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WRECK OF SHOE STORE, MARKET STREET, GALVESTON.
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SOUTH SIDE POWER HOUSE, COMPLETE WRECK.
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WHERE TWELVE MEN AND WOMEN WERE MIRACULOUSLY SAVED.
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Y. M. C. A. BUILDING. SHOWING COMPLETE WRECK OF SURROUNDING BUILDINGS.
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VIEW OF WRECKAGE ONE-HALF MILE FROM BEACH
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APPEARANCE OF AVENUE K SCHOOL BUILDING.
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THE WORK OF THE STORM IN GALVESTON.
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REMOVAL OF THE BODIES OF STORM VICTIMS.
“Just as some of the regulars were guarding us a terrible outcry arose from the men engaged in the rescue work. Running quickly to the scene of trouble, we saw one of the workers was in the grasp of one of the soldiers. Another soldier was covering him with his rifle. The man, a Mexican, dressed in shabby clothes and wearing a drooping sombrero, was standing sullenly eying the crowd, with one hand in his pocket. His captor grasped his arm suddenly and dragged his hand from the pocket, and five mutilated fingers which he had hacked from corpses dropped to the ground. Each had one or more rings on it.
“With the sight of these evidences of crime before then the workers seemed to go mad, and with cries of ‘Lynch him!’ ‘Burn him!’ made for the unfortunate wretch. Before that he had been standing stolid and unmoved, but the approaching danger shook his courage, and he sunk to the ground pleading for mercy. But there was no mercy for the monster, and the men were only prevented from killing him then and there by the interference of the soldiers.
“‘Leave him to us,’ said the corporal in charge of the party as he ranged his men around the prisoner. ‘We will attend to his case,’ and with that he had the Mexican marched over and placed against a post not more than fifteen feet from the bodies he had mutilated. Selecting four soldiers as a firing party, he lined them up ten feet from the doomed man, and with the word ‘Fire!’ four bullets pierced the ghoul’s body and he fell dead. Such was a measure of the speedy justice which is being meted out to vandals in Galveston. Besides this case, I heard of several more where the guilty men were given the benefit of a short court-martial, then sentenced to death and shot.
“I told Alphons that I did not want any of that kind of work, and that I never could stand the notion of handling the bodies, and suggested that we escape. He agreed with me, and we gradually edged away from the soldiers and finally made a run and reached the beach. Here we hired a small boy to row us to the mainland, and from there we had to walk twelve miles before we could get a rig to take us back to Houston.
“It will be a long time before I will want to return to Galveston, or before I can forget the terrible scenes witnessed there. Since I left there I have been seeing the dead bodies all day, lying stark and stiff, with looks of terror on their faces, as though they had realized that a sure death was before them, and at night I have dreamed of having to help handle them. I tell you such things wear on a man, and I will bless the time when I can forget that I was ever in Galveston.
“The ruins show that the tidal wave must have struck the city broadside, as the buildings are washed away in almost a straight line back from the shore. The wave swept away buildings as far as twelve blocks inland for a space of nearly two miles. This ruined part comprised all the best part of the city. All the city buildings and the entire business portion of the city were swept away, and nothing remains to mark the spots where business blocks stood except half-submerged foundations filled with boards and dead bodies.
“The inhabitants who were rendered homeless and were not able to leave the city are now living in tents furnished by the United States government. Several distributing stations had been established and forces of men were busy issuing food and clothing to the unfortunate people. There appeared to be no lack of provisions, but water is scarce and there is no ice. While we were therethe heat was almost unendurable, and the stench from the bodies made the task of the relief party anything but pleasant. Water has to be hauled for several miles. The electric-light plant was destroyed and the city is without light, but the moon has shone brightly, and the work of finding the bodies has been carried on day and night.
“Conservative estimates of the number drowned made by persons familiar with the city place the loss of life at 5,000. No one knows just how many were killed, and it will be difficult for an accurate statement to be ever made, as the authorities are making no attempt at identifying the dead, but are bending all their efforts toward getting the city cleaned up in order to prevent a pestilence. At first relatives of those killed were allowed to accompany the searching parties, but this was found to be too slow a method, and now the pickets are instructed to prevent any one not connected with relief parties from entering the city.
“For the first two days the bodies were carried out to sea in steamers and dumped overboard, but now the officials are piling up the slain in heaps with boards and pieces of timber among them, and, after saturating the pile with oil, set fire to them.
“It hardly seems probable that they will rebuild Galveston, at least not on its present location. The city stood but little above the sea level, and the soil is sandy, which accounts for the complete destruction of most of the buildings even to the foundations.
“Many refugees came north with us, and all seemed to be in a hurry to leave the scene of desolation. They acted as though dazed, and many were unable to talk intelligently regarding their escape. All along the line we were besieged with questions regarding the safety ofdifferent people, but of course were unable to give our questioners any reliable information.
“Smaller towns through Texas that were struck by the hurricane had buildings blown down and a few casualties resulting. However, Galveston was the only city to suffer from the tidal wave, and that accounts for the large loss of life. Most of the dead in Galveston were drowned, and but few were killed by falling timbers. In Houston several buildings were blown down and about ten persons killed.”
Relief Sent from All Parts of the World as Soon as the True Situation of Affairs was Made Known—Millions of Dollars Subscribed and Thousands of Carloads of Supplies Forwarded to the Desolated City.
Relief Sent from All Parts of the World as Soon as the True Situation of Affairs was Made Known—Millions of Dollars Subscribed and Thousands of Carloads of Supplies Forwarded to the Desolated City.
Mayor Jones, of Galveston, issued his appeal to the United States for help on the 11th inst., and the response was prompt and liberal.
The Mayor was not afraid the people of the United States and the world would call him sensational, for no one was better qualified to judge of the situation than he.
He had spent almost every hour after the flood in working for the good of the city and had accomplished wonders.
He organized the citizens, giving of his own money, induced others—more unwilling than he—to open their hearts and pocketbooks, and, in fact, took no rest for days after the calamity.
As he had been around the city several times before the appeal was issued, he knew the condition of things thoroughly.
