: “New Orleans, La., Sept. 20. – The water is over the Louisville and Nashville tracks along the gulf coast for miles. At least a score of fishermen have been drowned.
“Mobile, Ala., Sept. 20. – The entire Mississippi coast is in the embrace of a tropical storm. It has been raging since early today. Mobile is cut off from direct communication by railroad and telegraph with New Orleans. The high winds have prostrated the telegraph and telephone wires, and the beating of the waves against the roadbed of the Louisville and Nashville has caused washouts between Bay St. Louis and Rigolets, Miss. There is considerable property damage along the coast.
“At 12:30 o’clock the weather bureau issued a bulletin that the hurricane was general over Louisiana and going inland. The hurricane struck south of Bay St. Louis, a Mississippi coast town. Nothing can be heard from there.
“Trains are being detoured into and out of Mobile. Weather conditions here are severe. High winds are sweeping with fierceness across Mobile bay. All shipping is at a standstill and no vessel is venturing out from Fort Morgan. Word from there is that the waves are rolling mountain high.
“Nothing has been heard from along the Alabama coast, which suffered so severely during the tropical hurricane September 27 three years ago.
“New Orleans, Sept. 20. – Wind and rain, with hurricane force, struck the Louisiana coast Sunday evening [19th] and has continued incessantly, and at noon today seems to show no signs of abatement. So far there have been meager reports of damage. The wires are working badly and it may be because of this fact that tidings are slow in coming in. Some apprehension is felt for the coast sections, from which parts word is anxiously awaited.
“In the city much damage has been reported. A number of buildings have sustained damage because of portions being torn away by the wind. At Audobon [Audubon?] park the Horticultural hall, the last structure that ornamented the exposition grounds in 1884-85, was blown down, causing a damage of $20,000. It contained a magnificent collection of flowers and plants.
“Traffic is completely tied up on the Louisville and Nashville road, the tracks being washed away at Chef Menteur, 40 miles from the city.
“No lives have been reported lost.” (Atlanta Georgian and News. “Scores are Drowned. Gulf Storm Hurls Itself Against Coast.” 9-20-1909, p. 1.)
Sep 20: “Louisville, Ky., Sept. 20. – A Gulf hurricane, which, beginning early to-day, swept along the Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida coast, has inflicted heavy damage, and to-night is continuing unabated. Communication with many points has been cut off. From these places now isolated the last word was that the storm was gaining in intensity.
“The City of New Orleans during part of the day was entirely stripped of wire communication with the world. Reports which are trickling in from points along the Gulf between Pascagoula, Miss., and Pensacola, Fla., of high tides and winds of hurricane velocity, show that the Gulf storm has scored heavily in property damage.
“Interest settles on New Orleans, because of the absence of detailed advices from that city. At 3 P.M. the Weather Bureau there reported that the piling up of the Gulf waters at the mouth of he Mississippi already had caused a rise of three feet in the waters of the river at New Orleans, a thing unprecedented at that point from such a source. The present stage of the river and the height of the levee will admit of a much greater rise without much damage to the city proper, but the report bodes ill for the large number of villages scattered about the territory between the city and the Gulf and on the Gulf Coast.
“So strong was the force of the wind at New Orleans that the neighboring lakes were agitated till they overflowed, covering the adjacent lowlands. The Gulf waters from Lake Borgne were added to the flood. Throughout the day a heavy wind blew, but apparently it wa not destructive till late in the afternoon, when it swept across the country. The direction of the wind was northwest. Its area was great, for it reached far up to the northernmost line of Louisiana, east of the Mississippi River.
“Fragmentary reports from points in Southern Louisiana and Mississippi show that the hurricane is sweeping along the Mississippi and Louisiana Gulf coast, damaging shipping, ruining the more frail structures, and seriously impeding railroad traffic.
“Along the Texas coast no damage has been reported, this section apparently having escaped the force of the storm.
“After communication with New Orleans had been cut off for several hours, it was restored, at least triumphantly [temporarily?], late tonight. A brief message was received saying that, after attaining a velocity of sixty miles an hour, the wind was slowly subsiding in its intensity. Four persons are known to be dead at New Orleans. The property damage there will exceed $100,000.
