The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-07-06

Jreir uitlmdte idto 10 iedriW ~ coutem-
plate.
When Ths Posts special correspond
ent and artists left the bottoms this fore
noon after having spent the night as mem
bers Of the crew OF a rescue boat, the
river was still rising, although slowly.
The railroad situation is somewhat i'm.
proved This morning Agent w. D. Mills
Of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas was
able to get wire north and for the FRS:
time In several days communicated with
SmithvilIe. Dallas and Denison. Although
the iron bridge across the Brasos is only
Ave miles from the city, it Is Impossible
to state definitely at this writing whether
or not 1t still stands. 1t is highly proba-
bic, however, that 1t has so far resisted the
force of the swift current which has been
striving 10 overthrow It for the past few
days. On account of the swiftaess Of this
current 1t is impossible to get sufficiently
near the structure in a boat to ascertain
its exact condition. However. as has al
ready been stated, this news Is based only
On conjecture.
When Messrs. Ferguson, Cooper and
Parker. the local relief committee. wired
Mr. T. w. House of Houston for boats
yesterday, they expected that thirty or
forty would be sent. AS has already been
told in The Post, the Houstonians were
able to secure only two-one skiff OF or
dlpery size and a larger four cared boat,
capable of carrying a considerable num-
Der of passengers The two did noble work
during the night Before o'clock this
morning they had landed foruteen home
less negroes on safe ground and they are
still at work.
The relief party organized in Houston
yesterday left on a special train at $40
last night The party was in charge OF
Clyde Creighton and for the most part
was made up of men who, while anxious
to alleviate the sufferings of their unfor-
tunate fellow beings and willing to do the
hardest kind of hard work in the accom-
plisbment of that end. were totally ig-
norant as to the proper way of handling
boat and OF course knew nothing of the
country in this territory, They we're all
good noble hearted fellows, and while
they showed a desire to assist in the
work, only a few were given the oppor-
tunity Boats, not men. are needed.
The two boats already mentioned as hav-
ing been sent from Houston were secured
by Creighton during the day after long
hunt Just as the train was about 10
lie, We the depot last night report was
h,, ttut mot n,a1, eli
tied at a point on the bayou bank only
short distance away was to be mad for
the asking or rather for the taking. AS
result portion OF the rescue party weni
after the boat. They didn't get 1t. It's
owner objected
Some delay in receiving orders was oc-
casicned by the break in the wires be
tween Houston and Smithvile, and 1T was
later than was expected when the party
finally got away. The train was composed
OF an engine two coal cars and caboose
aud was in charge OF crew consisting of
Conductor r. o. Coorpender. Brakemen ].
E. Kockler and b. S. Hampton, Engineer
Fl I. Dobbins and Fireman c. NJ Hickey.
All of these gentlemen deserve the thanks
of the party for their uniformly courteous
treatment.
These aboard the train were Arthur
Wells, C. NJ. Creighton, c. f. Jones, A.
Carsten C, Parker, W. e. Chatham, =,
Coleman, Chris Barber H, Koeng, A.
Gaedke and VIM. Hand all white, and
the following colored men, Charles Lewis.
A. Johnson. Henry Thomas Howard
Ohrendorn, Robert Thompson, Henry
jenkins, Sam Ridley, Walter Ridley and
Henry Bradley. Three representatives of
The Positive artists and a correspondent
were on the train.
a short stop was made when the station
at Brookshire was reached and Conductor
C,oIpender then took his train as near
as possible to the point where the first
water over the tracks Is eucountere la
place about one and a half miles from
town. There the boats We're unloaded,
crews were selected, the men not needed
boarded the train again and 1t started on
its return trip.
The oars of the small elIin were manned
by Robert Thompson, colored, a native
Brookshre boy who has been working in
Houston, and by one of the white men,
who demonstrated before the night was
over that he was extremely willing TO
work. but that he was not we'll up in the
art OF handling a boat. In the larger skin
we're Chris Barber, Howard orondorff
Creighton and The Post correspondent.
Orendorff, bright colored boy. who is
also native of Brookshire, showed that
he knew every inch OF the bottoms not
withstandng the fact that they were COW
cred by many feet of water He made an
excellent guide and both he, Thompson
and young Barber did heroic work during
the night
The start from the railway track was
made shortly before midnight. The sky
was cloudless and, while the night might
have been darker, 1t could also have been
much lighter, as was clearly demonstrated
before morning. The rescue party had
neglected to provide itself with lights of
any sort and a lantern loaned The Post
correspondent by one Of the kind hearted
railroad men was the only source Of H.
Elimination. This was held aloft as a
beacon and the smaller boat followed It,
Barber and the correspondent took the
FIRST turn at the oars and the negro oren-
dorff sat in the bow of the boat in order
TO direct its movements.
The devastation wrought by the flood
soon became evident By the dim and slckly
rays OF the lantern. Although the point
from which the start was made Ia nearly
four miles from the river proper, the lead
ing beat was, within Ave minutes after its
departure. riding easily over sea OF yell
low, turbulent water
Trees, the smaller ones half submerged,
We're very numerous and as the boat left
the railroad right OF way, down which 1t
proceeded for some minutes after the start,
1t began 10 pass over fields of cotton and
corn. Sometimes the tessels of tho corn
showed above the surface and occasionally
the tops OF the cotton stalks We're visible:
more frequently they were not In dozens
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