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Show Conquest of Nature Told in Hurricane's Biography Progress of Gulf Coast Storm Traced in Weather Bureau Reports; Forewarning Is Only Defense. POSSESSING a lODger arm of de-1 struction than the mightiest of volcanoes, and leaving in its wake a No Man's Land rivaling war's scars across the face of Europe, the hurricane is chief among natural forces contending for the title ''champion ''cham-pion of destruction," according to the weekly news letter published by the United States department of agriculture agricul-ture at. Washington. To fight the hurricane offensively is folly. For ages mankind has been able to wage only a defensive war against its terrifying "drives," aud theo efforts have been, until modern times, pitifully-feeble. pitifully-feeble. Man 's only defense is to be forewarned. That it has been possible in the present generation to reduce the death toll of hurricanes in tho United States to a minimum is due to tke marvelous mar-velous service maintained by tho United States weather bureau. The headquarters of tho weather bureau, bu-reau, located quite to one side of main-traveled main-traveled thoroughfares in tho national capital, is the nerve center of this unique organization which extends across the continent and also far out to sea, since many vessels cooperate with the bureau by making daily reports re-ports to it. Great Storm Sighted. Early in September a hurricane, destined to devastate a wide area bordering bor-dering tho Gulf of Mexico, reared its bead like a great monster a thousand miles to the southeast of the United States, among the islands of the Caribbean. Carib-bean. As to what gave it birth not even the scientist knows. The forces that propagate all of theso storms are shrouded in mystery. This particular hurricane was born in remote tropical waters, probably about September 5. A few hundred miles north of this center of disturbance the sea was relatively calm and passengers on steamers passing pass-ing this way had no intimation of the terrific force that was generating off to the south. Likewise, the southland of the United States lay placid, in part bathed in sunshine and in part shaded by far-stretching blankets of clouds, many of them so fleecy that to the casual observer they carried no suggestion sug-gestion of the coming storm. But the hurricane in the tropics gathered strength quickly and soon flung itself in fury over the slender chain of islands constituting the Florida Keys. In the face of every such rising peril the meteorologist upon whom rests the responsibility for making daily forecasts fore-casts stands like one facing a thief in the dark. Beyond the mainland coast and a few scattered stations in the West Indies, he has no means of learning learn-ing of the changing atmospheric conditions condi-tions in those seas to the south and east, save chance reports from ships. Early reports of this hurricane were meager indeed. The first intimation of the coming of disaster was received September 8. The daily forecast for that date stated that a tropical storm had appeared to the southeast of Key West. But as to its extent or its course the chief forecaster at that time could only conjecture. Warns Shipping. Despite his long experience in his profession, it was inevitable that the forecaster should be anxious everv meteorologist who is forecasting at such a time is anxious. He had been on duty in seasons past when not a single hurricane hurri-cane appeared. But in other years between be-tween July and October more than one such stortn had left a trail of devastation devasta-tion across many states. The forecaster fore-caster knew that millions of dollars' worth of cargoes, about to sail from the Atlantic and gulf ports, might be lost if he failed to make a proper forecast and issue adequate warniDgs. The fate of whole cities rested on his decision. As he turned from his study of the telegraphic reports received from the eastern and southeastern sections of the country, he joked a little but in the manner of one -.chose joviality was a trifle forced, perhaps about his repeated re-peated hard luck at being on duty "every time one of these storms hove 'n sight." There was an unmistakable tenseness in his manner as he studied the map, pointing to the low barometer area that was moving steadily toward the southern states. Weather Forecast Correct. The next chapter in the hurricane's brief history is told in the weather report re-port of September 9: "Tho tropical storm was central Tuesday night and a little south of Key West, where tho barometer ba-rometer read 29.08 inches, with a wind velocity of sixty miles an hour from the northeast. The storm is apparently moving northwestward, and will pass into the Gulf of Mexico during Tuesday Tues-day night." How speedily and decisively the fore- caster had acted in the face of the oncoming on-coming peril is indicated by the next sentence: ' ' Warnings to shipping and other interests have been regularl- sent since Monday morning, when storm warnings vi-ero first, displayed on the south Florida coast." The following forty-eight hours were laden with grave responsibility for the staff of the weather bureau. It was theirs to decide at the earliest possible , moment consistent with accuracy in wliat direction tlie storm now moving with increasing power and rapidity would travel as it came nearer the mainland. On Wednesday, September 0, tho report, read : ' The tropical storm passed Key West, Fla., about midnight Tuesday night, with the barometer ba-rometer reading 2S.81 inches, and estimated es-timated wind velocity of 110 miles au hour from the east." Here was evidence evi-dence that one of the most violent storms of recent years was