“The most threatening of the definite advice thus far received come from Pensacola, where the wind at dark had attained a velocity of sixty miles an hour and was apparently increasing. This fact, taken in connection with the reports from the Mississippi Coast that the gale there averaged about forty miles an hour, would indicate that the storm is heading northeast, across Florida and Alabama, and northward into Louisiana.
“The ship Romanoff, moored at Perditoo [Perdido?] wharf, Pensacola, toppled over on the wharf and is in a precarious condition. Several barges loaded with lumber lost their cargoes and two were sunk near the western beach near thee western beach. Small boats all along the beach near Pensacola were swamped and pounded to pieces. Long rafts of timber have been carried from storage booms and are adrift in the bay. Residents of Woolsey and Warrington and all along the bay shore west of Pensacola came up t that city late in the afternoon and to-night on cars, and are housed in the hotels with friends, leaving their homes to the mercy of the storm. The tide is higher than known for many years.
“Reports of increasing gales toward Hatteras also seem to indicate that the hurricane is heading that way. At Mobile reports said the storm at nightfall had done no great damage, but later dispatches showed that it was blowing up again, and that the waters of the bay were beginning to pile up along the water front at an alarming rate.
“Last reports from Mobile say that rain has fallen steadily there. The wind velocity was given as thirty-four miles an hour from the southeast, and steadily increasing. Great apprehension is felt there, the tension of the people being due to memories of the hurricane of three years ago. The wind at Fort Morgan, Ala., is blowing more than forty-five miles an hour.
“Word from along the Alabama coast is to the effect that the storm is blowing fiercely. Telegraph and telephone communication with many points is cut off. People from the coast began flocking to Mobile early to-day.
“Scranton, Miss., at 6:45 o’clock, reported high water with high winds and a fierce gale blowing over Biloxi Bay. Waves were dashing over the long Biloxi bridge of the Louisville & Nashville, and it was thought the bridge would be lost. One man is reported to have been washed off the bridge and drowned.
“The storm struck Biloxi, Miss., at 3 A.M., the wind increasing until it reached a velocity of sixty miles an hour at 5 P.M….
“Reports from Crowley, La., are that the heaviest wind and rain storm in that section for years prevailed thee to-day. Many trees in Crowley and neighboring towns and parishes were uprooted…
“At 9 P.M. the telegraph companies lost all communication with Natchez, Miss. A dispatch from there at that hour stated a high wind was prevailing, and the electric light wires were broken by fallen trees…” (New York Times. “Gulf States Swept by Ruinous Storm,” 9-21-1909, p. 1.)
Sep 22: “New Orleans, Sept. 22. – Details of the terrible havoc wrought by the hurricane which swept the gulf states were brought here today by refugees who arrived with the first news from the devastated zone, and declared that 300 persons had lost their lives in one portion of Louisiana struck by the storm. Half clothed, famished and panic-stricken by the horrible scenes which they passed thru, men, women and children straggled into the city today in a continuous procession, each group vying with the other in the terrifying descriptions of the loss of life and damage to property. These people declared that a great tidal wave had swept the coast from Grand island westward to Vermillion parish, washing away entire villages and drowning at least 300 persons. From Houma and other towns on the edge of the devastated district the refugees flocked here today.
“The tidal wave, blown before a hurricane, swept up out of the gulf while the storm raged at its height, catching the people unawares and drowning them like rats. The refugees declared that in some of the villages in the path of the wave dead bodies lie cluttering the streets, mingled with the debris of fallen houses. Many other dead bodies were washed out into the gulf and carried away by the receding wave.
“Defenseless people on the coast suffered worst. In the interior there was death and destruction, but on the coast the tidal wave added to the horrors of the cyclone. It is believed that the worst damage was done along the shores of Terre Bonne parish. The half-naked people who reached here managed to make their way thru the ravaged districts only after the most severe hardships. At times they were compelled to wade thru swollen streams, over treacherous quicksands and thru dangerous swamp lands. They had no food and the continual sight of demolished homes and mangled dead bodies tended to increase their fear. They were cared for, fed and given shelter. Many of them begged piteously that help be sent to find relatives and friends who were unable to escape from the devastated sections.
“Relief expeditions were sent from here and Houma to give succor to the injured and sick and others who were unable to escape. Those who have arrived here say that starvation threatens those who remained behind. They are exposed to cold winds and deluges of rains. A relief party has been sent out to recover the bodies of those who are known to have perished with M. J. Smith, of Alabama. This party was on a fishing excursion at the mouth of Bayou Terre Bonne. The ravaged district was populated by 5,700 persons….
