The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1899-07-13
70 RESCUE THE SUFFERERS.
All Government Boats at Galveston
Ordered to Aid the Destitute
from the Flood.
THE STATEMENT OF Mr.. N. 3. WYRlCK,
The Chief of the Line Repairing Forces OF
the Postal Telegraph Company Reports
About the Devastated Country -Busi-
ness Suspended In Richmond-R Reptiles
and Skunks Add to the Horrors.

II
About the Devastated Country y--Busi-
ness Suspended In Richmond Reptiles
| and Skunks Add to the Horrors.
Galveston, Tex, July 8. On the APP
peal of Gov. Sayers, the war depart
ment has ordered the United States
commissary department, at San An
tonic, to deliver 10000 rations to the
adjutant of the state, for the immediate
relief of the destitute from the floods.
II has also ordered all government
boats at Galveston to proceed at once
to the scene of the flood, and aid in the
work of rescuing people.
All through traffic is suspended over
the Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe, the Mis-
souri,, Kansas q Texas, the Southern
Pacific, the Aransas Pass and the CO.
lumbia Gap railways The towns of
Velasco and Quintana, at the mouth of
the Brazos river, are completely cut off
from communication. Boats have
been dispatched there,
Every city and town in Texas out
side of the inundated belt is rushing
supplies to the storm sufferers. 1t is
believed the loss of life in the lower
There was considerable loss at Calvert
and other places higher up the river,
but in the lower region news of only
two drowning has been verified. Cot
ton is entirely washed out in some
places, but on the whole more good than
harm has been done by the floods to
crops. Cotton will be replanted in
most cases. Corn is not an entire loss
and those who are looking for big
decrease in the Texas cotton crop will
be disappointed. There is plenty of
time to raise cotton before January
1900.
| The Statement of MIR. wyrick.
Dallas, Tex, July S.-M. b. Wyrick,
chief of the line repairing forces of the
| Postal Telegraph company, who was
sent out from Dallas on Wednesday to
| Sealey, reported to headquarters here
at II o'clock to-day. lie had to pick
| his way from Smithville to Sealey, 66
miles on railroad construction trains,
which could not travel faster than five
miles an hour. The trains can get no
further than Sealey, which is at the
northern edge of the main flooded dis
trict. Mr.. Wyricl1 says the Brazos
river at Sealey has fallen eight inches
in the last "a hours that while
the highest estimates of the
loss of life by the flood may have been
somewhat exaggerated, still the num-
Der is large and cannot be definitely
known for several days, as everything
is in n state of decentralization and con-
fusion. On the Dewey side of the
| Il,.nz mil
miles of the Missouri, Kansas Is Texas
railroad track is completely washed
away, five miles more is under water
and in such condition as to
make it probable that partial rebuilding
will be necessary. The Dewey railroad
bridge is twisted badly and even if it
withstands the flood, it will be in such
n dangerous condition as to be useless
until rebuilt. Mr.. Wyriclx says it is
useless to attempt to describe the cons
dition of the country; it is simply aw-
full. Relief measures are now under
good headway, but hundreds of persons
are still to be reached from positions of
peril in the bottoms.
Business Suspended in Richmond.
Richmond, Tex, July S,-Business is
practically suspended on account of
the food from the Brazos river. Many
plantations are under water. All
trains except those upon the Southern
Pacific west have been abandoned
Provisions are running low and
it is believed there will be from
s, 900 to 5000 persons to feed from this
place within week. Stories of drown
ing and disasters are coming in con-
stantly but they cannot be verified.
The water has reached the river bridge
and is dashing between the iron guy
rods under it; for the first time the rail.
road company has stopped all traffic
over it.
Reptiles and Slnnks Add to Horrors.
st. Louis July s.-A special to the
Post-Dispatch from Austin, Tex, says
Gov. SayerS to-day received a message
from Sealcy over the long distance
telephone, saying that 1000 persons
who had taken refuge on a mound
three miles below there, are slowly per
ishing for want of food. To add to the
horror, the unfortunates are surround
ed by poisonous reptiles and skunks
Huddled together with the human be
ings are several hundred head of hv,
stock. A number of those on tho
mound have received bites from tn,
reptiles and skunlls and are in a dying
condition.