Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1900-09-12
THOUSAND LIVES LOST.
GALVESTON, TEXAS, STRUCK BY WEST
INDIA STORm--THE PROPERTY DAMAGED
AMOUNTS TO TEN MILLION DOLLARS.
Bodies Float in the Streets and Buildings
Crumble and Fall--Terrble Situation.

at noon received bulletins from their
general Offices in Houston, that the loss
Of life from the great storm will reach
three thousand in Galveston. The Mis-
souri,, Kansas and Texas reliof forces
near Galveston and along tho coast tolo-
graphcd at noon that tho loss of life will
not be less than five thousand, and may
reach ten thousand.
GALVESTON, TEXAS, September TO-
Tho most appalling calamity in the his
tory of modern times has befallon Gal
weston. Everywhere there is death and
ruin and desoation. A great commcr-
cial city is stricken with misfortune and
her people appeal to the outside world
for help.
Estimates of the loss of life in tho
city vary from 600 to 1000 1t is thought
1900 people.in the State have lost their
lives. Parents mourn their children and
children are made orphans by tho tori
bic hurricane which swept all of South
Texas Saturday and Saturday night.
The damage to business and residence
property is beyond computation. Tho
city is almost ruined. The wharf front
is entirely gone. Every ocean steamer
is stranded. Tho fine steamer Alamo
lies upon the top of the Mallory wharf
and a big English cotton-laden steamer
was driven ashore at TcxaS City. Other
vessels are aground in different parts of
the bay, some hopelcssly wrecked. Tho
tug Louise, of the Houston Direct Navi-
cation Company, is under water at Red
fish. Two of tho crew wero drowned,
the remainder escaping in the lifeboat.
,Nopcn can depict or language adequately
describe the awfulncss of the situation.
1t is simply immense, unparalleled. A
boat was chartered to run to Texas City,
and on this tho Houston Post corrcspon-
dent had to hurricdly depart. From
what he saw during Saturday and heard
from some of the leading business men,
immediate relief. The object in scnd-
ing to Texas City was to get into touch
with the outside world and lot it know
that stricken city is in misfortune and
ask the people of the country to send
food and clothing and water. Tho water
works are in ruins and the cistcrns all
blown away, so that the lack of water
IS one of the most serious of tho present
troubles.
Debris is everywhere. Electric light
and telegraph poles are nearly all pros
trated, and the streets are Uttered with
timbcrs, slate, glass and every conceva-
bic character of debris. There is hardly
a ha6itablc house in the entire city and
nearly every business house is badly
damaged. The school buildings arc un-
rooted, such cditiccS as the Ball High
school and Roscnburg school buildings
being badly wrecked. The fine churches
are almost in ruins. The elevators and
warehouses are unfit for use, the cleo
trio light plant has collapsed and SO has
the cotton factory.
hoods IN THE STORES.
From fremont to p Street, thence to
the beach not vcstigc of Il residence is
to be seen.
In the business section Of the city the
water was from 3 to 10 feet deep in stores
aud stocks of all kinds, including food
stuifs, are total losses. Men in newspa-
per life are used to narrowing scenes,
but the experience of news -gatherers on
this fatal Saturday night bcggars dcscrip-
tion. In making the rounds it was moth
ing to see women and children emerging
from comfortable and happy homes dazed
and bleeding from wounds, the women
wading neck deep with babies in their
arms. To add, if possible, to the ca
lamity, the city is cut OF entirely from
the world. The telegraph lines are down
and the cable which connects Galveston
with Mexico is cut.
at TcNas City the wharvcs arc dos-
troycd and the water front for mile is
Uttered with the ruins and much Of the
debris blown there from Galveston. At
Texas City three lives were lost
The storm commenced raging between
and 10 o'clock Saturday morning, and
by noon the waters from the gulf had
inundated the island rs far inland as
Twelfth street. From there the waters
gradually cncroachcd further inland, ris-
ing about fifteen inches an hour. AT 6
p. NJ. there was thirty-six inches Of water
IN the lobbics of the fremont hotel, the
highest point in the city. After that it
gradually rcccdcd, but the wind was
cyclonic in its force. 1t reached a veloc-
ity OF cighIyfour miles an hour and then
the Instruments in the government OBJ
scrvatory we're wrecked.
ROArS IN THE STREETS.
In the streets the wires were down.
telegraph and telephone poles falling,
slate and glass and timber flying through
the air. How people could live thloush
directly credited to accidents in the
streets. AZ times people would sail
rapidly by in boats and collidng with
some obstruction would be painfully in
jurcd. Dr. 5. G. Young, secretary of
the cotton exchange, was driven from
his home. He mounted board and was
whirlcd with terrific velocity toward the
bag. Striking some obstruction he was
severely cut and bruised about the head
and face, besides receiving bodily in
iurcS.
Dr. West, one of the most prominent
physicians of Galveston, was drowned
near the Roscnburg school building.
As soon as daylight came and the fury
of the wind had abatcd, the work of
rcsculng and searching for tho dead
commenced. In one room the Post re.
porter counted seven dead bodies.
The fremont hotel was converted into
a rendezvous for the living The women
and children slept in the dining rooms
and parlors and the men lay ON the floors
and in the Railways.
The first house to collapse was new
three story brick, known as the DulitZ
building.
Next the Reuters saloon, a two story
brick fell with crash, killing three.
down with crash and it is Thought the
other bridges arc totally or almost totally
wrecked.
AWFUL STREET SCENES
Starting as soon as the water began
to reccdc the Houston Post corrcSpon.
dent, with others, began the work Of res
cuing the wounded and dying from the
ruins of their homes. 1t is not imposs-
bic to do it, Screaming women, bruised
and bleeding, some Of them bearing the
lifclcSS forms Of children in their arms;
men broken and sobbing bcwaling the
loss OF their wives and chldrcn streets
filled with floating rubbish, among which
there were many bodies of the victims OF
the storm, constituted part Of the scene.
The first loss of life reported was that
at Reuters saloon on Strand where
three Of the most prominent citizens Of
the town lost their lives, while many
others were MANNED and imprsonci