“The tidal wave came at the height of the storm. At the time the aristocratic resorts along the Mississippi and Louisiana coasts were well filled. Many wealth persons from the North, East and West were living there, maintaining private yachts among the picturesque bayous. The refugees declare that these pleasure-seekers must have been killed, because the camps were destroyed. The cottages were blown away by the winds, only to be picked up by the wave and torn asund4r and to be hurled out thru the muddy, swirling bayous into the gulf beyond.
“People on the railroads suffered as keenly. Trackage was torn up, wires were torn down and whole sections of cars washed away. At its height the wind swept along at almost 100 miles an hour and was irresistible. The refugees tell of seeing substantial buildings lifted from their foundations and shattered. Giant trees were uprooted and sent whirling thru the air. Beams, stanchions and supporting timbers were smashed like toothpicks. Bridges in the path of the wind and the wave were torn from their abutments and crushed into fragments. As the wave receded it left a mass of wreckage in its wake.
“Biloxi, Miss., one Southern rendezvous of the wealthy, was still isolated today. Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, was still cut off. A report brought in a round-about way and finally delivered by refugees said that the dome of the state capitol at Jackson had blown away and that the capitol had been unroofed….” (Atlanta Georgian and News. “300 Reported Dead. Louisiana Towns Swept Away…” 9-22-1909, 1.)
Sep 22: “New Orleans, Sept. 22. – Fifth-five lives are now known positively to have been lost in the hurricane of Monday. Fifty-five others are reported to have been killed, fifty of them in lower Terre-bonne parish. This report has not been authenticated.
“News reached here to-night that ten members of a party from Morgan City, La., including several women, were killed. They were in a fishing camp in Terre-bonne parish….
“A relief train sent south from Jackson, Mich., reached as far as Pass Manchac to-day, where the bodies of eight persons, including the station agent, his wife, and children were recovered. The victims were drowned during the tidal wave which swept up Lake Manchac.
“For early to-day the death list in the lower portion of Terrebonne Parish increased as details were received until tonight it numbers eighteen. It is reported that many others have been drowned or crushed in flying debris of wrecked mills, dwellings and fishing camps….
“Pleasure craft and ships of all kinds in the bayou inlets were destroyed, and the loss will be heavy. Storehouses, sugar mills, and dwellings of every character at Houma and other villages suffered heavily, and scarcely a structure was untouched by the hurricane.
“The damage done by the storm at Cheniere and Caminada was very heavy, but at these places there was no loss of life….
“Save only the Ship Island pier at Gulfport, not a bathhouse or pier has been left standing from Pass Christian to Scranton….The damage to small shipping is almost beyond estimate. Hundreds of fishing boats, schooners, cat-boats, and launches were crushed like eggshells on the beach….”
(New York Times. “Death List Grows in Hurricane Area. Fifty-five Lives…” 9-23-1909, p. 13.)
Sep 23: “New Orleans, September 23 – Those engaged in the work of rescue and repair made necessary by the West Indian hurricane, which swept Louisiana and Mississippi last Monday have found their task a far more colossal one than they expected. Practically all of the isolated country sections of the storm swept area have been explored, but until definite reports have been received from relief parties it will not be possible to form anything like an accurate list of the dead and injured. A conservative estimate to-night of the number of people who lost their lives as a result of the hurricane places the total at one hundred.
“In spite of the work of the thousands of men brought in by the railroad, telegraph and telephone companies, New Orleans and many other smaller cities in Louisiana and Mississippi are still seriously handicapped in the way of communication with the outside world. Many miles of track, trestles and bridges are set to be replaced by the Louisville and Nashville railroad and at the present time their depot at the foot of Canal street has the appearance of a deserted village. The trains of this road are being sent out over the Queen and Crescent route.
“The main line of the Illinois Central railroad is still blocked, as eight miles of the track and road bed were washed out at Manchac. Sections of the rails and ties were carried clear out of the right of way by the rushing waters and it will be several days before through traffic is resumed over the main line. The trains are now being detoured over the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley road. General Superintendent H. McCourt, of Memphis is supervising the repair work with a force of several hundred men.
