The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-07-12
Hero of the nrnxo. Flood.

1t Is not always necessary to scan Tn,
bloody annals of war In order to find baroi
acts. The true hero is not always a ma,
OF slaughter and bloodshed 1t often re
auires as much courage. fortitude and de-
votion to duty to save a human life as Il
destroy one
You may search far and wide before va,
find nobler hero than one who has ina,
oeen developed by the terribly destructive
Hoods that have ragged for days, and even
at this moment are devastating the Bra
EOS valley in Texas.
| Inc Brazos, whose complete name In the
Spanish tongue is "Brazos di Dios," 'the
arms of God" is one of the great rivers
or Texas 1t Is subject to floods of vast
volume and extreme suddenness, SO that
very often people living in It's reach are
overwhelmed before they can escape. It
received its name from an incident in con-
nection with one of these floods in the
time of the first settlement OF Texas by
the Spanards.
Some Franciscan friars had established
a mission in the Indian country and had
built them church and village on a
mound ON the bank of the river. Hostile
Indians attacked them and carried on a
siege from camp in the valley against
the Franciscans and their indian converts
upoa the mound. just at the moment
when the defenders had almost succ am bed
TO the herce assaults of their foes I.oi
one oil the sudden and terrible floods for
which the river is noted came down with
a
the hostile saVages and saving the be-
leagured people on the mound. The good
priests recognized in their salvation 81
special interpretation of divine power and
declared that they had been enveloped in
the arms of God.
But the Brazos Is more often a terrible
destroyer than otherwise, and for some
days past IL has been working It's will upon
the people and the plantations along hun
dTeds OF miles of its course. 1t is esti-
mated that $4,000 people have been rem
dered houseless 2nd destitute, and millions
or value in growing crops, human hablta-
tons and other property have been de.
stroY2d and many human lives have paid
tribute to the dreadful river. 1t is worth
while to mention that many people who
were able to reach the mounds that are
found in the Brazos valley escaped with
life.
Many Interesting incidents of this flood
in the Brazos have occurred in connection
with the efforts TO save the lives of the
unfortunates that We're overtaken by the
waters, but none SO thrilling or dlstin-
guished as that told in these few lines
in the Picayunes special telegram this
morning from Houston:
Fritz MCGEE, a young man % years
of age, a plain farm hand living near
Hampstead, has probably saved more
lives in the same length of time than any
man living. While he was on Sunday
night last at Sunnyside, the river rapidly
came over the bottoms. surrounding the
sleeping negroes and their children, Fritz
McGee secured a boat, and during that |
terrible night hescued over seventy five
human beings from certain death. Re-
liable Information sent in shows that he
saved no less than thirty In the Felkner
bottoms. ten in the Mahan bottoms
twenty at Chaneys and fifteen from the
Hyron bottoms. This the young fellow
did at the risk OF his life, and in very
Trail boat without the expectation of any
possible reward"
Monuments in marble and bronze and
! worlds admiration have been devoted
% men at whose command armies have
been slaughtered and the populations OF
nations have haen decimated. but what
las the world to give In the way OF honors,
iomage or rewards to the plain young
armer. who. In time OF great public
distress, has given himself up, at the
'isls of his own. to the noble and almost
Iivine duty OF saving the lives of his fell
ows, and who has more than hundred
II such lives to his credit? Such man
deserves all that human gratitude can
i've, and in all probability he will receive
10 other reward than the satisfaction of
Iaving performed such deeds. Doubtless
here ARE men who would give millions
( money to have their consclences light {
ned and lifted up by such glorious acts.
Tut heroes of the highest type are born
o, made by God. Money will not buy
UGH souls as they possess.