The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1886-10-22
The Sabine Pass Disaster.

/
ports of the great disaster at Sabine Pass were
| not exaggerated, in fact, the dcath-roll now
| reaches ninety. The relief parties that went
down near Sabine as possible on the Sabine and
| East Texas Railroad are yet there, succoripg
| the destitute and sick. The train could not get
within twelve miles Of the town, but over a
dozen tow boats have been sent there and are
| at work saving life and property. There is con-
siderable back water yet at Sabine, hemmed in
| and held there by the railroad embankment.
The most intense excitement has prevailed
here since the first news Of the fearful caiastro-
phe. The people have neither eaten nor slept,
and crowds have surrounded the wharyes and
| depot waiting for the return of the train or a
boat from the devastated town. The steamer
Lamar left Orange on Wednesday night ut 10
| o'clock with q relief committee ON board. At
| midnight last night she arrived here. People
| hurried to hear the news and receive the sick
| aud destitute.
The relief committee aboard the Lamar con-
| sisted Of twenty citizens from Beaumont and
forty from Orange. They travelled up the
reaches OF the river between L. Nj. and mid
| night, which was an extraordinary trip, fraught
| with fearful danger. Twenty-Five of the COM
| mittee were left ut Sabine Pass to make at
| tcmpts to recover some OF the bodies, many of
| which are reported TO have been washed dozens
of miles over into louisiana
The exact extent oftho storm.swept district is
unknown. From reports brought by the COM
mittee it is certain that the flooded district en-
braces an expanse Of country many times lar.
ger than at first supposed. The Gulf seems to
have moved over the land for miles in one high
| unbroken wall of water. The committee report
lOl persons missing, 80 of whom are known to
have been drowned.
Thirty-hve Of the victims were white and fifty
| five colored. Joseph Smith, a famous local
character, known as Alligator Smith, was sup
posed 10 be lost, as the people on the relief
train saw him driving before the gale ON Lake
Sabine ut the rate Of twenty-five miles On hour
Great was the surprise therefore, when .Aliga-
| tor overbauled the steamer OH its return,
bringing With him in his small boat two persons
whom he had rescued in the swamp. Ninety
one half clad, shivering, wretched victims of the
| storm were brought up on the Lamar.
DR.. Calhoun, one Of the relief committee, says
there are many persons in the vicinity of the
pass who ore utterly destitute, being without
clothing to cover their nakedness. Dr. Calhoun
requests all correspondents to ask aid for the
destitute. He says that it makes no difference
what is cent, food, clothing, medicine or money
They need them all. DR.. Calhoun is Mayor of
Beaumont and he will distribute through com.
mittees whatever is sent.
From oil accounts nothing could exaggerate
the state Of affairs at Sabine Pass. Out gilmore
than l5O houses in the village less than siy re.
main standing, and they are ruined. Wives
and children were swept away and drowned in
the presence of their husbands and fathers who
were power!ess to save them. The waves broke
against the light house in solid walls fifty feet
high, tearing out the windows at the very top.
Corpsss have been found at o distance of thirty
miles from the scene Of the disaster. Friends
and relatives of the drowned residents are COM
ing into Orange and Beaumont by every train
SNAKES AND WILD beasts.
Captain F. A. Hyatt and VIM. Gay report that
they had q singular experience rs members of
the relief committee on their way 10 the Pass.
The train on which they were travelling stopped
on dump five miles from town. The water
all around this neck of land on which the track
was placed was fully eight feet deep. The
hands of Messrs. Hyatt and Gay were blistesed
from fighting snakes which literally covered
the dump for distance of five miles There
were thousands of water moccasins from the
ovsrfowed district taking refuge on the narrow
stretch Of land and every step across had to be
fought through twisting serpents, many of
them the deadly stump-tailed moecasins larger
than q mans arm. Wild cats also, frenzied at
the waters fury, rushed pell nell upon the
pedestrians while coons and every variety of
animals snapped at the passers by with hydro
phobic rage. Many times the pedestrians left
the dump and swan around angry reptiles
rather than to try and pass them. Captain
Hyatt alone killed over $50 snakes during his
walk Of five miles which consumed about ten
hours. Gay says no money can tempt him TO
take the trip over again. In stepping about in
the dark he was tripped up and thrown by o
snake two inches in diameter and fully FIVE feet
long.
BUFALo, October, 15.-The gale which visited |
Buffalo last nighl did great damage. The wind |
reached the velocity of seventy miles. On the |
lake front, in the vicinity of what is known as |
the Sea Wall forty small houses were totally
by wind and water and several per-
sons perished, among them a sailor named |
Charles Mitchell and an old man named John |
The bodies Of two children were /
this morning and also two bodies
which are unknown.