“The other railroads have succeeded in clearing their tracks, and traffic has been resumed. Telegraphic communication to all points out of New Orleans is gradually being reestablished, under great difficulty, by the telegraph companies….
Jackson, Miss., September 23 – The Illinois Central railroad has a force of 400 men at work in the Louisiana swamps replacing several miles of track washed away during Monday night’s hurricane. The forces are under the direction of General Superintendent McCourt, who reports that he will have connections made and regular train service between Jackson and New Orleans to-night.
“A report from the scene today states that the bodies of nine persons drowned during the dash of the tidewater through the swamp have been recovered. Five of the victims were negroes. The agent at a small station and his wife and children perished….
Mobile, Ala., September 23 – News received here from Biloxi, Miss. Is to the effect that 500 people are homeless at Bayou La Mannere [?], near the mouth of the Mississippi river, and two lives wee lost. Water rose 8 feet in the houses, carrying every structure away. People saved their lives by taking to boats and going up the Mississippi river. At this place 182 head of stock perished. Whereabouts of the schooner Mattie J of New Orleans, is unknown.
“The schooner Eva Foster lies on the bed of the Louisville and Nashville railroad track near Pearl river. Refugees are coming into Biloxi with tales of hardships and battle with death…The following are positively known to have been drowned at Bay St. Louis: Charles Lanston, two negroes, names unknown.
“Parts of the big Perries Oyster factory at Bay St. Louis have been blown away. Twenty-nine vessels were completely wrecked against the Bay St. Louis bridge….
“Baton Rouge, La., September 23 – Traces of the Monday night hurricane are fast being removed in the capital city of Louisiana. Large forces of carpenters and laborers are repairing the damage to storehouses and dwellings and removing trees, wires, poles and rubbish from the streets. The havoc done by the storm here was large. One woman, a negro, lost her life, and the damage to property is conservatively estimated at over half a million dollars.
“Gangs of workmen are hurrying the repairs on the state house. The dome and other portions of the capitol were damaged to the extent of $25,000. The general property loss will amount to $150,000 and the barges of coal, owned by the Monongahela Coal Company which were sunk, are valued at $600,000…One item of damage in the capitol building which has not been included in the estimate of loss is the damage done to the records, all of which were more or less damaged, some being practically destroyed. They represent years of labor and those destroyed can hardly be replaces.
“Wire communications has been re-established with New Orleans and other points and trains are now running out of the city on schedule time.” (Atlanta Constitution, GA. “100 Left Dead by Hurricane,” 9-24-1909, p. 2.)
Sep 24: “New Orleans, La., Sept. 24. – With the list of dead from Monday’s tropical hurricane well above 160 tonight, every indication points to a much larger increase of the number of perished. Many small sloops and launches are lying wrecked on the gulf shores of Louisiana and Mississippi, and there seems to be little doubt that at least some of their occupants were lost. Anxiety for the safety of steamers bound for New Orleans has been relieved. Nearly all of these vessels were many hours late, but finally arrived at this port, with the exception of the Utstein, operated in the Central American trade. The Utstein, four days overdue from Puerto Cortez, was reported by incoming vessels today to have gone aground off seashore light, near the mouth of the Mississippi River. No loss of life is reported.
“News of the loss of the oyster lugger Washington and the drowning of her captain Dominic Bondy, was received here today. The boat went down in Lake Pontchartrain. Many other vessels of this class are reported missing.
“The steamboat Williams arrived at Morgan Point late today towing five disabled luggers and bringing in a number of refugees from the storm swept section. The rescued families report having buried many bodies in the marshes. Similar reports have been received from Houma in Terrebonne Parish, La. Many additional stories of suffering were brought in today.” (Galveston Daily News, TX. “Many Bereaved in Monday’s Big Blow.” 9-25-1909, p. 1.)
Sep 24: “Houma, La., Sept. 24. – The trip of the relief boat Harry through the Little and the Grand Caillou districts of Terrebonne Parish has revealed the extent of the storm’s frightful ravages. The death list will exceed one hundred.
“When the Harry returned last night she was greeted by hundreds of people anxious for news from the stricken districts. The Harry brought in seventy-five persons, mostly women and children, in a sad plight. They were turned over to the Houma committee and housed in a canning establishment and well fed and supplied with clothing. The Harry’s trip was a mission of mercy. She passed through a country laid waste. Desolation was on every hand. Tidal waters swept the entire southern section of the parish for more than twenty miles inland.