Therefore, the general public had confidence in what he said:
The same day the General Relief Committee of Galveston issued the following:
“Galveston, Tex., Sept. 11.—To the Public of America:“A conservative estimate of the loss of life is that it will reach 3,000; at least 5,000 families are shelterless and wholly destitute. The entire remainder of the population is suffering in greater or less degree.“Not a single church, school or charitable institution, of which Galveston had so many, is left intact. Not a building escaped damage and half the whole number were entirely obliterated.“There is immediate need for food, clothing and household goods of all kinds. If near by cities will open asylums for women and children the situation will be greatly relieved.“Coast cities should send us water as well as provisions, including kerosene oil, gasoline and candles.“W. C. JONES,“Mayor.“M. LASKER,“President Island City Savings Bank.“J. D. SKINNER,“President Cotton Exchange.“C. H. McMASTER,“For Chamber of Commerce.“R. G. LOWE,“Manager Galveston News.“CLARENCE OWSLEY,“Manager Galveston Tribune.“Members of the Galveston Local Relief Committee.”
“Galveston, Tex., Sept. 11.—To the Public of America:
“A conservative estimate of the loss of life is that it will reach 3,000; at least 5,000 families are shelterless and wholly destitute. The entire remainder of the population is suffering in greater or less degree.
“Not a single church, school or charitable institution, of which Galveston had so many, is left intact. Not a building escaped damage and half the whole number were entirely obliterated.
“There is immediate need for food, clothing and household goods of all kinds. If near by cities will open asylums for women and children the situation will be greatly relieved.
“Coast cities should send us water as well as provisions, including kerosene oil, gasoline and candles.
“W. C. JONES,“Mayor.“M. LASKER,“President Island City Savings Bank.“J. D. SKINNER,“President Cotton Exchange.“C. H. McMASTER,“For Chamber of Commerce.“R. G. LOWE,“Manager Galveston News.“CLARENCE OWSLEY,“Manager Galveston Tribune.“Members of the Galveston Local Relief Committee.”
The Secretary of the Treasury at Washington received a joint telegram from Postmaster Griffen and Special Deputy Collector Rosenthal, at Galveston. This described the destruction caused by the storm and said:
“Thousands homeless and destitute. Five hundred sheltered in custom house, which is practically roofless. Old custom house roofless and windows blown out. Need tents and 30,000 rations. Citizens’ relief committee doing all in their power, but stock of undamaged provisions exhausted. With all the people housed, need extra forcesix men to keep building in sanitary condition. Relief urgently requested.”
The Secretary sent the government revenue cutter Onondaga from Norfolk to Mobile, Ala., to carry supplies to Galveston.
The day the appeal was made Acting Secretary of War Meiklejohn at Washington authorized the chartering of a special train from St. Louis to carry Quartermasters’ and commissary supplies to the relief of the destitute at Galveston.
Orders were also issued by the War Department for the immediate shipment to Galveston of 855 tents and 50,000 rations. These stores and supplies were divided between St. Louis and San Antonio.
September 12 Governor Sayers issued the following statement:
“Austin, Tex., Sept. 12.—Conditions at Galveston are fully as bad as reported. Communication, however, has been re-established between the island and the mainland, and hereafter transportation of supplies will be less difficult.“The work of clearing the city is progressing fairly well, and Adjutant-General Scurry, under direction of the mayor, is patrolling the city for the purpose of preventing depredations.“The most conservative estimate as to the number of deaths places them at 2,000.“Contributions from citizens of this state, and also from other states, are coming in rapidly and liberally, and it is confidently expected that within the next ten days the work of restoration by the people of Galveston will have begun in good earnest and with energy and success.“Of course, the destruction of property has been very great, not less than $10,000,000, but it is hoped andbelieved that even this great loss will be overcome through the energy and self-reliance of the people.“JOSEPH D. SAYERS, Governor.”
“Austin, Tex., Sept. 12.—Conditions at Galveston are fully as bad as reported. Communication, however, has been re-established between the island and the mainland, and hereafter transportation of supplies will be less difficult.
“The work of clearing the city is progressing fairly well, and Adjutant-General Scurry, under direction of the mayor, is patrolling the city for the purpose of preventing depredations.
“The most conservative estimate as to the number of deaths places them at 2,000.
“Contributions from citizens of this state, and also from other states, are coming in rapidly and liberally, and it is confidently expected that within the next ten days the work of restoration by the people of Galveston will have begun in good earnest and with energy and success.
“Of course, the destruction of property has been very great, not less than $10,000,000, but it is hoped andbelieved that even this great loss will be overcome through the energy and self-reliance of the people.
“JOSEPH D. SAYERS, Governor.”
On the same day the Galveston General Relief Committee sent out this statement of the condition of affairs:
“We are receiving numerous telegrams of condolence and offers of assistance. Near-by cities are supplying and will supply sufficient food, clothing, etc., for immediate needs. Cities farther away can serve us best by sending money. Checks should be made payable to John Sealy, Chairman of the Finance Committee. All supplies should come to W. A. McVitie, Chairman Relief Committee.“We have 25,000 people to clothe and feed for many weeks and to furnish with household goods. Most of these are homeless, and the others will require money to make their wrecked residences habitable. From this the world may understand how much money we will need. This committee will from time to time report our needs with more particularity. We refer to dispatch of this date of Major R. G. Lowe, which the committee fully endorses. All communicants will please accept this answer in lieu of direct response and be assured of the heartfelt gratitude of the entire population.“W. C. JONES, Mayor.“M. LASKER,“J. D. SKINNER,“C. H. McMASTER,“R. G. LOWE,“CLARENCE OWSLEY.”
“We are receiving numerous telegrams of condolence and offers of assistance. Near-by cities are supplying and will supply sufficient food, clothing, etc., for immediate needs. Cities farther away can serve us best by sending money. Checks should be made payable to John Sealy, Chairman of the Finance Committee. All supplies should come to W. A. McVitie, Chairman Relief Committee.
“We have 25,000 people to clothe and feed for many weeks and to furnish with household goods. Most of these are homeless, and the others will require money to make their wrecked residences habitable. From this the world may understand how much money we will need. This committee will from time to time report our needs with more particularity. We refer to dispatch of this date of Major R. G. Lowe, which the committee fully endorses. All communicants will please accept this answer in lieu of direct response and be assured of the heartfelt gratitude of the entire population.
“W. C. JONES, Mayor.“M. LASKER,“J. D. SKINNER,“C. H. McMASTER,“R. G. LOWE,“CLARENCE OWSLEY.”
Colonel Amos. S. Kimball, Assistant Quartermaster General, stationed at New York, was informed by armycontractors on Tuesday, the day the appeal was sent out, that Miss Helen Gould had purchased 50,000 army rations for the Galveston sufferers. The rations were started from the Pennsylvania railroad station in Jersey City at 3 p. m. the same day. Miss Gould went directly to the contractors who supply the army with provisions and ordered rations identical with those furnished for soldiers, consisting of bacon, canned meats, beans, hard bread, and coffee.
