Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1900-09-18
tells A TRAGIC Story
Waterloo Citizen Receives Letter
Describing Experience Of His
Nephew at Galveston.
Ward Hume's Wife and Child Were
Drowned in the Awful
Flood.
His Gwn Life Saved by Mere Acct.
dent Their Home Swept
Away.
Special to Times-Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Waterloo, Sept. 1S.--The following lets
ter was received Saturday by D. E.
Hume from his nephew, Ward Hume, at
Houston. Texas. 1t gives the particularly
of the sad death of hos daughter, Mrs.
,Judson Palmer, and baby in the terrible
storm of a week ago which carried SO
many down to their death at Galveston.
The letter Will give your readers faint
idea of the awful terror of the night of
the. storm. Hume's experience is per-
ihaps a god average of that Of the thou
sands of others who lost their lives in
the storm. The letter is as follows:
Il suppose you received our kilograms
about the calamity at Galveston. We
wired you Sunday, Monday and Tues
day. / returned from Galveston yes
terday afternoon and wired you at
once. j found Judson at Mr.. Hoff-
mans house. He is pretty badly bruised
up, but the doctor says he can be out
in a day or so. He is all to pieces and
at times almost hysterical.
They We're at home during the storm
and as their house was considered a
strong one several of their neighborsi
We're in there with them. Mr.. and Mrs.
Becker and children and the Burnett
families We're three. When the water
commenced to come over the floor they
all went up stairs They were in the
front room up there when that part of
4 the roof blew off and in a few minutes
l they We're all deluged with rain water.
They then went into the room back OF
that and before they had been in there
long the plastering fell down on Them.
/ Meantime the water had been rising
until they were standing in water. Mr..
Burnett and family Went into the BATH
room and called to Judson and Matte
4 to come there, which they did, when
/ the water had reached their chins.
/ When they got in there they stood on
\ the edge of the bath tub to get out of
4 the water as much as possible. About
4 this time Burnett put his family out
thru the window and followed them.
hudson holding Lee in his arms so he
was above water and Matte holding to
him with one hand and to waterpipe
\ with the other.
They We're both on the edge of the
bath tub and about the time water.
reached their necks the house went to
\ pieces. They went down till Judson
Esaid he thought they reached the.
ground when a current caught him and
yIcarried him off to one side. and then to
4 the surface. He then grabbed piece
4 of dry wood and kept his head above
water while he drifted several blocks.
4 He at last bumped into something
(which he discovered was the roof of a
iished. He managed to crawl onto it and
x lay down fiat on his face with his feet
ito the wind. which was blowing so hard
\ he could not even look around.
1 After he had been there a short
siitime he heard a crash and saw that a
4 house had bumped into the shed he
Twas on. SO he crawled off the shed with
his piece of drift wood, which he had
q 3held onto all this time, and after float
4 ing for some time, saw a house with a
4 light in 1t. He managed to steer himself
4 up to the house and called until man
finally stuck his head out thru a hole
a that had been knocked in the side of
81 the house and told him how he could
crawl thru the hole, He did SO and
4 stayed there until morning, when they
made their way to q Catholic convent
near by. He was taken from there to
4 where he is now by DR.. Lee.
.Mattie's body was found about a
block away in another direction from
the way Judson Went and was buried
at sea Monday. Lees body has not
4 been found yet, or rather it has not
!, been identified. and probably. in fact,
. almost positively, never will be. There
a We're 2,400 bodies buried at sea Monday
I and the number of dead never will be
known, but will exceed 5000. It is the
most awful scene a person can imag CINE.
Thousands OF houses are completely
q demolished and swept away as clean as
tho there had never been a house
there.
II Went out to where their house had
stood yesterday morning, but there is
nothing left-even the brick foundation
! is torn up completely and hardly two
= bricks are held together. A large brick
house on the corner next to them is
E destroyed and every trace of it is swept
away. Every house within from five Ia
eight blocks of the beach for the whole
/ length of the city, about two miles. is
completely destroyed. The wreckage is
j, all over the city and all the streets are
i nearly impossible