“Tuesday, while the Harry crept slowly through the canal connecting Bayou Terrebonne with Little Caillou, tidal waters were still running high. Wrecked homes, dismantled hovels, debris from nobody knew where, greeted the eyes of the rescuing party. Buzzards soared above the bodies of horses, cows and muskrats left in places from which the tidal waters had receded Thursday. Dead pelicans were scattered here and there and even seagulls and herons were killed by the hundreds. Fish carried into strange quarters by rushing waters were later left to flounder in mud puddles and die. Vultures hovered over these pools Thursday. Now and then a milk cow standing almost to her head in water could be seen.
“Several persons were found clinging to crosstrees and later rescued and taken aboard the relief boat. At daylight a 4-year-old child was picked from the branches of a tree. The tot had been in its lodging place since Monday. Ennis Rhodes, who was rescued, gave a graphic story of the loss of his family when the storm battered his home to pieces. A wave dashed the raft and its human freight against a tree and all went down. An ex-convict, en route from the state prison to his home, was lost somewhere before seeing his loved ones. The loss of Henry Neill’s family involves a sad story. He was out getting oysters and when he fought his way back to where his home had been in Little Caillou he found his family gone. He went in search of its members and has not been heard from. One man found four members of his family. He buried them in a hole and left, saying he never would return.
“The Harry picked up a mother and her new born babe. She gave birth to the child in a frail boat. She had several other children with her.” (Galveston Daily News, TX. “In Terrebonne Parish.” 9-25-1909, p. 1.)
Sep 24: “New Orleans, La., Sept. 24. – An appeal to Gov. Sanders for the storm sufferers of Terrebonne Parish was made late today by officials of that parish. The message to Gov. Sanders stated that at least one thousand persons in the parish are entirely destitute. The people of Houma, the parish seat, and of surrounding villages, are furnishing food and shelter to the refugees, but clothing and other supplies are urgently needed.
“The chairman of the storm suffers’ relief committee at New Orleans received a telegram from Gov. Sanders in connection with the appeal from Terrebonne, asking if help could be furnished. The chairman of the committee took steps to provide the desired relief and the articles asked for will be forwarded to the scene tonight.” (Galveston Daily News, TX. “Terrebonne’s Appeal.” 9-25-1909, p. 1.)
Sep 25: “New Orleans, La., Sept. 25. – Estimates compiled tonight show the total death roll from the hurricane of last Monday is now 252, and that represents the known dead. Search now being made by relief expeditions in the stretches of lowlands in Terrebonne…[blank space in line] parishes will undoubtedly reveal more casualties. An expedition sent out by the Picayune, which returned today, brought information that a section gang working on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad had found thirty-six bodies between Dunbar[24] and Claiborne,[25] all of them almost stripped bare of clothing and with nothing to identify them. They were all buried where found and the graves marked. The islands on the southeast coast of Louisiana and the lowlands near by were visited, and while there was great destruction of boats and houses there was no loss of life there.
“A. Cardona, who went on a relief expedition in the lower stretch of Bayou Lafourche, going as far south as Leesville, at the mouth of the bayou, reports an awful condition existing there. He says they fed over five hundred people, who were in a starving condition, without homes and without clothing. The storm was so severe that it actually stripped the people of their clothing, and while the grown people have gathered some remnants of clothing to cover their nakedness, the children are all practically nude. He says that eight lives were lost at Leesville. He also reports that at a point on the Terrebonne side of Bayou Lafourche, near the mouth, seventeen members of one family were drowned in one house, and that the neighbors surviving had to burn the wrecked building and cremate the bodies to avert disease. He says that the drowned cattle, hogs and other animals are beginning to putrify [putrefy], now that the water has receded, and that the atmosphere is very foul.
“The people of Houma are still doing splendid work in relieving the distress in the lower work in relieving the distress in the lower part of Terrebonne Parish, where the death roll is now definitely known to be 150. There are a thousand refugees in Houma, who are being cared for. Relief is being sent from New Orleans to Houma, and Congressman Broussard has appealed to the federal government to have Col. Foote, the local army commandant, detailed to the charge of the relief in that section.” (Galveston Daily News, TX. “Horrors Revealed in Storm’s Path. Known Dead in Louisiana Now 252…” 9-26-1909, p. 1.)