about to strike at some point on the gulf coast. This report revealed the mcagerness of available information at this date regarding the progress of the hurricane: ' 1 Tonight the storm is probably central cen-tral in the Gulf of Mexico, uot far from latitude G degrees, longitude 85 degrees, de-grees, still moving northwest, and northeast storm vsarnings arc ordered on the gulf coast from Carrabelle, Fla,, to New Orleans, where the winds will probabh be strong on Thursday night. Advice has also been issued to this section to prepare for possible very dangerous winds by Friday. " Defensive War Starts. And so man's defensive war against tho mighty force of nature was on. With all its scientific data regarding tho course of previous storms instantly accessible and with reports from all available points of observation tabulated tabu-lated and recorded on tho weather map, the weather bureau foretold many hours iu advance the peril that threatened the gulf coast. Thus the people were forearmed. It will be recalled that storm warnings warn-ings were displayed regularly on the south Florida coast since Monday morning. morn-ing. How accurate the weather bureau's bu-reau's forecasts had been is shown by the press dispatches dated Wednesday night, September 10: ' Lower Florida was paralyzed today as a result of the violent hurricane that passed over that section last night. Not a house in this city (Key West"; escaped damage; 320 frame buildings practically were razed, two church edifices wrecked and five retail stores overturned. The damage is estimated at more than $2,000,000. Shipping off the coast met with disaster. dis-aster. Several small vessels were sunk and others were driven to the reefs." Bv this time the weather bureau, in its fight to keep destruction and death at the minimum, was able to act with more definiteness, even though there was no adequate means of ascertaining atmospheric conditions in the center area of the Gulf of Mexico. The report re-port of .September 31, flashed over the wires from Washington, read: "The tropical storm is apparently central tonight to-night in the Gulf of Mexico, with latitude lati-tude 27 degrees and longitude S3 degrees. de-grees. Absence of reports forbids the definite location of the storm center, and it is therefore impossible at this time to state the portion of the mainland main-land that it will first reach, although it is fairly probable that it will be west of the Mississippi river. Storm warnings are displayed from the Louisiana Louisi-ana coast eastward to central Florida and on the northwest coast of Texas." While the hurricane wan moving on its northwestward course additional news, brief but vivid, filtered in from points in its wake. September 11 tho Associated Press representative wired: "Xine members of the Ward line steamer steam-er Corvdon rrew of thirty-six men were brought to this port this afternoon by 'he schooner Tsland Home. Thcv had been adrift on an upturned lifeboat, without food and water, for three days. One of the crew, according to their story, had become crazed from buffering buffer-ing anil privation Wednesday night, and sprang overboard." Tn 1 liese hours the thoughts of the chief forecaster instinctively turned to Galveston, which in the past had suffered suf-fered terribly from similar storms. Dispatches from that city indicnted that the tide was rising rapidly. Water was flooding the low places on tho sland and people were fleeing the city. A thirty-mile northeast storrn was blowing. But for tlie weather burenu's timelv warnings which had reached Galveston Gal-veston before the gale struck the city, millions of tons of cargo ami scores of hips would have pnt to sea and would have been lost. Galveston feels that it owes much to the weather bureau. Texas Lashed Furiously. In the next twenty-four hours the storm burst upon the Texas coast in full fury. While the papers the next few 'lavs were filled with the accounts of 'he damage aud death caused bv the hurricane, the fact of trreatest significance, signifi-cance, 'and which the public has come to take almost as a matter of COUN6 only partially realizing the skill and responsibility involved, was that the weather bureau had been able to anticipate an-ticipate this storm long enough in advance ad-vance to prevent a loss that, probablv would have totaled thousands of lives and millions of dollars in shipping. Accounts Ac-counts of the disaster therefore visnnli,0 what would have been only a fraction of the total destruction had 'here been no weather bureau. Reports from noustOD. Texas, dated 0aptonbef declared that IL'0 bodies had been found on the reefs eight miles from Portland. Texas. Most of the dead, tho message stated, had been recognized as residents of Corpus Christ i. The damnge in the laMer city was estimated it, 4.000.000. Relief tttttni were hurried hur-ried to the scenn and. if to ndd the la test tone h of m od e r n i t v. aJ ml I n 9a were called upon to aBffiit in relieving he suffering, six plan II being sent on Sep' ember Jo" from Kelly field with food supplies for the stranded inhabi i font. Among the supplies dropped were thirty pounds of vens!, to be used by the relief comniiit.ee in making brend for the cmerc-iiey. The tragic life history of the trrenf "form came to an end almost as suddenly sud-denly 0 if had betruTL Relurded and dissipated bv the umvnnneil of too j land over which t had begun to travel, il was f oreed to slacUen its speed as ' ;t made iis way toward the rugged re gioriM of Mexico. Pin ally. Dodar date 'if s-Tit em i" r 1 '. the bureau completed I the final chapter In the aplao'la, hnv: i Ing bv Us weather map that the tropical tropi-cal itoryn bad apparently dissipated II rlf n.rnyn;' Mi' mountain of M'-xno. |