Lancaster enterprise. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1891-1905, 1900-09-12
WRECK AND RUIN.
Damage to Galveston Great and
Loss of Life Appalling.

Richard Splllane, well known
Galveston newspaper man and
: day correspondent Of the Asso.
ciated Press in that city who
reached Houston today after a
terrible experience, gives the fol
lowing account of the disaster:
One of the most awful tragedies
of modern times has visited Gal
weston. The city is il ruins and
the dead will number one thou
sand. l am just from the city,
having been commissioned by the
mayor and citizens committee to
get in touch with the outside
world and appeal for help.
Houston was the nearest point
at which working telegraph in
struments could be found, the
wires as well as nearly all the
buildings between here and the
Gulf of Mexico being wrecked.
When l left Galveston shortly
before noon yesterday the people
were organizing for the prompt
burial of the dead, distribution of
food and all necessary work after
a period of disaster.
The wreck of Galveston was
thus brought about by a great
tempest so terrible that no
words can adequately describe
its intensity and by a flood which
turned the city into a raging sea.
The weather bureau records show
that the wind attained "A velocity
of "a miles an hour when the
measuring instrument blew away,
so it is impossible to tell what
is the meximum.
The storm began at 2 o'clock
Saturday morning. Previous to
that a great storm had been rag.
ing on the gulf and the tide was
very high. The wind at first came
from the north and was in direct
opposition to the force from the
gulf. While the storm in the first
part piled the water upon the
beach side of the city, the north
wind piled the water on the bay
part of the city.
About Loon it became evident
that the city was going to be visit
ed with disaster. Hundreds of
residences along the beach front
were hurriedly abandoned, the
families fleeing to the dwellings
in higher portions of the city.
Every home was open to the
refugees, white and black. The
winds were rising constantly and
it trained in torrents. The wind was
so fierce that the rain cut like a
knife.
BY 3 o'clock the waters of the
gulf and bay met and by dark
the entire city was submerged.
The flooding of the electric light
plant and the gas plants left the
city In darkness. To 60 upon the
streets was to court death. The
wind was then at cyclonic veloc-
ity, roofs, cisterns, portions of
buildings telegraph poles and
walls were falling and the noise
Of the wind and the crashing of
the buildings were terrifying in
the extreme. The wind and waters
rose steadily from dark until 1:45
o'clock Sunday morning. Daring
all the time the people of Gal.
weston were like rats in traps.
The highest portion of the city
was four to five feet under water
while in the great majority of
cases the streets were submerged
to a depth of ten feet. To leave
a house was to drown. To remain
was to court death in the wreck
age. Such night of agony has
seldom been equalled. Without
apparent reason the waters sud.
denly began to subside at / 1:45 a.
m. Within 20 minutes they had
gone down two feet and before
daylight the streets we're prac.
tically free of the food waters. In
the meantime the wind had thus
veered to the southwest.
Very few if any buildings
escaped injury. There is hardly
a hsbitable dry house in the city.