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
“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 manœuvring 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 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 last night, when he was put ashore in
Texas City. He had a slight recollection of helping to bury dead, clear
away debris and obey the command of soldiers. His brain, however, did
not execute its functions until early to-day in the hospital.
“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.”
Galveston, Tex., Sept. 15.—The sound of the hammer is beginning to be
heard throughout the city. Every man not engaged in looking for and
cremating the dead is repairing the damage wrought by Saturday’s great
tidal wave.
The spirit that has been displayed by the citizens remaining here is
remarkable. They seem determined to begin immediately the work of
rebuilding the stricken city, and to that end are endeavoring to secure
building material as speedily as possible. Business houses are being
restored and restaurant keepers are conducting business on the
sidewalks.
MIRACULOUS ESCAPE FROM DEATH.
Some of the escapes of people of Galveston from the storm were nothing
less than miraculous. Charles Rutter, aged twelve, was in his father’s
house when the waves and wind swept it away. The boy seized a floating
trunk and was found at Hitchcock, twenty miles north.
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 last Sunday evening all four were reunited.