The Springfield herald., 1900-09-14

Galveston, the metropolis and leading
seaport of Texas, has been visited by
the most destructive gale and flood In
the history of America. Estimates OF
the loss of life vary from 1000 to 5000,
while no computation of the property
loss has been made.
Port Arthur is under four feet of wa
ter and many other towns on the gulf
coast have suffered disaster. the extent
of which cannot be known for days.
The storm has extended inland and Is
still raging, leaving in its wake scores
of corpses and dozens of demolished
towns and villages.
Houston, Tex, Sept. 30 p. m-The
West Indian storm which reached the
Gulf coast yesterday morning has
wrought awful havoc in Texas.
Reports are conflicting, but 1t Is
known that an appalling disaster has
befallen the city of Galveston, where,
1t Is reported, Il thousand or more lives
have been blotted out, and tremend-
GUS property damage inflicted.
Menger reports from Sabine PaSs
and Port Arthur also indicate heavy
loss of life, but these reports cannot be
| confirmed at this hour.
| The first news to reach this city from
the stricken city of Galveston was re-
| celyed tonight. James G. TimminS or
| Houston arrived here at s O'Clock TO-
night from Galveston. After remain
| Ing through the hurricane on Saturday,
| he departed from Galveston on a
| schooner and came across the bay to
Morgan's Point, where he caught n
| train for Houston. The hurricane, Mr.
| Timmins said, was the worst ever
known.
The estimates made by citizens of
Galveston was that 1000 houses, most
of them residences. have been destroy
ed and that at least 1000 people have
been drowned, killed or are missing.
Some business houses We're also de-
stroyed, but most of them stood,
though badly damaged.
The city, Mr.. Timmins AYERS, Is a
complete wreck, so far as he could see
from the water front, and from the
fremont hotel. Water was blown over
the island by the hurricane, the wind
blowing at the rate of eighty miles an
hour straight from the gulf, and fore
| ing the sea water before 1t in big
| waves. The gale was n steady one, the
heart of it striking the city about 3
| o'clock yesterday evening and contin-
uing without intermission until mid
night last night, when it abated some
what, although 1t continued to blow all
| night
| The scenes during the storm. Mr..
| TimminS said could not be described.
| Women and children We're crowded in
| to the fremont hotel where he was
| seeking shelter, and all night these I'M
| fortunates were bemoaning their loss
| of kindred and fortune. They were
| grouped about the stairways and in
| the galleries and rooms of the hotel.
| What was occurring in other parts of
the city he could only conjecture.
The city of Galveston, he says, Is
now entirely submerged and cut off
from communication. The boats are
gone the railways cannot be operated,
| and the watcr.is so high that the people
cannot walk out by way of the bridge
across the bay, even should that bridge
| be standing.
Provisions will be badly needed, MS n
great majority of the people lost all
they had. The water works power
house was wrecked and water fam
| inc Is threatened, as cisterns We're ruin
ed by the overflow of salt water. This
Mr.. Timmins regards as the most seri-
Gus problem to be faced now. The city
Is in darkness, its electric plant having
| been ruined.
There is no way of estimating the
| property tullliec III lucSthl. 81 lhi as
he could see or hear Mr.. Timmins says
the east end portion of the city, which
is the residence district. has been prac-
tically wiped out of existence.
In the west end, which faces the gulf
on another portion of the island, very
| much havoc was done.
The beach was swept Clean the bath
houses are destroyed and many of the
| residences are total wrecks.
The town of Alvin is reported to be
| practically demolished.
Hitchcock has suffered severely from
| the storm. while the town of Alta LO-
ma Is reported without house stand
ing. The town of Pearland has lost
| one-half of its buildings.
One-half of the state of Texas was
| swept by the hurricane.
1t ragged furiously from half past 0
o'clock until noon to-day. The storm
prevailed for thirty hours but was most
destructive during the night. Hardly
place. from the Red River on the
north. to the gulf on the south, escaped.
Galveston and the gulf coast were
| stricken yesterday afternoon, and the