The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1886-10-28
HUNGRY AND PENNILESS.
The Survivors from the Great Flood
in the Johnson Bayou District
Appeal for Aid.
Two Hundred and Fifty Persons Be-
lieved to Have Perished In
That Locality.
LBeaumont rTexasl special.l

beaumont fIeXasl speclai.l
Refugees from the flooded district about
Sabine Pass continue TO arrive on every
small craft that comes up the river. IL Is
estimated by persons here who have been
Pass, Johnson's Bayou, and Taylor's
Bayou that the death list will exceed $50
souls. Eighty-ive corpses have been re-
covered and buried around Johnson's
Bayou, and fifty four bodies thus far have
been buried at Sabine, while sxty-six
persons are still missing at Sabine. and
these are, Of course, dead, as 1t would be
impossible for any human being TO survive
thus long in the swamp and lagoons w.th-
out food or shelter. An examination OF the
country back of Sabine and immediately In
the vicinity of Beaumont shows that
the salt water came back from the coast
fully forty miles through the swamps, and
hundreds of thousands of acres are still
submerged by water that was forced back
and has no outlet. 1 his fact makes the
search for bodies very d fficult. Carcasses
OF thousands of drowned cattle, hogs,
horses, and fowl are .strewn everywhere,
and clouds of sea gulls and buzzards hover
over the desolate country for an area of
thirty square miles. 1t is known that the
number of sufferers around Johnsons
Bayou, who have lost everything, will reach
100, while the Sabine sufferers number
800. one half of whom are now In Beau
mont. Parties who returned to-day from
the Johnson Bayou district say that sixty
persons are still missing there, and the
searching parties have almost reached the
conclusion that many of these missing were
drowned and their bodies carried out sea
by the recoding waves.
A correspondent WHO has just returned
from Sabine Pass telegraphs from Orange
that the turkey buzzards are soaring over
Sabine for miles around on land and water.
1t is one vast charnel house. The town is
swept cut of exist nee. What was a pros
porous village when last Tuesday dawned is
now the center of wreck and desolation.
There are 1T persons missing and sup
posed TO be dead. Only about twenty-five
bodies have thus far been recovered.
There is not one sound house in the town
of Sabine. The residences of DIR. Gail
land and Editor McClanahan are the only
ones that can be repaired Every other
house is an absolute wreck This, In
brief, is the story of the storm. Innumer-
able touching, heartrending incidents of the
storm are related by the survivors. One
house containing fourteen colored persons
was seen to 90 down with q crash, and every
one of them was lost. Incidents are related
of husbands lashing wives and children
TO floating wrecks and then seeing them
killed by heavy logs being driven against
them. The damage to property can only
be estimated by the value of the town, for
all is lost. The Sabine and East Texas
Railroad track is washed out for distance
of ten miles. The trees have toated off,
and the rails are twisted like wires, the
Of ~ h,1rp of
dead fish were cast up by the waves,
and thousands of birds also strew the
ground. A woman in a perfectly nude
state was found roaming around on the
prairie yesterday, five miles from Sabine.
She was demented, and could not tell her
name. When the Government boat Pen
rose reached there Columbus Martie was
found rowing around the delta looSing for
the bodies of his family. lie said: My
self, wife, and three children were clinging
to a floating roof which WAS gradually
breaking TO pieces. One of the little ones
dropped off and then another. i was holding
the youngest, and soon my wi e said. Good
by, husband; am going could not reach
her. The piece of the roof supporting her
broke off and she sank before my eyes.
l held onto the youngest child, named
Pearl, some time longer. The child, ad.
dressing me, said: Papa, I'm tired; won't
you walk with me2 The piece Of the roof
was on now was crumbling to pieces. 1
told the little one to kiss me. She put both
her little arms around my neck, gave me a
big squeeze, and Just then wave dashed
us off, and / saw her no more. Great God!
Why didn't l 20 down, toop" He was
pressed to go on board the Penrose, but
refused, saying: Here among these Ia
goons are the bodies of my wife and chill
dren, and here will stop until l can find
them" No tongue can tell how the people
have suffered during the past few days. In
many cases the dead enes are considered
the lucky ones.