Chicago sent $25,000 to the Governor of Texas; Andrew Carnegie gave $20,000 in cash; Sir Thomas Lipton cabled from London to his manager at New York to send $1,000 at once, which was done; Davenport, Ia., sent $1,600 immediately; Philadelphia wired Governor Sayers $5,000 without delay; the American Steel Hoop Company, American Tin Plate Company and American Sheet Steel Company gave $10,000 each, and the Southern Pacific Railway Company, $5,000; Chicago started a trainload of supplies southward, as also did the State of California; the railroads hauling the cars free of charge; several newspapers in Chicago, New York and Kansas City either gave money or started relief trains with doctors, nurses and medical supplies, with orders to beat the best record time to Galveston; Cincinnati began with $1,000 and subscribed that amount daily for many days; Cleveland, O., telegraphed $2,500, and then made it $15,000; 30,000 rations and 900 United States army tents were sent from St. Louis from the office of the United States Quartermaster; the mayor of Colorado Springs, Colo., was told by the citizens to send $2,000 at once and he did so; nearly all the theatres of the United States gave benefits; the State of Kansas, having $500 left in its Indian Famine Relief Fund, sent that; people of the State of Texas sent $15,000 to the Governor at Austin; Houston, Tex., raised $2,000 in cash;the Governors of nearly all the States issued proclamations calling upon their people to subscribe to the relief fund, the mayors of most of the cities doing the same—the consequence being that Governor Sayers had about $250,000 in hand in cash that very (Tuesday) night, with several hundreds of thousands more in sight and within call.
By Thursday he had $900,000 in hand and on Saturday had $1,500,000, in addition to which were several thousand cars loaded with supplies of all sorts—provisions, medicines, disinfectants, fruits, clothing, wines for the sick, tents, bandages, stoves, oil—everything that could possibly be needed.
It was estimated that fully $2,500,000 would be necessary to carry the sufferers through the fall and winter and into the following spring, for thousands of them were ill and unable to provide in any way for themselves. There were fully 50,000 men, women and children in Galveston and Central and Southern Texas who were dependent upon charity.
On Friday night Governor Sayers decided upon two important plans of action. The first was that he would allow all food and clothing shipped from the east and west to be concentrated in Galveston for the use of that city and that he would also grant that city the use of 30,000 laborers for a period of thirty days, the same to be paid $1.50 per man per day for that time out of the relief fund. In addition thereto all requests for money from the Galveston Relief Committee were to be granted.
His second decision was that he personally would look after the needs of the 30,000 destitute along the gulf coast on the mainland, provide them with flour and bacon and keep them going until they get on their feet again. Chairman Sealy of the Galveston committee was to keep trackof the Galveston situation while the Governor looked out for the outside points.
That night a local committee from Galveston was sent to Houston and Virginia Point to take charge of the receiving and distribution of supplies that arrived there for the Galveston people. A serious matter confronting the authorities not only at the coast points, but in the cities near Galveston, was the rapid gathering of toughs, gamblers and rough characters generally, which after the flood were forced to leave Galveston island as they would not work. Others drifted into the mainland opposite Galveston and on to the neighboring towns by the hundreds in the hope of pickpocketing and the like among the crowds.
All this gathering of disorderly characters made the peace officers rather uneasy as to the future. The police and troops in Galveston and the special officers on the mainland were constantly on the alert to keep down trouble and prevent all possible thieving and they did not get the upper hand of this element until they had shot a score or more. These fellows would steal the provisions and supplies sent by the generous people from the outside, and whenever caught were shot without delay.
The following was sent out from Galveston on Saturday, Sept. 15, which showed how serious the situation was:
“Galveston, Texas, Sept. 14.—Hon. Joseph D. Sayers, Governor: After the fullest possible investigation here we feel justified in saying to you and through you to the American people that no such disaster has ever overtaken any community or section in the history of our country. The loss of life is appalling and can never be accurately determined. It is estimated at 5,000 to 8,000 people.“There is not a home in Galveston that has not been injured, while thousands have been destroyed. The property loss represents accumulations of sixty years and more millions than can be safely stated. Under these conditions, with ten thousand people homeless and destitute, with the entire population under a stress and strain difficult to realize, we appeal directly in the hour of our great emergency to the sympathy and aid of mankind.“WALTER JONES,“Mayor.“R. B. HAWLEY,Congressman.“McKIBBIN,“Commander Department of Texas.”
“Galveston, Texas, Sept. 14.—Hon. Joseph D. Sayers, Governor: After the fullest possible investigation here we feel justified in saying to you and through you to the American people that no such disaster has ever overtaken any community or section in the history of our country. The loss of life is appalling and can never be accurately determined. It is estimated at 5,000 to 8,000 people.
“There is not a home in Galveston that has not been injured, while thousands have been destroyed. The property loss represents accumulations of sixty years and more millions than can be safely stated. Under these conditions, with ten thousand people homeless and destitute, with the entire population under a stress and strain difficult to realize, we appeal directly in the hour of our great emergency to the sympathy and aid of mankind.
“WALTER JONES,“Mayor.“R. B. HAWLEY,Congressman.“McKIBBIN,“Commander Department of Texas.”
General McKibbin, when he looked over the city three days before, had wired the War Department at Washington that perhaps 1,000 people had perished. He was a conservative man, as army officers usually are, and when he signed a statement saying probably 8,000 persons had lost their lives his signature carried weight with it.
Not only did the people of the United States sympathize deeply with the Texas sufferers, but those of other nations as well. President Loubet, of France, sent the following kind message to President McKinley at Washington:
“Rambouillet Presidence, Sept. 12.—To His Excellency, the President of the United States of America:“The news of the disaster which has just devastated the State of Texas has deeply moved me. The sentiments of traditional friendship which unite the two republics can leave no doubt in your mind concerning the very sincere share that the President, the government of the republic, and the whole nation take in the calamity thathas proved such a cruel ordeal for so many families in the United States.“It is natural that France should participate in the sadness, as well as in the joy, of the American people. I take it to heart to tender to your excellency our most heartfelt condolences, and to send to the families of the victims the expression of our afflicted sympathy.“EMILE LOUBET.”
“Rambouillet Presidence, Sept. 12.—To His Excellency, the President of the United States of America:
“The news of the disaster which has just devastated the State of Texas has deeply moved me. The sentiments of traditional friendship which unite the two republics can leave no doubt in your mind concerning the very sincere share that the President, the government of the republic, and the whole nation take in the calamity thathas proved such a cruel ordeal for so many families in the United States.