Sep 25: “New Orleans, Sept. 25. – Mayor Wurzleow of Houma has found it necessary to call for outside aid. He says the supplies of his citizens have been exhausted and asked Gov. Sanders for a thousand blankets and provisions for as many people. A fall of 20 degrees in temperature last night and today resulted in much more suffering among those who lost their homes. Prominent in the list of property losses appeared the damage to sugar houses and the sugar crop, the principal assets of thousands of plantations in the area swept by the storm. Secretary Colcock of the New Orleans Sugar Exchange today estimated that between 20 and 25 per cent of the sugar cane in the state had been destroyed. Estimates showing less damage have been made by other parties.” (Galveston Daily News, TX. “Houma’s Appeal.” 9-26-1909, p. 1.)
Sep 26: “New Orleans, La., Sept. 26. – One week ago tonight the white winged gulls flying wildly inland from the Gulf gave warning with their screams of the approach of a West India hurricane that was to closely follow. Along the entire coast were countless happy fisherfolk and sailormen, their thousands of trim craft and comfortable homes bearing token of the advent of a prosperous season. Today vast flocks of vultures hovered over the devastated lowlands of southern Louisiana, strewn with innumerable carcasses of animals and men. The scene was one of terror, desolation and death.
“Stunned by the damage that was wrought by winds and waves, the work of relief does not give the people time to mourn. All energies were bent for the remainder of the week on the task of rescuing the still imperiled and succoring those who had suffered in the storm. At least a hundred human bodies have been burned or buried in the marshes where they were found. Today [Sunday] Louisiana found time to weep. Closely refraining from all forms of mirth, the people of the State, irrespective of creed, adhered closely the following injunction of Archbishop Blenk:
The loss of human lives and the widespread destruction of property in this archdiocese through the recent hurricane have given rise to so much sorrow and distress that any social function would, at the present time, be entirely out of keeping with the sad surroundings. With tears streaming down their faces, the stricken pastors have told me of the utter destruction of their people and of the complete destruction of the houses of God. But I trust, and I am quite confident, that those who have been so sorely tried will put it in my power to give prompt and substantial aid to the crushed sufferers at this time of awful desolation.
“So completely cut off were so many remote sections along the coast that it was not for several days after the hurricane that the appalling loss of life began to dawn upon those engaged in the colossal work of relief made necessary by the storm. Comparatively small property damage in the city of New Orleans with several deaths due to live wires and falling chimneys was all the damage that was recorded for some time.
“Those sections of the coast which reestablished communication first reported no loss of life and rumors of many persons drowned at Grand Isle proved to be without foundation. Then came further rumors of great loss of life in Terrebonne Parish, but these were not believed and it was not for a day or more that it was definitely established that fully fifty persons had lost their lives thee. These, together with persons killed here and there in Mississippi as well as in Louisiana, brought the death list up to seventy-five, but as the rescue boats pushed their inquiry further south through the bayous of Terrebonne they returned only to report further loss of life. Finally the death list in Terrebonne Parish alone passed the hundred mark, and yesterday the estimate ranged between 150 and 175.
“At a late hour last night dispatch boats returning from Dunbar and St. Louis brought the news of the discovery of thirty-six bodies in one section alone. This makes the number of those known to have lost their lives up to approximately 200 and there is likely to be other bodies found in the marshes.” (Galveston Daily News, TX. “Louisiana Mourns Her Storm Victims.” 9-27-1909, p. 2.)
Sep 27: “New Orleans, September 27. – The work of relief for storm sufferers in Terrebonne parish, Louisiana, now being vigorously pursued by the state of Louisiana and citizens generally, received a further impetus today when the federal government promised its support in rendering aid. Colonel S. M. Foote, in command of Jackson Barracks, left New Orleans late today for a personal visit to the stricken section. This step was taken in pursuance to orders from Brigadier General Albert L. Mills, commanding the department of the gulf with headquarters at Atlanta. Colonel Foote will immediately report the results of his investigation to the war department at Washington. He says that he already has on hand a number of tents and that rations can be procured very readily.
“Every effort is being made by sanitary officials to prevent any possible pestilence as a result of conditions in the Terrebonne marches, which are strewn with the dead bodies of animals and human beings….
