The Great Galveston Disaster: Containing a Full and Thrilling Account of the Most Appalling Calamity of Modern Times Including Vivid Descriptions of the Hurricane and Terrible Rush of Waters; Immense Destruction of Dwellings, Business Houses, Churches, and Loss of Thousands of Human Lives; Thrilling Tales of Heroic Deeds; Panic-Stricken Multitudes and Heart-Rending Scenes of Agony; Frantic Efforts to Escape a Horrible Fate; Separation of Loved Ones, etc., etc.; Narrow Escapes from the Jaws of De
John Stuart Mill · en
The Midway, with its many old shacks and frame houses, concert halls and
other resorts, was swept to the sea, and the Gulf now plays twenty feet
north of where the Midway marked the beach line. The Olympia-by-the Sea
likewise fell an early prey to the storm, and the surf which formerly
kissed the elevated floor of the Olympia now sweeps across the electric
railway track about fifteen feet north of the big circular building. On
Tremont street and Avenue P½ two buildings stand, or rather two
structures mark where two frame buildings battled with the raging
elements. The two houses were occupied by Mr. Joseph Magilavaca and
family and Mr. C. Nicolini and family. Both houses were stripped of
every piece of furniture, wall-paper, window-frames and doors on the
first floor and second floor remained intact. The houses were blown from
their elevated foundations and dropped down on the ground and the sea
washed the interior of the first floors almost up to the ceilings. The
families took refuge in a house across the street, which gave way and
was leveled almost to the ground, but all the inmates escaped with their
lives. These two dwellings stand like charmed structures in the centre
of the hurricane’s track.
The Rosenburg School-house suffered severely on the east side of the
building. The roof of this wing fell in and carried the second floor and
nearly all of the south wall with it. It was reported that a number of
people sought refuge in this building and that all of them escaped
without serious injury.
TO HASTEN ONE BRIDGE.
The indications this morning are that there will be reasonably free
intercourse with the outside world within ten days at the most, although
those in charge of transportation lines are rapidly finding that the
storm did more damage than they had at first calculated upon. At another
conference the question of utilizing one of the railroad bridges across
the bay and repairing that for the use of all lines prior to the
repairing of the other bridges or the building of a steel bridge was
practically settled. Colonel L. J. Polk, general manager of the Gulf,
Colorado and Santa Fe, said that it was reasonably certain that this
would be done, all the roads concentrating all their efforts to the
completion of one bridge. In regard to his own line he said:
“I do not know when the wrecking gangs will get to Virginia Point. The
statement I made to you yesterday that I expected we would have a train
to the point to-day was based on information from the other side, but it
appears that they did not know the amount of work there was before them.
Practically they have to build a new track from Lamarque to the Point.
“We shall probably not reach the bay on the island side before Saturday,
as the same conditions prevail, and we did not realize the immense
damage the storm had done.