“It is natural that France should participate in the sadness, as well as in the joy, of the American people. I take it to heart to tender to your excellency our most heartfelt condolences, and to send to the families of the victims the expression of our afflicted sympathy.
“EMILE LOUBET.”
President McKinley sent this answer the next day:
“Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C., Sept. 13.—His Excellency, Emile Loubet, President of the French Republic, Rambouillet, France:“I hasten to express, in the name of the thousands who have suffered by the disaster in Texas, as well as in behalf of the whole American people, heartfelt thanks for your touching message of sympathy and condolence.“WILLIAM McKINLEY.”
“Executive Mansion, Washington, D. C., Sept. 13.—His Excellency, Emile Loubet, President of the French Republic, Rambouillet, France:
“I hasten to express, in the name of the thousands who have suffered by the disaster in Texas, as well as in behalf of the whole American people, heartfelt thanks for your touching message of sympathy and condolence.
“WILLIAM McKINLEY.”
SCHOOL CHILDREN GAVE THEIR PENNIES.
Even the school children of the country helped the sufferers with their pennies. Miss Ethel Donelson, a pupil at the Grant School, Chicago, wrote a letter to a Chicago daily paper suggesting that the school children give some of their pennies to the victims of the great hurricane. The idea was carried out and several thousand dollars was raised in this way in Chicago. The plan was adopted also in several other cities.
When the suggestion was first made United States Postoffice Inspector Walter S. Mayor wrote as follows:
“I was reared in Galveston; lived there from my infancy until appointed to the government service nineteen years ago, and my mother and brother still live there.“When Chicago had its great fire in 1871 the people of Galveston sent a generous subscription, and with it was one made up by the boys of the school I attended. Our teacher, E. E. Crawford, gave us a holiday for the purpose, and the fifty-odd boys organized themselves into a number of soliciting committees. I was on the committee with Charles Fowler, now one of Galveston’s leading business men, and we two succeeded in collecting $8. In all, for our day’s work we got together $200, which was turned into the general fund raised by the Citizens’ Committee.“In the twenty-nine years that have followed since then Chicago has pulled itself out of the ashes and risen to a high place among the world cities. Many forces have been brought to bear to accomplish this great end, but possibly the most potent one was the helping hand of the neighbor when help was needed. Among those who helped with their little mite may the school children of Galveston now be remembered.“I most heartily second Miss Donelson’s suggestion that the school children of Chicago be given an opportunity to aid their little brothers and sisters in Galveston, many of whom are naked and orphaned by the terrible disaster that has come to them.“WALTER S. MAYER,“Postoffice Inspector.”
“I was reared in Galveston; lived there from my infancy until appointed to the government service nineteen years ago, and my mother and brother still live there.
“When Chicago had its great fire in 1871 the people of Galveston sent a generous subscription, and with it was one made up by the boys of the school I attended. Our teacher, E. E. Crawford, gave us a holiday for the purpose, and the fifty-odd boys organized themselves into a number of soliciting committees. I was on the committee with Charles Fowler, now one of Galveston’s leading business men, and we two succeeded in collecting $8. In all, for our day’s work we got together $200, which was turned into the general fund raised by the Citizens’ Committee.
“In the twenty-nine years that have followed since then Chicago has pulled itself out of the ashes and risen to a high place among the world cities. Many forces have been brought to bear to accomplish this great end, but possibly the most potent one was the helping hand of the neighbor when help was needed. Among those who helped with their little mite may the school children of Galveston now be remembered.
“I most heartily second Miss Donelson’s suggestion that the school children of Chicago be given an opportunity to aid their little brothers and sisters in Galveston, many of whom are naked and orphaned by the terrible disaster that has come to them.
“WALTER S. MAYER,“Postoffice Inspector.”
On Thursday, Sept. 13, American residents and visitors in Paris, France, together with Frenchmen whose sympathies were aroused by the storm disaster in Texas, contributed 50,000 francs in twenty minutes for the relief of the sufferers. The Americans held a meeting in the Chamber of Commerce, which was largely attended.United States Ambassador Porter was a leader among those who proposed to organize for the work of aiding in the relief. The Americans perfected an organization and elected General Porter President, George Munroe, the banker, Treasurer, and Francis Kimball Secretary. The subscription list was then opened and the 50,000 francs raised. The Mayor of Galveston was informed by cable of the result.
The same day P. P. W. Houston, Member of Parliament for the West Toxteth division of Liverpool, England, and head of the Houston Line of steamers, cabled £1,000 to Galveston for the relief of the sufferers.
Members of the American colony in Berlin, Germany, held a meeting Sunday, September 16, at the United States Embassy and raised $5,000.
Americans in London subscribed $10,000 and many London theatres gave benefits.
The Marquis of Salisbury, Premier of England, the Emperor William of Germany, the Emperor of Austria, the King of Italy, the Czar of Russia—in fact, nearly all the heads of state in the world cabled condolences, and the legislative bodies of foreign nations then in session passed resolutions of sympathy.
By Saturday New York had raised $174,000; Chicago, $91,000, together with many carloads of supplies which were sent as special trains, and the following cities had contributed the amounts named:
As stated before, the total for the four and a half days ensuing from the time the appeal was issued—$1,500,000 was contributed, while an additional $1,000,000 was not long in following. Both Chicago and New York increased their subscriptions largely.
In no case did the railroads charge for carrying the cars over their lines.
THEIR PENALTIES WERE REMITTED.
Navigation and other laws were set at naught by the United States authorities in order to help the Galvestonand other flood sufferers. On Friday, September 14, the following telegram was referred to General Spaulding by President McKinley:
“Galveston, Tex., Sept. 12, 1900.—To President of the United States: In consequence of calamity and fear of sickness numerous people wish to leave the city. All our rail communication is cut off. The revenue cutter of this district is disabled and no American steamer immediately available. We therefore respectfully request you to instruct the proper authorities to allow British steamers Caledonia and Whitehall and any other foreign vessels now here, but compelled to proceed to New Orleans for cargo, to carry passengers from Galveston to New Orleans.“W. C. JONES, Mayor,“CLARENCE OUSLEY,“J. D. SKINNER,“C. H. McMASTER,“R. G. LOWE,“Committee.”
“Galveston, Tex., Sept. 12, 1900.—To President of the United States: In consequence of calamity and fear of sickness numerous people wish to leave the city. All our rail communication is cut off. The revenue cutter of this district is disabled and no American steamer immediately available. We therefore respectfully request you to instruct the proper authorities to allow British steamers Caledonia and Whitehall and any other foreign vessels now here, but compelled to proceed to New Orleans for cargo, to carry passengers from Galveston to New Orleans.