Washington, September 27. – The war department has received a telegram from Senator Foster and Congressman Broussard of Louisiana, asking that aid be rendered the cyclone sufferers in that state by the war department. A telegram was immediately sent to Brigadier General Albert L. Mills, in command of the department of the gulf, asking for a prompt report as to the necessities of the people, and as to what rations and other supplies are available for distribution among them.”
(Biloxi Daily Herald, MS. “Relief Work in Louisiana Parishes.” 9-28-1909, p. 2.)
Sep 29: “New Orleans, Sept. 29. – Supplies for more than a hundred families in the section of Terre Bonne parish swept by last week’s hurricane were sent from New Orleans today. While it was finally decided as unnecessary to call on the federal government for aid, the citizens’ relief committees, with help from the state, has found the task of relief in the stricken section a colossal one. Every effort is being made, it is believed successfully, to supply the wants of the storm victims.” (Associated Press. “Relief Committee Has Colossal Task.” San Antonio Light and Gazette, TX, 9-29-1909, p. 8.)
Oct 2: “New Orleans, La., Oct. 2. – An ardent appeal to the federal authorities for further assistance for the storm sufferers in Terre Bonne parish has been sent to Washington. This petition was forwarded following he return here of Congressman Broussard and Lieutenant Colonel Foote, who have been on a tour of inspection in the district most disastrously visited by the hurricane Sept. 21.
“In addition to the supply of twenty thousand small rations, directed to be distributed by the war department, Broussard has asked for a hundred tents, eight hundred double mattresses and eight hundred double blankets for the impoverished people. Broussard says 2132 people early in the week were dependent upon relief administration.
“Government Responds. Associated Press. Washington, D.C., Oct. 2. – Thee secretary of war will send one hundred tents, eight hundred double blankets and eight hundred mattresses to the cyclone sufferers at Terre Bonne parish in Louisiana. Orders have been issued to Lieutenant Colonel Foote…to supply the articles as promptly as possible.” (San Antonio Light and Gazette, TX. “Appeal is Made for More Relief.” 10-2-1909, p. 1.)
Sources
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Galveston Daily News, TX. “Many Bereaved in Monday’s Big Blow.” 9-25-1909, p. 1. Accessed 1-19-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/galveston-daily-news-sep-25-1909-p-1/
Galveston Daily News, TX. “Terrebonne’s Appeal.” 9-25-1909, p. 1. Accessed 1-19-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/galveston-daily-news-sep-25-1909-p-1/
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Jarrell, Jerry D., Max Mayfield, Edward N. Rappaport, Christopher W. Landsea. The Deadliest, Costliest, and Most Intense United States Hurricanes From 1900 to 2000 (And Other Frequently Requested Hurricane Facts) (NOAA Technical Memorandum NWS TPC-1). Miami, FL: NOAA NWS and Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, October 2001 Update. Accessed at: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Landsea/deadly/index.html
Lewiston Evening Journal, ME. “Definite Reports from Gulf Storm. Great Loss of Life and Property Damage Will Run into Millions.” 9-23-1909, 10. Accessed 11-30-2012 at: http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fnggAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fWcFAAAAIBAJ&dq=louisiana%20hurricane&pg=2677%2C1135520
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[1] Highlighted in yellow to denote we take note of but do not use in tally – not in line with other reporting and does not provide supporting information. Suspect that lives lost in loss of steamship off coast of Cuba are included.
[2] For 350 death toll cites: Hebert, Jarrell and Mayfield. The deadliest… 1993; Monthly Weather Review; and Tannehill, I. R. The Hurricane. Their Nature and History. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1940. For 353 death toll cites: Cline, I. N. Tropical Cyclones. NY: McMillian Co., 1926.
[3] Though Roth notes 353 deaths in his Louisiana hurricanes document, we suspect that he is using the estimate for total deaths in Louisiana and in Mississippi reported by Rappaport and Fernandez-Partagas.
[4] Though our own tally is 325 US, and 354 US and 354 including Steamer Nicholas Castina off south Cuban coast, we view our numbers to be imperfect, and do not wish to substitute our numbers in favor of the death toll of 350 or 353 which have been in use since 1909 (350) and 1926 (353).
