The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-14
GULF HURRICANES SWEEP.
URECKAGE AND Loss OF LIFE IN
AND NEAR SABINE PASS.

VI AfsN' -
sabine-wind Biew zip tho water Into .
riood which swept over the T~owns-Fierco
wInd,torn In other Places - The Town
or winnie Said TO Have Bcen Destroyed.
GALVESTON, Tex, Sept. l3.-Dcath and disas-
Ter resulted from q food and u storm that swept
the Texas coast last night. The towns OF Port
Arthur, Sabine Pass, and Sabine were inundated.
The estimates of the deaths in these places vary
from eight to twenty. The towns are cutoT from
railroad communication because of tho flood
and from telegraphlc communication because
the telegraph wires were blown down. Relief
trains have been sent from Beaumont, but up to
. late hour this evening they were unable to
reach the scene OF the disaster.
To the west OF Sabine the towns and ranches
and farms along tho coast for forty miles have
been wrecked or damaged. In the town OF
Winnie only two houses remain standing. To
the south OF Galveston there Is known to have
been a great rise in the waters as far as Corpus
Chr.sti, but communication Is cut off and no
news has been received. Galveston. lucky as on
10 -mer occasions. escaped without trouble.
To get an understanding Of tho scope OF the
disaster it is necessary to explain the geography
OF the country. The towns of Sabine, Port Ar
thur. and Sabine Pass are in Jefferson county,
the southeasternmost county in Texas. The en-
tire county is practically q lew prairie. Tho
towns OF Sabine and Sabine Pass are on tho
banks OF the Ashfort. a short, deep stream that
connects Sabine Lake with tho Gulf. Port Ar
thur is on the west bank of Sabine Lake Sabine
Lake Is fifteen miles long. about Ave miles wide.
and Is fed by two large rivers, the Sabine and
The Neches. The lake is shallow. being generally
from five 10 eight feet deep. The land bordering
uon it has little elevation.
For wo days, Friday and Saturday. the wind
had been blowing heavily from the southwest,
driving the waters out Of the Gulf into the lake
and its cstuaries. On Sunday this southwest
wind increased to a gale and the water poured
in from the sea at q great rate. Suddenly last
night the wind swung around into the north
and developed into the iercest blow that has
been experienced hereabouts in many years.
The winds whipped the water back from the
rivers and drove it toward the lake, and the
water OF the lake was driven against the water
that was rushing In from the Gull.
Tho meeting OF these two great forces Of
water made a bank Of water which had to find
an outlet. Unable to stay within the natural
channels the waters broke out over the lands
and swept along in mighty waves. Wherever
these waves met an obstacle it was washed
aside as II 1t were Of paper.
Within q few hours the level Of the waters in
the territory within a radius OF six miles Of Sa-
bine Pass had risen eight feet. To add to the
terrors of the situation It rained In torrents.
T force OF tho wind was in itself sufficient to
dismantle any frail structure.
The people Of the three towns. Sabine. Sabine
Pass, and Port Arthur. were practically in q
trap. threatened from within and without.
Wreck and devastation were being wrought by
the wind. and death by drowninE was In the
food. Such rs has reached here
haa heen rereiyai from perSOna who mapaDed Tn
escape from the towns while tho gale and flood
were In progress.
Mrs. NJ. NJ. Allen OF ISIS Post ONCE street,
Galveston, brought the first news Of the dis
aster. She left here yesterday and went over to
Port Arthur to spend the day. Here Ii the
story she told OF the storm:
1T had been blowing and raining oil day, and
was very disagreeable. I left the hotel early
and went down to the train. About 4:20 yes
tcrday afternoon the wind suddenly increased,
blowing hard and heavy. and rain continued
falling. The wind came from the land side. II
blew hardest about 9 o'clock. and nearly every
house in town succumbed. The roof Of the ga
bine Hotel was blown away. and when I left
Port Arthur. at 8 o'clock. six people were re
ported killed there and many injured. When
got 10 Beaumont I heard that about forty peopl,
had been killed"
W. A. Green. a rice planter, living In Beau
mont, says he left Beaumont for Sabine or
Sunday night. Tho train could not get within
ten miles of Port Arthur on account of the flood
Railroad men reported to him that the who'll
country to the south was inundated, the waite
standing eight feet deep at Sabine and nearly a.
deep at Port Arthur. They announced tina
eight were dead and twelve injured at Por
Arthur when they managed to escape. Tn,
train was the regular Kansas City, Pittsburg ant
Enlf -as- 49, IL A. lI-A -
pie to leave the town by saying that the storm
was so terrible that most people were afraid t
leave whatever shelter they had. Houses wer
being wrecked. the air was filled with hyln,
debris. the wind was blowing at such o rate tina
the train could hardly make roadway agains
It. tho water was rushing through the streets
and the rain was falling In torrents. The name
otthe dead and injured at Port Arthur. Sabine
and Sabine Pass cannot be ascertained until tn
relief trains are heard from.
To the east of Sabine the reports show the dc
yastation WAS almost entirely due to the win,
storm. At Winnie every house but two wa
blown down. Tho great dairy farm Of ex.Gov
Wheeler OF Iowa Is wrecked. The Creel Hote
was blown from It's foundations. The store o
A. Thornton was demolished. The home O
Mrs. Gregory was destroyed. Tho store an
warehouse Of 2. r. Guess were torn to piece
And the merchandise ruined by water. Ever
residence was damaged more or less. All alon
the route of the Gulf and Interstate Railroa
Tor twenty miles. on each side of Winnie. farm
houses and barns were blown down and tree
uprooted and wreckage sire wn about.
At Sour Lake. on the Southern Pacific Raj
road. Immediately to the north of Winnie. tn
roof was blown of of a passenger coach. Pc
sons who were travelling on trains that passe
through the storm say that car windows wer
broken by the gale. and that In many cars tn
passengers were drenched.
The newly established towns OF Webb. Sci
breeze, Check. and Fannette, on tho Gulf an
Interstate Railroad, are practically wiped on
The irail structures erected there being pickle
up and hurled about by the wind as II they wei
Of little or no weight. Mrs. NJ. o. Perkins
thIs city. who WAS in tho Creel Hotel. at Winnl
reached here tonight. She confirms the stor
OF the destruction at that place. She says oh
and her husband arrived at Winnie at TO
r. NJ, on their way to their summer hon
near there. but had to rush TO IL
hotel for shelter. About 1890 p. \