“W. C. JONES, Mayor,“CLARENCE OUSLEY,“J. D. SKINNER,“C. H. McMASTER,“R. G. LOWE,“Committee.”
General Spaulding at once sent the following telegram:
“W. C. Jones, Mayor, Galveston, Tex.: Replying to your telegram of the 12th inst. addressed to President: If British steamships Caledonia, Whitehall, or other foreign vessels now in your port carry passengers in distress from Galveston to New Orleans or other American ports during present conditions this department will consider favorably applications for remission of penalties which may be incurred under the law. Advise masters.“O. L. SPAULDING, Acting Secretary.”
“W. C. Jones, Mayor, Galveston, Tex.: Replying to your telegram of the 12th inst. addressed to President: If British steamships Caledonia, Whitehall, or other foreign vessels now in your port carry passengers in distress from Galveston to New Orleans or other American ports during present conditions this department will consider favorably applications for remission of penalties which may be incurred under the law. Advise masters.
“O. L. SPAULDING, Acting Secretary.”
On Friday night Governor Sayers stated that the work of relieving the flood sufferers was making excellent progress. He said:
“Most generous contributions are coming in from all parts of the country sufficiently large to relieve the immediate wants as to food and clothing, and in the meantime the people of Galveston are recovering themselves, and I have no hesitancy in expressing the firm conviction that a strong reaction from an almost mortal blow to the city has already set in, and that in a short while the city will be in a condition to resume its normal and progressive position in commercial life. After a full conference to-day with an authorized committee from Galveston, I am more than convinced that the people there will be able, with the assistance already given, to handle the situation successfully.”
HOW GALVESTON’S BUSINESS MEN WERE HELPED ALONG.
As a rule there is no sentiment in business, but the retail merchants of Galveston whose business and fortunes were swept away were not forgotten in the hour of need by the wholesale houses of Chicago, which announced just after the disaster that stocks of goods would be shipped promptly and willingly, any time and terms being accorded to the business of the gulf city. The regular way of determining credits was ignored, as was the credit man also. His cold judgment was not asked for, but instead sympathy and compassion for the unfortunate position of the merchants of the stricken city determined largely the stand the wholesalers announced they would take.
In doing this the houses of Chicago had the precedent established by the outside world in its treatment of them in the days following the great Chicago fire. Chicago men said they will do as they were done by, and the Galvestonmerchant had but to ask for the help he needed. Many Chicago houses wrote their Galveston customers at once advising them that they could have credit, time, and terms to suit themselves. This favor was also given to all business men who had lost all but names and prestige, whether they had been customers or not.
Firms that never had had any business with Galveston or Texas firms stated that they stood ready to ship goods on the same terms. No business man in the damaged district, they said, whose misfortunes were due to the catastrophe could come to Chicago for supplies and go away without them even if he had not a dollar’s worth of assets in the world, as long as he could show a former good business standing and repute.
“We will take any and all risks,” said one after another of the representatives of Chicago wholesale houses. “In the present emergency credits cannot be measured by the regular business standards. Humanity must dictate the terms on which the merchants of Galveston who have bought from us, or who may want to buy from us, are to have goods and supplies.”
Firm after firm of the wholesale district, whether or not they now have trade in the afflicted territory, made the same statement.
“We already have written to 200 former customers who are scattered along the coast, asking them how they came out of the disaster and offering them any terms of settlement their losses may warrant,” said the credit man of one of the largest houses in the West, on the Friday following the flood. “We will view the facts in their cases not from a business but from a sympathetic standpoint.”
“We are making our former customers time, terms and credits of their own asking,” said the Vice-President of a great wholesale dry goods house. “We will make thesame terms to new customers who have been good business men.”
“We have advised former customers that their orders will be filled promptly for complete stocks,” said the manager of a music and musical instrument house. “We have told them to make their own time and terms. We charge no interest.”
“We are looking at the men of Galveston and not at their present assets,” said the managing partner of a wholesale clothing house having a large Texas trade.
“We have sent word to fifty of our customers in Galveston to draw on us for new stocks without asking them if they have saved a penny from the catastrophe,” said the President of one of the largest cigar and tobacco concerns in the city.
“The conditions are so distressing as to shame a Chicagoan asking what any Galveston business man has to-day,” said the manager of a grocery house. “We have never reached into Texas after trade, but shall do so immediately. Any business man wanting our goods can have them on his own terms.”
“Our customers in Galveston can send in their orders for new stocks and have them filled as quickly as if they forwarded double prices,” said a furnishing goods wholesaler. “We are not asking them what their assets are.”
Cremating Bodies by the Hundred in the Streets of Galveston—Negroes Faint While Handling the Decomposed Corpses—How Some of Those Rescued Escaped with Their Lives.
Cremating Bodies by the Hundred in the Streets of Galveston—Negroes Faint While Handling the Decomposed Corpses—How Some of Those Rescued Escaped with Their Lives.
Fully 1,500 bodies were cremated at Galveston after it became apparent that the time necessary to bury them or cast them into the sea could not be taken, owing to their advanced state of decomposition.
Many of the negroes who handled the bodies fell from fright and nausea. White volunteers took their places and the work went on. The volunteers bandaged their mouths and noses with cotton cloths saturated with disinfectants and were relieved by other volunteers every hour.
Fires could not be started every place where bodies were found. The usual plan was to collect all bodies within two blocks in one spot and then build the funeral pyre. On the remains of many women were valuable rings and jewelry, but the men did not attempt to remove the jewelry. It was burned with the owners.
Officers Mass and Woodward reported that their two gangs burned 100 bodies, the majority women and children. The percentage of deaths among children was frightful. Sheriff Thomas and his negroes burned forty bodies on the beach near Tremont street.
Catholic priests in charge of gangs reported 120 bodies burned. The sanitary experts pushed the work of burning the dead. No other disposition was considered. People who had lost relatives and friends made no objection and looked on the plan with favor.
Disinfectants were used as never before in the world. The smell of the charnel house was driven away and thewhole city was filled with the fumes of carbolic acid and lime in solution.
