the fiercest and most intense that ever had visited these shores.
The weather observer was sitting in front of the barometer when the needle was seized with its conniptions, and his first concern was to get it back upon the chart, so that not a moment's scientific import of this catastrophic disturbance should be lost. This was managed shortly, though not without considerable inconvenience, for the lights were out and to adjust a hair spring instrument under such circumstances, working desperately against time, was far from an easy task. This was but one of the trying occurrences that transpired in the Weather Bureau office at Miami while the storm wrought its devastating furies outside.
Earlier in the night, when Mr. Gray received information that the hurricane was near and went to hoist signals, the force of the wind took him off his feet and let him down not too gently. He does not mention this in his report, but loyally gives credit to his assistant for courageous work in retrieving the top of the raingage that blew off in the midst of the storm, though the incident is not mentioned as heroic. It is proper that such matters be preserved in their true aspect, for there is no question among those who passed through the storm that any one risked his life who ventured out while missiles and heavy objects of many kinds were hurtling through the air with irresistible force.
Mr. Gray does well to call attention to the fact that most of those who perished, met their fate when they went out during the lull between 6 and 7 o'clock Saturday morning. Those who did this evidently were unacquainted with the action of hurricanes, which move in whirlwind form, blowing from one quarter with great force and shifting to another, sometimes the opposite direction. A lull comes while the wind is changing, and the uninformed gain the impression that the storm is over. Saturday morning the streets were filled with people curious to view the wreckage, but when the wind shifted it was more furious than before and did greater damage.
The official account is reproduced in the succeeding pages not only for its value as a true and carefully prepared record, but because it is a document throbbing with human interest. With the omission of superscription, date and signature, which for present purposes are superfluous, it follows:
The hurricane of September 14-20, which passed over Miami during the early morning of the eighteenth, was probably the most destructive storm in the history of the United States, in so far as
