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 shell man and others of the Midway folk moved their stocks out
during the morning to be on the safe side, but others, who have long
been acquainted with the sea and who were less timorous, stayed by their
places and kept their goods and chattels there.
At that hour the water was on a level with the wharf at pier 23, and was
rapidly rising. Later it was almost impossible to navigate along the
wharf front on account of the deep water and the high wind. Of course,
it was wholly out of the question for any vessels to move for any
purpose, and equally impossible for steamers to make an entry into the
harbor. The pilot boat would not have been able to get alongside, and if
any vessel approached the harbor she would have to put to sea for fear
of grounding if she came too close. Several vessels are due.
No attempt at doing any business was made after noon, for it was equally
out of the question to load steamers as it was to move them. If damage
was done it was the result of pounding. Some cement stored on the pier
head was damaged by the water washing up under it in the morning, and as
it was not practicable to move it, it is a total loss.
While working with a gang of men clearing the wreckage of a large number
of houses on avenue O and Center street, Mr. John Vance found a live
prairie dog locked in the drawer of a bureau. It is impossible to
identify the house or the name of its former occupant, as several houses
were piled together in a mass of brick and timber. The bureau was pulled
out of the wreckage a few feet from the ground, where it had been buried
beneath about ten feet of debris. The little animal seemed none the
worse from its experience of four days locked up in a drawer beneath a
mountain of wreckage. It was taken home and fed by Mr. Vance, who will
hold the pet for its owner if the owner survived the storm.
CHAPTER XVIII.
An Island of Desolation—Crumbling Walls—Faces White With Agony—Tales of
Dismay and Death—Curious Sights.
One of the most graphic and thrilling accounts of the overwhelming
calamity is contained in the following pages. It is from the brilliant
pen of a visitor to the city and eye-witness of the awful ruin: