Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1886-10-20
r. w. RANDALL,
THE FLOODED DISTRICT.
STORY OF THE DISASTER AS TOLD
BY EYE WITNESSES.

Houses Beaten into Fragments and
Washed Away-wives and Children
Drowned in the Presence of Husbands
and Fathers-Corpses Found Thirty
Miles from the Scene of the Disaster.
BEAUMONT Tex, Oct. 1S.-The town is
gradually filling with refugees from the
flooded district, and the citys distress Is
heartrending Every report from the
flooded district swells the list Of the dead,
and it is an assured fact now that the death
roll exceeds 100, but their names are not all
known yet.
The story Of the catastrope as told by sur
vivors Is as follows: For several days the
tide in both the gulf and Sabine lake has
been very high. This high tide began Sun
day, and on Monday the lake was very full.
On Monday night the tide had reached,
passed, and remained above the danger
point On Tuesday the wind began blowing
rather freshly from the northeast It then
veered round to the north and blew perfect
gale for several hours. Now for the first
time the people recognized their perilous po-
ition. By o'clock the whole town was
flooded and tho waves from the
Suk and bay mingled In the streets
Of the doomed town. The wind fresh
ened again, driving the huge waves with ire
sistible force again st the houses and fences,
and all beg an to give way before them. The
people, terr or-snieken, soug ht safety in the
second stories, and many broke through the
roofs, crawled out on them, looked upon the
wild waste Of water, and prayed for deliver
ance The whole catastrophe was so sudden
that it found all unprepared, and hasty
scramble to places Of temporary safety was
all that could be done. In an hour after the
first rush of water had taken place several
small frame houses had been beaten into frag-
ments and washed away. Two were occu-
pied by negroes and all Of the occupants are
known to have been lost
With the destr uction of these smaller houses
the danger appeared to double for the re-
nainder of the town, for they had acted as
breakwater, and when the smaller houses had
been washed away the merciless waves had
an open, unobstructed sweep to the more sub
stantialy built houses in the center. The
scene that now followed was indescribable.
One house, upon the roof of which several
people had taken refuge, was seen to rise up
suddenly, as it tore loose from its foundation,
sway slowly from side to side, then fall with
= crash that drowned the shrieks of the poor
people who were dashed into the boiling flood.
There was more than one scene such as this
witnessed by those in more secure positions,
who momentarily expected to meet similar
fate. Maj Stanford, prominent citizen Of
Sabine, was here during the storm, but his
wife and children were at Sabine.
This brave lady owes her wonderful es-
cape to her unsurpassed nerve and pluck.
About Z o'clock in the evening she realized
that her house, although the best built struc-
ture at the pass, would soon be torn to pieces,
so shs tied her little baby to her back and,
from an upper window of her house, sue
ceeded in reaching a limb of good-sizsd
tree She sat in the tree with that little babe
all through that awful night, and she had not
been in the tree ten minutes when she saw
ner beautiful home totter and move toward
,hs gull, carrying with it couple of colored
servants who were lost.
Another incident showing bravery and
great presence of mind was that of Mr.. Mer-
imam. He tied one end of rope to tree
near his tottering house and managed to
swim to another tree, to which he made fast
the other end Of the rope. Then one by one
he took his frightened family to this ropeand
tied them to it. The wind and waves 1ashed
and beat them numerically through the long
dreadful night, but they all survived and are
reported safe.
Another heroic incident was the rescue Of
Capt Plummer and his family at the hands
Of William Lapham, who had shot Plummer
in a personal difficulty some months pre-
vious. He saved his own family, then swan
10 the house of his enemy and rescued Plum
mer's family, consisting of five persons.
Tho steamboat L. Q. c. Lamar left Orange
Wednesday night at 10 o'clock with relief
committee on board. When she would return
40 one knew, but constant watch was kept
at Orange and here. At exactly midnight
Thursday night the whistle of the Lamar
was heard. The people hurried helter skel
ser to hear the news and to receive the sick
and destitute. The relief committee aboard
the Lamar consisted Of twenty men from
Beaumont and about forty from Orange Tho
committee report that 101 persons are miss
Ing, ninety Of whom are known to have been
drowned. Thirty. five of the victims were
white and fftty-fve colored. Ninety-one half
clad, shivering, wretched victims of the storm
were brought up on the Lamar. Blankets
and bedding were immedi ately gathered from
house to house for the comfort of the heart
broken sufferers, every one Of whom has
some dear friend or relative among the dead.
Nearly all the refugees are sick and pros
trated form exhaustion.
DR.. Calhoun requests aid for the destitute.
He says it makes no difference what is sent,
whether food, clothing, medicine, or money;
they need them all. DR.. Calhoun is may or
of Beaumont, and he will distribute through
committees whatever is sent to him. From
al accounts gathered, language could not
sxaggerate the state of affairs at Sabin
D.. n,.A - &Lo,- -. Aln
village less than six remain standing, and
they are ruined. Wives and children were
swept away and drowned in the presence of
their husbands and fathers, who were power
less to save them The waves broke against
the lighthouse in solid walls fifty feet high,
tearing out the windows at the very top Of
khestructure. Corpses have been picked up
at distance of thirty miles from the scene
Of the disaster. Friends and relatives Of the
drowned residents are coming into Orange
and Beaumont by every train. The steam
boat Lamar took on board cargo of food,
blankets, and clothing, and also fresh relief
committee, and at daylight Friday morning
started down the Neches to succor the un-
fortunate. The pecuniary damage at Sa-
bine, including that to the government
works, will aggregate nearly 100000, as
many of the neighboring plantations sus-
tairled serious injury.
Further details of the great deluge were
brought here Saturday morning by the relief
boats which have just returned from the
same. The deaths at Sabine Pass and vicin-
ity WIFI aggregate more than ninety and at
Johnson's Bayou about eighty-flve. Only
three houses are fit for human habitation,
while perhaps dozen are standing in pre-
carious condition. The people who escaped
the general destruction ore completed ruined,
financially, numbers OF them being unable to
provide themselves with the bare necessities
of life.
Mr.. Noise Broussard is reported to have
lost e25, 900 worth Of cattle, and as the salt
water covers everything for ten miles around
Sabine Pass all the cattle that are not lost
will die The relief committee organized in
this city has issued circular valling for