This is general order No. 9, issued by Brigadier General Thomas Scurry, commanding the city forces:
“Guards, foreman of gangs, and working parties or others acting under the authorities of this department will use diligence toward preventing any hardships on private individuals or impressing men for service. The conditions, however, are so critical, and it is so necessary that sanitary precautions be taken to preserve the lives and health of the people of this stricken city, that individual interests must give way to the general good of all. If it is found feasible to secure volunteers, general impressment will be avoided, but, the medical fraternity being a unit in the opinion that further delay or procrastination will bring pestilence to finish the dire work of the hurricane, the interests of no individual, firm, or corporation will for one instant be spared to secure volunteers for work, but, failing this, every able-bodied man is to be put to work to clear the wreckage, burn the hundreds of bodies under it, and save, if possible, the lives of those who yet remain. I trust this position may be thoroughly appreciated and understood, so that all people will govern themselves accordingly.”
BOY FLOATS MILES ON A TRUNK.
The miracles of Galveston were many. Some of them will not be received with full credit by readers. In the infirmary at Houston was a boy whose name is Rutter. He was found on Monday morning lying behind a trunk on the land near the town of Hitchcock, which is twenty miles to the northward of Galveston. The boy was only 12 years old. His story was that his father, mother, andtwo children remained in the house. There was a crash. The house went to pieces. The boy said he caught hold of a trunk when he found himself in the water and floated off with it. He was sure the others were drowned. He had no idea of where it took him, but when daylight came he was across the bay and out upon the still partially submerged mainland.
ESCAPED IN BATHING SUITS.
The wife of Manager Bergman of the Houston Opera House saw more of the storm than fell to the lot of most women who live to tell of it. She had been spending the heated term at a Rosenberg avenue cottage only a short distance from the beach.
On Saturday morning the water had risen there three feet. Putting on a bathing suit, Mrs. Bergman went to the Olympia to talk over the long distance telephone with her husband in Houston. This was about 10 a. m. At the Olympia she had to wade waist deep in the water. At 2 o’clock Mrs. Bergman became alarmed, and with her sister she left the summer cottage and started toward the more thickly settled part of the city. Neighbors laughed at the fear of the women. Out of a family of fifteen in the next house only three were saved.
Mrs. Bergman and her sister waded and swam alternately several blocks until they reached the higher streets. Then they hired a negro with a dray and told him to take them to the telephone exchange. Within two blocks from where the start was made in this way the mule got into deep water and was drowned. The women reached the telephone building, but when the firemen began to bring in the dead bodies they left and went to Balton’s livery stable. This was only 600 yards away, but Mrs. Bergman says it was the hardest part of the trip, with the air fullof flying bits of glass, slate, and wood. In the stable they remained until morning.
When the sun had risen the water had so far receded that they went out to the site of their cottage. A hitching post was all that served to locate the place. No houses were left standing for many blocks around. A dead baby lay in the yard. The two women returned down-town. Passing a store with plate glass windows and doors blown out, they went in and helped themselves to the black cloth from which they made the gowns they still wore when they reached Houston three days later. During the storm they wore their bathing suits.
STRANGE INCIDENTS OF THE FLOOD.
Many instances of devotion of husband to wife, of wife to husband, of child to parent and parent to child could be mentioned. One poor woman with her child and her father was cast out into the raging waters. They were separated. Both were in drift and both believed they went out in the gulf and returned. The mother was finally cast upon the drift and there she was pounded by the waves and debris until she was pulled into a house against which the drift had lodged, and during all that frightful ride she held to her eight months’ old boy and when she was on the drift pile she lay upon the infant and covered it with her body that it might escape the blows of the planks. She came out of the ordeal cut and maimed, but the infant had not a scratch.
STATUES ON ALTAR NOT HARMED.
St. Joseph’s Catholic Church presents a strange contrast, with the roof and rear wall back of the altar being carried away. The wall collapsed, but the altar was notdamaged and the frail lifesize statues of St. Joseph and the Virgin on the altar were not harmed or moved.
When their home went to pieces the members of the Stubbs family—husband, wife, and two children—climbed upon the roof of a house floating by. They felt tolerably secure. Without warning the roof parted in two pieces. Mr. and Mrs. Stubbs were separated. Each had a child. The parts of the raft went different ways in the darkness. One of the children fell off and disappeared. Not until some time Sunday was the family reunited. Even the child was saved, having caught a table and clung to it until it reached a place of safety.
Another man took his wife from one house to another by swimming until he had occupied three. Each fell in its turn and then he took to the waves and they were separated and each, as the persons above mentioned, believed they were carried to sea. After three hours in the water he heard her call and finally rescued her.
THREW $10,000 WORTH OF DIAMONDS INTO THE WATER.
Edward Zeigler, Thomas Farley and Alexander McCarthy arrived at Mobile, Ala., Thursday evening from Galveston. They left Galveston that morning on the tug Robinson with 130 other refugees and were taken to Houston. Until they arrived at New Orleans they were clad in undergarments and were coatless.
They escaped at 10:30 on Sunday morning from a house on the exposed beach by clinging to a log and floating to high ground. Zeigler was struck by floating wreckage, but was assisted by his companions to safety. An old negress, who gave the sleeping men warning, was drowned.
Zeigler was naked and the other men were in theirnight garments when they reached the crowd gathered near the Tremont house, but their appearance was similar to that of hundreds, many women being rescued for whom clothing had to be at once obtained. At noon Sunday they had sufficient space to move around with comfort, although filled with anxiety and penned in on all sides by the rapidly rising water. Four hours later the few thoroughfares above water were congested with crowds of hysterical women, crying children and frantic men.
The separation of families produced pathetic scenes when mothers mourned their offspring and men lamented the loss of all dear to them. There was no confusion, only a clinging closer together without discrimination of class or sex as the waters advanced foot by foot.
At dark the misery deepened and the women occupied the hotel and approaches, the highest point in the city, and the water continuing to advance, buildings and stores were thrown wide open to provide refuge in the upper stories. The men gave the better positions to the women.
As midnight approached conditions became worse; several women became demented and one woman, a member of the demi-monde, threw $10,000 worth of diamonds into the flood.
In the hotel the women kissed each other and said good-by. They prayed and sang hymns in turn. With each announcement that the waters were rising many men and women gave up to the terrible mental strain and fainted.
The survivors paid a high tribute to the bravery in the face of death of the women of Galveston, and stated that, although abject melancholy had fallen over all, that the spirit of fortitude displayed by the women nerved the men. The horrors of that night were equaled on the succeeding days as the water receded.
DARED EVERYTHING FOR WIFE AND SON.
Of all the heroism and dogged tenacity of purpose noted in connection with the Galveston storm none was greater than that of W. L. Love of Houston. Mr. Love was a compositor on the Houston Post, and his wife and little son were visiting Mrs. Love’s mother in Galveston when the storm struck the city.
