The Cairo bulletin. [volume] (Cairo, Ill.) 1872-1878, 1875-09-24
rsae DREADFUL eur.

GNveston, lying on sandy waste, cut
on from the main land, has been taught
q fearful lesson by the recent storm. But
these same lessons were taught her years
ago. and yet her citizens when the sun
shines and balmy breezcs cause the orange
AMI fig tree to bend, and the variegated
oleander to nod. rest calmly like the lotus
eaters. singing songs and making money.
Men Of science. as they looked ont at the
rolling waves Of the gulf, the white.cap-
ped fronts Of which seemed even with
the foundations of the houses of the city,
Influenced by stiff south wind, have
said-"There is danger Ia that direction.
A cyclone will send those waves into
your streets and across TO the main land,
and when it returns, driven back by the
cold storms from the north. your
houses and families will be
pitched into the Gulf Of Mcxico, and the
very sand under your feet melt like loaf
sugar. Build a levee it will save you.'
The Gentle and the jew. intent upon the
sale of their goods. and daily specula.
ton. replied: 1--WE cannot afford 1t.
We are now paying for the laying down
Of pavements. the building OF our espla-
made, and repairs to our Streets No
storms were raging then, and the scien-
,ific man. who saw danger In the white
caps Of the gulf, had to take back seat
and wait patiently for the angry waters to
play their stormy part, exhaus, themselves
and tall back into the arms of the Allan
tic. II came, and creased the beautiful
city with gullies upset its houses, tore
away its railroad bridges, ruined lis
splendid wharf. retarded the i'm.
pcovements ~ tie oreakwater. and
destroyed human life. The man of
science viii now come 10 the front, speak
his piece. labor hard for weeks. present
= plan TO save the city in the future. then
be gently kicked out and called a hum
bug aud schemer. Not only has Calves
Lon suffered. but down on the coast, to-
ward Mexico, Indianola. a town built
out on sandy point, was literally over
turned by the fierce waters that tumbled
from the gulf into the usually quiet little
bay. II was not merely exciting in the
town OF IndianOla, bu: tragic. and dead
bodies Of women aud children lay in all
the strange attitudes Of death, partially
imbedded In sand, or crushed beneath
the weight Of houses and all along the
white sandy shores Of the bay the victims
OF the storm were stretched dead and use
less. Then Matagorda, always under the
eye Of passing steamers, a bright spot on
the low coast, was entirely lost. And
further down the coast. on a
point Of Matlgorda island, the town of
Saluria was injured to an extent not yet
made puplic. A chain of islands extend
along the gulf shore from Matagorda to
BIazos st. Iago, or Point Isabel. These
islands may have saved towns built in
land like Corpus Christi. One OF these
long strips of sand guards Laguna del
Padre from the waters Of the gulf, and
perhaps broke the force Of the storm, and
saved the residents along that sparely
settled region Of Texas. Northward,
along the cost from Galveston, the wind
aud waves raved with fury and fatal eff
feet. The story Of this coast storm has
only been commenced, and when fun
and authenticated account Is received, we
may expect q tale Of disaster and death
without parallel.