out, however, that Bert had a barometer with him and knew how to read it, and when he saw the mercury dropping he had the prudence to seek shelter. He and his party were saved at Cocolobo Cay, but their parents spent an anxious night and day while waiting for news of them.
I had it in mind to send telegrams to our relatives, whom I knew would be uneasy concerning our welfare, but upon arriving at the telegraph offices I received information that all wires were down. The Postal offices were closed, and the Western Union was accepting messages to be sent whenever service was resumed. I declined to file any message and went to my office, and wrote a letter to my mother, which reached her about as quickly as a telegram would have under the circumstances.
I didn't expect to find much left at the office, but in this I was agreeably surprised. I found that papers had been blown about and books had been water-soaked, and the furniture had been considerably damaged, also the plate glass panels had been broken, but otherwise the rooms were in fairly good condition. When I looked over the down town district and observed the damage to some of the best buildings it seemed to me that our own offices had escaped in a most remarkable manner.
The Meyer-Kiser building, 18 stories high, was probably the most notable wreck. On the side facing the bay, from which the most powerful wind attacks had come, the building was laid open in many places, the outer walls entirely gone, and the inside bared. The upper stories had the appearance of careening, and this seemed to be more accentuated as the days passed, and city authorities condemned it. The entire block between First and Second Avenues on Northeast First Street was roped off and for many days no one was permitted to enter the danger zone. The Roosevelt Hotel, being built at the corner of Fourteenth Street and Northeast Second Avenue, was another sky scraper to suffer great damage. It was rumored that this structure had been condemned prior to the hurricane, but whether this is true or not does not appear to be of any great moment at this time, because clearly it was condemnable after the hurricane. The walls were crushed in, the windows broken, the scaffolding badly damaged and in numerous other particulars it presented a dilapidated appearance.
It did not seem, as I walked down Flagler Street, that a solid plate glass window had been left in the town. I thought of those fellows who sell plate glass and tornado insurance and wondered how