Early Sunday morning when the first news of the Galveston disaster began to drift in, Mr. Love announced to the foreman of the composing-room, under whom he was working, that he intended starting immediately for Galveston.
He went to one of the depots and fortunately found a train leaving toward Galveston. He boarded it, but the train was forced to stop eight miles before it reached Galveston Bay. He walked eight miles, arriving at the bay in about two hours. There was no boat in sight, not even a skiff or canoe.
He found a large cypress railroad-tie near the water’s edge and, procuring a coal hook from a locomotive that had blown from the track, he got astride the tie after having placed it in the water, and set out on a difficult and perilous journey across the three miles of salt water. Thus he labored for six trying hours, the sun beating down on him and with his body half submerged in the brine of the bay.
At last the goal was reached and he pulled himself out of the water and stepped on the once fair island.
After having passed on his way more than a hundred decaying bodies of the storm victims, the heroic young man set about finding his wife and little boy. This he didafter a lengthy search. His wife had lost her mother, father, brothers and sisters, numbering eight in all.
The little boy had been utterly stripped of his clothing by the wind and both he and his mother had an experience that rarely comes to a mother and son.
PITIFUL TALES OF SOME OF THE SURVIVORS.
The story of Thomas Klee was indeed most pitiful. Klee lived near Eleventh and N streets. When the storm burst he was alone in his home with his two infant children. He seized one under each arm and rushed from the frail structure in time to cheat death among the falling timbers of his home.
Once in the open, with his babies under his arms, he was swept into the bay among hundreds of others. He held to his precious burden and by skillful maneuvering managed to get close to a tree which was sweeping along with the tide. He saw a haven in the branches of the tree and raised his two-year-old daughter to place her in the branches. As he did so the little one was torn from his arm and carried away to her death.
The awful blow stunned but did not render him senseless. Klee retained his hold on the other child, aged four years, and was whirled along among the dying and dead victims of the storm’s fury, hoping to effect a landing somewhere.
An hour in the water brought the desired end. He was thrown ashore, with wreckage and corpses, and, stumbling to a footing, lifted his son to a level with his face. The boy was dead.
Klee remembered nothing until Thursday night, when he was put ashore in Texas City. He had a slight recollection of helping to bury dead, clear away debris andobey the command of soldiers. His brain, however, did not execute its functions until Friday morning.
George Boyer’s experience was a sad one. He was thrown into the rushing waters, and while being carried with frightful velocity down the bay saw the dead face of his wife in the branches of a tree. The woman had been wedged firmly between two branches.
Margaret Lees’ life was saved at the expense of her brother’s. The woman was in her Twelfth street home when the hurricane struck. Her brother seized her and guided her to St. Mary’s University, a short distance away. He returned to search for his son, and was killed by a falling house.
HORRIBLE CONDITION OF THE CITY AFTER THE FLOOD.
I. J. Jones, sent to Galveston by Governor Sayers, of Texas, the day after the storm to investigate the condition of the Texas State quarantine there, reported to the Governor at Austin on September 14, said, among other things, in his report:
“The sanitary condition of the city is very bad. Large quantities of lime have been ordered to the place, but I doubt if any one will be found to unload it from the vessels and attend its systematic distribution when it arrives. The stench is almost unbearable. It arises from piles of debris containing the carcasses of human beings and animals. These carcasses are being burned whenever it can be done with safety, but little of the wreckage can be destroyed. There is no water protection, and should a fire break out the destruction of the city would soon be complete. When searching parties come across a human body it is taken into an open space and wreckage piledover it. This is set on fire and the body slowly consumed. The odor of the burning bodies is horrible.
“The chairman of the finance relief committee at Galveston wanted me to make the announcement that the city wants all the skilled mechanics and contractors with their tools that can be brought to Galveston. There is some repair work now going on, but it is impossible to find men who will work at that kind of business. Those now in Galveston not engaged in the relief work have their own private business to look after and mechanics are not to be had. All mechanics will be paid regular wages and will be given employment by private parties who desire to get their wrecked homes in a habitable condition as rapidly as possible. There are many houses which have only the roof gone. These residences are finely furnished, and it is desired that the necessary repairs be made quickly.
“The relief work is fairly well organized. Nothing has been accomplished except the distribution of food among the needy. About one-half of the city is totally wrecked and many people are living in houses that are badly wrecked. The destitute are being removed from the city as rapidly as possible. It will take three or four days yet before all who want to go have been removed from the island and city. A remarkably large number of horses survived the storm, but there is no feed for them and many of them will soon die of starvation.
“I am thoroughly satisfied after spending two days in Galveston that the estimate of 5,000 dead is too conservative. It will exceed that number. Nobody can ever estimate or will ever know within 1,000 of how many lives were lost. In the city the dead bodies are being got rid of in whatever manner possible. They are burying the dead found on mainland. At one place 250 were found andburied on Wednesday. There must be hundreds of dead bodies back on the prairies that have not been found. It is impracticable to make a search. Bodies have been found as far back as seven miles from the mainland shore. It would take an army to search that territory on the mainland.
“The waters of the gulf and bay are still full of dead bodies and they are being constantly cast upon the beach. On my trip to and from the quarantine I passed a procession of bodies going seaward. I counted fourteen of them on my trip in from the station, and this procession is kept up day and night. The captain of a ship who had just reached quarantine informed me that he began to meet floating bodies fifty miles from port.
“As an illustration of how high the water got in the gulf, a vessel which was in port tried to get into the open sea when the storm came on. It got out some distance and had to put back. It was dark and all the landmarks had been obliterated. The course of the vessel could not be determined and she was being furiously driven in toward the island by the wind. Before her course could be established she had actually run over the top of the north jetty. As the vessel draws twenty-five feet of water, some idea can be obtained as to the height of the water in the gulf.”
THRILLING EXPERIENCE OF A DALLAS GIRL.
One of the most thrilling descriptions of personal experience with the fearful flood ever written was that of Miss Maud Hall, of Dallas, Tex., who was spending her school vacation with friends at Galveston. She wrote an account of her adventures to her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Emory Hall:
“Dear Papa and Mamma: I suppose before this you will have received my telegram and know I am safe. This has been a terrible experience. I hope I will be spared any more such. I am just a nervous wreck—fever blisters over my mouth, eyes with hollows under them, and shaking all over. When I close my eyes I can’t see anything but piles of naked dead and wild-eyed men and women. I suppose I had better begin at the beginning, but I don’t know if I can write with any sense. Saturday at about 11 o’clock it began raining, and the wind rose a little. Sidney Spann and two young lady boarders could not get home to dinner. After the dinner the men left and we sat around in dressing sacks watching the storm. All at once Birdie Duff (Mrs. Spann’s married daughter) said: ‘Look at the water in the street; it must be the gulf.’