[5] Date is ours in that newspaper reports were published Sep 18, without noting date of loss. One can see from our Cuba note below that the Chicago Daily News Almanac for 1910 dates the loss as Aug 23 and does not attribute the loss to a hurricane.
[6] “…refugees who arrived [New Orleans] with the first news from the devastated zone…declared that 300 persons had lost their lives in one portion of Louisiana struck by the storm.”
[7] Atlanta Constitution, GA. “100 Left Dead by Hurricane,” 9-24-1909, p. 2.
[8] “News received here [Mobile] from Biloxi, Miss. Is to the effect that 500 people are homeless at Bayou La Mannere, near the mouth of the Mississippi river, and two lives were lost. Water rose 8 feet in the houses, carrying every structure away.” We cannot locate Bayou La Mannere, but if it was near the mouth of the Mississippi then most likely in Louisiana.
[9] “A negro reaching Kenner, La., from Drair, La., brought the news of the death of seven persons at that place.”
[10] Galveston Daily News, TX. “Many Bereaved in Monday’s Big Blow.” 9-25-1909, p. 1
[11] Falling chimneys and coming into contact with live wires.
[12] “in Terrebonne Parish, where the death roll is now definitely known to be 150.”
[13] Galveston Daily News. “Horrors Revealed in Storm’s Path. Known Dead in Louisiana…252…” 9-26-1909, p. 1.
[14] “At a late hour last night dispatch boats returning from Dunbar and St. Louis brought the news of the discovery of thirty-six bodies in one section alone.”
[15] New York Times. “Death List Grows in Hurricane Area. Fifty-five…” 9-23-1909, p. 13.
[16] Galveston…News. “Bitten by a Moccasin.” 9-27-1909, p. 2.
[17] New York Times. “Death List Grows in Hurricane Area. Fifty-five…” 9-23-1909, p. 13.
[18] Galveston Daily News, TX. “In Terrebonne Parish.” 9-25-1909, p. 1
[19] Galveston Daily News, TX. “In Terrebonne Parish.” 9-25-1909, p. 1
[20] Galveston Daily News, TX. “In Terrebonne Parish.” 9-25-1909, p. 1
[21] “The following are positively known to have been drowned at Bay St. Louis: Charles Lanston, two negroes, names unknown.”
[22] New York Times. “Death List Grows in Hurricane Area. Fifty-five…” 9-23-1909, p. 13. [Notes 8 deaths.] Noting nine deaths, presumably in same area is Atlanta Constitution, GA. “100 Left Dead by Hurricane,” 9-24-1909, p. 2. Writes: “A report from the scene today states that the bodies of nine persons drowned during the dash of the tidewater through the swamp have been recovered. Five of the victims were negroes. The agent at a small station and his wife and children perished….The bodies of those recovered were found near Pass Manschac.”
[23] Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year-Book for 1910. “Marine Disasters.” Chicago Daily News Co., 1909, p. 406. In 1978 the name of the island was changed to Isla de la Juventud. (Wikipedia. “Isla de la Juventud,” 2019.) If the Chicago Daily News Almanac is correct in its dating, and if the loss was related to a hurricane, it is possible that the storm would have been Hurricane Six of Aug 20-28, which crossed east to west across southern Cuba. There is some uncertainty in that Wikipedia. “1909 Atlantic hurricane season,” 2019, attributes the loss of the Nicholas Castina to “Hurricane Nine – The Grand Isle Hurricane of 1909.” Within this segment it is written that “The steamship Nicholas Castina capsized near Isla de la Juventud, drowning at least 29 people.” There is one source citation, The Gettysburg Times, PA. “Steamer Sinks; 29 Perish. The Nicholas Castina Goes Down Off South Coast of Cuba,” 9-18-1909, p. 2. The short item, datelined out of Mobile, AL, Sep 18, does not indicate when the ship was lost, only that the 27 crew and 2 passengers were lost “during the recent hurricane in those waters.” While we have located other newspaper articles dated September 18, 1909 stating the same as in the Gettysburg Times, we find no mention of this boat other than in the Chicago Daily News Almanac.
[24] Perhaps a reference to the Dunbar Oyster camp in Bay St. Louis, MS. However, the article seems to address only hurricane effects in Louisiana.
[25] I am unaware of Claiborne. There is a Claiborne County in MS, on the MS River north of Baton Rouge, LA.