The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1886-10-21

Fowler was driven through the town and now lies
| a total wreck several miles north of the town.
Captain Anderson says the storm was the most
severe he ever experienced on the coast during the
past twenty yeaes.
He relates numerous
INCIDENTS OF THE STORM.
During the height of the gale the house of Otto
Brown fell, crushing his two little children to
death before his eyes. Brown constructed raft
| from the ruins of house, placed his wife and two
dead children on the raft and started for Louisiana
| The raft broke in twain, separating husband and
wife, but both were finally rescued twenty-five
miles apart.
Capt John Stewart, of the life saving station
who, with his family consisting of wife, son and
daughter and hired man, all sought safety on q
and the hired man we're drowned-the balance
rescued. The total drowned, according TO the last
estimate from Captain Anderson, will reach lO7
At II O'Clock the tug Penrose, which left Calves
aboard, had not arrived, but is momentarily ex
pected.
RELIEF COMMITTEES CIRCULAR.
BEAUMONT, October 15.-The following circular
letter will be addressed by the finance committee
to the principal business men in the leading trade
| centers of the country:
| FINANCE DEPARTMENT OF RELIEF COMMITTEE !
FOR SABINE Pass SUFFERERS :
BEAUMONT TEX. October IL lso6 J
DEAR SR:-On the night of the 18th inst. the
town of Sabine Pass was visited by one OF the Sc
yerest cyclones ever known on this coast, causing
the waters Of the Gulf of Mexico and Sabine
lake to completely submerge the town and sur
rounding country, destroying every habitable house
excepting two, and sweeping away all honsehola
effects, provisions clothing etc causing the loss
Of no less than fifty lives and leaving the remain
der of the citizens of that station homeless and en-
tirely destitute of all the necessaries of life.
The citizens of this city are doing all in their
power 10 relieve the sufferings, but, after three
days of incessant efforts find it impossible to cope
with the disaster.
The undersigned, appointed as a
committee to secure funds for the i'm
mediate relief of the storm-strcken people ,
call upon you az a friend of this section to come
promptly TO our aid. If you feel disposed to as.
sist us In this emergency kindly advise either or
the undersigned promptly by wire, and the contri-
buttons will be carefully and properly disposed or
Very respectfully, b. +. Edwards, OF the Beau
mont Lumber company and Mono Mills company;
William Weiss, manager of the Reliance Lumber
company: W. 5. f. Corter, secretary Texas Tram
and Lumber company ana Village mills.
Leon X. Levy, general merchant
While subscriptions OF local ana neighDorlng
points have been free and liberal, they are sufi
Cieut only 10 supply the requirements Ot Few
days II is desired to urgently impress upon the
people Of Texas the immediate necessity OF re-
spending at once to the demands of this calamity.
Conservative estimates approximate the losses at
such figure that ii will require from SI5,OO to
$4,000 TO meet the exgencies.
TALE OF HORROR.
HoUsToS, October 1.-THE following notes of
interest have bearing upon the late storm at
Sabine Pass as reported by staff correspondent of
the Houston Post:
At places where the water was never over eight
inches deep since the place was settled, torty,two
years ago, the water was six and nine feet deep
with the waves breaking much higher
Bradles Gsrnett's new house was swept away
with family OF five persons in it, and after noat-
ing two and half miles, landed on the back ridge,
ali intact and nobody hurt. Boats took water fit
for drinking purposes from here, as there Is none
there hut salt water.
Mrs. Jno. Stewart and her daughter Miss Fred
erica, separated at their house, The daughter
seized feather bed and the mother window
frame. AT er being out all night they landed at
Aurora on the lake shore within half mile of
each other, each supposing the other lost. They
travelled fifteen miles before they were found.
Mr.. A. j. Ward, postmaster at this point, tele-
graphed Postmaster General Villas asking perms-
sion 10 distribute the Sabine Pass mail from Beau
mont the postmistress and assistant at the Pass
are both reported drowned.
To give some idea of the velocity of the wind,
silver spoon was blown from the residence of Mr..
William Harris distance of twelve miles.
Mrs. Junkers body was found this evening.
Mr.. MOis BrOussard lost S25,NOO worth of cattle.
Capt +. A. Hyatt and Mr.. William Guy report
that they met with singular experience as mem
Pass the train stopped on dump five miles from
the Pass The water all around this
neck of land on which was placed
the track was fully eight feetd deep. The hapde of
snakes, which literally covered the dump for dis
lance of five miles. There were thousands of
WATER MoCCAsNs
from the overlooked district, taking refuge on n |
narrow stretch of land and every step across it had
to be fought through twisting, coiling serpent5, |
many of them stump tailed, deadly mOcCasins, |
larger than a mans arm. Wild cattle, also |
frenZied at the waters fury, rushed pel nell upon |
the pedestrians, while coons and every variety of
rodents snapped al the passersby with hydropho |
Ninfp Raff Man hn anfln1 fpiu Ia Ia
dump ana swan around the angry reptiles |
rather than try and pass them. Capt Hyatt alone
killed over 10 snakes.
Mr.. Guy says no money could tempt him to |
make the trip over again. lie was tripped up and |
thrown down by stepping about dark on snake |
two inches in diameter, and fullyhve feet long.
Aid of any kind will be most gratefully received |
for the sufferers. II makes no matter what 1t is
provisions, clothing, money. In fact the sufferers
are 80 destitute that anything will be acceptable.
a special train sent down az far as possible to-
words Sabine Pass, returned at O'Clock tonight
Fifteen bodies were recovered on the highland.
called the back ridge west of Sabine Pass, and
buried to day
Six bodies were recovered on the shore of the
lake-two black and four white-One of the bodies
being Mrs. w. \. Junker, Carlisle Junker is still
missing.
The steamer Emily P. returned from johnson
bayou, Louisiana, to Orange, and reports those
drowned at that place were chiefly negroes.
The deaths AZ Sabine Pass and vicinity will az
gregate more than ninety, and those at johnson
bayou twenty or twenty-five. Only three houses
fit for human habitation are left standing at Sa-
bine, though perhaps dozen are in a dilapidated |
condition. The people there who escaped with |
their lives are completely ruined financially The
majority of them not being able to provide them
selves with the bare neCessaries of life. A tele
gram from the merchants of Galveston to the re-
lief committee here says Galveston subscrihes one
thousand dollars.
The Mexican schooner Hercules is high and dry |
at point called the Oil Ponds. Her captain Jose |
reports that he was bound for New |
Orleans, with a cargo of one hundred and five |
logs, all of which are now supposed to |
be lost.
New ORLEANS, October ia dispatch from |
JOhnsOns Bayou, dated October Is, says: The vii |
lage of JOhns-ns Bayou is on high ridge on the |
seacOast, and the bayou from which il takes its |
name runs through the inhabitable parts of that |
section of the settlement in which il is situated |
The pOstOfice is known as Radford. They are all |
in Cameron parish, on the Louisiana shore, six |
miles east of Sabine Pass. The bayou Is min aeen
miles in length, and varies from to four miles
in width The ridges face the gulf, and are twelve
feet above the sea level, and in the rear is |
a dense, impenetrable marsh. The population on
last Tuesday numbered
TWELVE HUNDRED SOULS,
to-day eighty-hve of that number are counted with
the dead Forty of their bodies have been recover
ed and consigned to graves in the shell reefs, while
the decomposing corpses of the remaining forty |
1--we lie fostering in the marshes.
Radford was very thicky settled and populous: |
il boosted of its cotton gin aud cotton and cane
plantations. 1t was the head of navigation, and |
the stores were many The handlinp of cotton and |