“There was water from curb to curb. It rose rapidly as we watched it, and Mrs. Spann sent us all to dress. It rose to the sidewalk, and the men began to come home. The wind and rain rose to a furious whirlwind and all the time the water crept higher and higher. We all crowded into the hall of the house—a big, two-story one—and it rocked like a cradle. About 6 o’clock the roof was gone, all the blinds torn off, and all the windows blown in. Glass was flying in all directions and the water had risen to a level with the gallery.
“Then the men told us we would have to leave and go to a house across the street at the end of the block, a big one. Mrs. Spann was wild about her daughter Sidney, who had not been home, and the telephone wires were down. The men told us we must not wear heavy skirts, and could only take a few things in a little bundle. I took my watch and ticket and what money I had and pinned them in my corset; took off everything from my waist down but an underskirt and my linen skirt; no shoes andstockings. I put what clothes I could find in my trunk and locked it. Tell mamma the last thing I put in was her gray skirt, for I thought it might be injured.
“It took two men to each woman to get her across the street and down to the end of the block. Trees thicker than any in our yard were whirled down the street; pine logs, boxes and driftwood of all sorts swept past, and the water looked like a whirlpool. Birdie and I went across on the second trip. The wind and rain cut like a knife and the water was icy cold. It was like going down into the grave, and I was never so near death, unless it was once before, since I have been here. I came near drowning with another girl. It was dark by this time, and the men put their arms around us and down into the water we went. Birdie was crying about her baby that she had to leave behind until the next trip, and I was begging Mr. Mitchell and the other man not to turn me loose.
“Mrs. Spann came last. The water was over her chin. It was up to my shoulders when I went over. One man brought a bundle of clothing, such as he could find for us to put on, wrapped up in his mackintosh. He had to swim over. I spent the night, such a horrible one, wet from shoulder to my waist and from my knees down, and barefoot. Nobody had any shoes and stockings. Mrs. Spann did not have anything but a thin lawn dress and blanket wrapped around her from her waist down. Nellie had a lawn wrapper and blanket, and Fannie had a skirt and winter jacket. Mr. Mitchell had a pair of trousers and a light shirt and was barefooted. The house was packed with people just like us.
“The house had a basement and was of stone. The windows were blown out, and it rocked from top to bottom, and the water came into the first floor. Of course no one slept. About 3 o’clock in the morning the wind hadchanged and blew the water back to the gulf, and as we stood at the windows watching it fall we saw two men and two girls wading the street and heard Sidney calling for her mother. She and the young lady with her spent the night crowded into an office with nine men in total darkness, sitting on boxes, with their feet up off the floor. It was an immense brick building four stories high. They were on the second floor. The roof and one story was blown away and the water came up to the second floor. It was down toward the wharf.
“As soon as we could we waded home. Such a home! The water had risen three feet in the house and the roof being gone the rain poured in. I had not a dry rag but a dirty skirt which was hanging in the wardrobe and an underskirt with it. My trunk had floated and everything in it was stained except the gray skirt. We had not had anything to eat since noon the day before, and we lived on whisky. Every time the men would see us they would poke a bottle of whisky at us, and make us drink some. All we had all day Sunday was crackers at 50 cents a small box and whisky.
“We were all so weak we knew we could not get any more, so Miss Decker and I went down about 10 o’clock. It was awful. Dead animals everywhere, and the streets filled with fallen telegraph poles and brick stores blown over. Hundreds of women and children and men sitting on steps crying for lost ones, and half of them, nearly, injured. Wild-eyed, ghastly-looking men hurried by and told of whole families killed.
“I could not stand any more and made them bring me home, and fell on the bed with hysterics. They poured whisky down me, but the only effect it had was to make my head ache worse. I had about got straightened out when a girl and a woman came to the house—relativesof Mrs. Spann—who had lost their mother and friends and house, and all they had. They had hysterics, and everybody cried, and I had another spell. All day wagon after wagon passed filled with dead—most of them without a thing on them—and men with stretchers with dead bodies with just a sheet thrown over them, some of them little children.
“We waited, every minute expecting to have the two bodies brought here. But they had not been found up to now, and all hope is lost. There is a little boy in the house that spent the night in the water clinging to a log, and his father and mother and four sisters were drowned. He is all alone. Last night Mr. Mitchell took Miss Decker and I to another boarding house to find a dry bed. We slept on a folding bed, with nothing under us but a rug and sheet, and I had to borrow something dry to sleep in. The husband of the lady who lost her mother has just come from Houston. He walked and swam all the way. He is nearly wild, and she is just screaming. I cannot write any more. Am coming home soon as I can.”
SAVED AS BY A MIRACLE.
The Stubbs family, consisting of father, mother and two children, was in its home when it collapsed. They found refuge on a floating roof. This parted and father and one child were swept in one direction, while the mother and the other child drifted in another. One of the children was washed off, but Sunday evening all four were reunited.
Mrs. P. Watkins became a raving maniac as the result of her experiences. With her two children and her mother she was drifting on a roof, when her mother and one child were swept away. Mrs. Watkins mistakesattendants in the hospital for her lost relatives and clutches wildly for them.
Harry Steele, a cotton man, and his wife sought safety in three successive houses which were demolished. They eventually climbed on a floating door and were saved.
W. R. Jones, with fifteen other men, finding the building they were in about to fall, made their way to the water tower and, clapping hands, encircled the standpipe to keep from being washed or blown away.
Mrs. Chapman Bailey, wife of the southern manager of the Galveston Wharf Company, and Miss Blanche Kennedy floated in the waters ten to twenty feet deep all night and day by catching wreckage. Finally they got into a wooden bath tub and were driven into the gulf overnight. The incoming tide drove them back to Galveston and they were rescued the next day. They were fearfully bruised. All their relatives were drowned.
A pathetic incident in the search for the dead occurred Friday. A squad of men discovered in a wrecked building five bodies. Among these bodies was one which a member of the burial party recognized as his own brother. The bodies were all in an advanced state of decomposition. They were removed and a funeral pyre was built, at which the brother assisted and, with Spartan-like firmness, stood by and saw the bodies of the dead reduced to ashes.
On Monday a brakeman of the Galveston, Houston and Northern left Virginia Point and started to walk toward Texas City. He found a little child, which he picked up and carried for miles. On his way he discovered the bodies of nine women. These he covered with grass to protect them from the vultures until some arrangements could be made for their interment.