The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1900-09-20
THE STRICKEN cry
AND IT'S NEEDS
SITUATION GROWING WORSE.

Thousands 0fDestitule Sufferers Who
are FrenZiod and Dyin. Not a
Single Church or School Building
| Was left Intact.
The following statement OF condi-
tions at Galveston and appeal for aid
WAS issued by the local relief commit
tee on the lth inst
| I" A conservative estimate OF the loss
OF life is that It will reach 5000; at
least 5000 families are shelterless and
| wholly destitute. Tho entire remain
der OF the population is suffering in
greater or less degree. Not single
| church, school or charitable institu-
tion, OF which Galveston had so many
is left intact. Not a building escaped
damage and half Of the whole number
were entirely obliterated. There is
Immediate need Of food, clothing and
household goods OF all kinds. II nearby
cities will open asylums for women and
children the situation will bo greatly
| relieved"
The terrific cyclone that produced
| such distressing disaster in Calves
ton and all through Texas, was pre-
licted by the United States weather
| bureau to strike Galveston Friday
night, and created much apprehension,
but the night passed without the pre-
diction being verified. The conditions,
| however, were ominOus, the danger
signal WAS displayed on the flag stalf
on the weather bureau, shipping was
| warned, etc. The southeastern sky
| was Sombre, the gulf beat high on the
beach with that dismal thunderous
roar thSt presaged trouble, while the
! air had The stiffness that betokcns u
| storm. From out Of the north, in the
middle watches Of the night, the wind
| began to come in spitcful pulls, in
creasing in volume as the day dawned.
| BY 10 o'clock Saturday morning it WAS
almost gale at noon it had increased
In velocity, and was driving the rain,
whipping the pools and tearing things
| up In q lively manner, yet no serious ap-
| prehension was felt by residents remote
| from the encrOachmentS OF the gulf
| Residents near the beach were aroused
to the danger that threatened their
| homes. Stupendous waves began TO
| send their waters far inland and the
people began d hasty exit to secure
places in the city. Two gigantic forces
were At work. The gulf drove the
waves with irrcsistible force high upon
the beach and the gale from the north
east pitched the waters against and
! over the wharves, choking the sewers
! and noOdipg the city from that quarter.
4 l. hC outSCGo toPiuiJ bSS Soh ~ ''ii "iVI
| water communication began to be dif-
iicult and the helpless people were
| caught between two pow wcrtul elements,
lille the winds hOwlcd and rapidly in
| creased in velocity.
Railroad communication was cut ell
shortly after noon, the track being
! washed out wire facilities completely
failed at 3 o'clock and Galveston was
completely isolated from The world
The wind momentarily increased in
velocity while the waters rapidly rose
and the night drew on with dreaded
| apprehension depicted in the face Of
every one. Already hundreds and thou
sands were bravely struggling with
| their families against the mad waves
and fierce win0S for places OF refuge.
| The public school Buildings, court
house, hotcis, in fact bly, place that
offered apparently u snfG tc'ngn from
the clements, became crowded kl their
utmost. Two minutes OF 3p. III, just
before the ancmomeJer blew away, ~
had reached the frightful velocity Of
100 miles an hour. Buildings that had
hitherto stood, tumblc1 and crashed,
carrying death and destruction to hun
drc IL Of people. Roofs whstlcd through
the air, windows were driven in with
q crash or shattered by llaying slate,
telegraph, telephone and electric light
| poles, with their masses OF wires, were
! snapped of like pipe stems and water
| communications werc broken. What
velocity the wind attained after the
ancmoneter blew OF, is purely mat.
| ter Of speculation. The lowest point
touched by the barometer in the press
correspondence OtEce, which was filed
by frightened men and women, WAS
% Oit this Was about 1870 p. IN. 1t
| thop fn t.ino lln,u " end hu
| 10 p. m. had reached 1853, the Wind
gradually subsding and by midnight
tho storm had passed. The water,
| which had reached q depth OF feet on
! the strand at 10 O'clock p. m, began to
ebb and ran out very rapidly and by 5
a. m. the crown OF the street WAS free
OF water. Thus passed out one OF the
most frightful anu destructive storms
which over devastated the coast Of
| Texas.
DEAD ARE BURIED IN TIE SEA.
A dispatch from Galveston dated
Sept. lth says
The good citizens OF Galveston are
straining every ncrvo to clear the
ground and secure from beneath the
debris the bodies OF human beings and
animals and to get rid Of tEcm. 1t is a
task Of great magnitude and is attend
, | Cu WIFI unIOlu ullllCulIlCS. l. uCFV IL u
, shortage OF horses to haul the dead and
there is q shortage OF willing hands to
perform the grucs0me work. icstcr~
q day morning i. became apparent that
= IL would be imI ossiblc to bury the dead
even in trenches, and arrangements
4 were made to taH2 = thom to sea. l}arges
and tugs were Qu.%.ly made ready for
a the purpose, but :! .iAo difficult to get
N men to do the work. The city's lircmcn
Y, worked hard In bringing bodies to the
wharf, but outside Of them there were
few who helped. The work WAS In the
Or hands OF Alderman <. u. McMaster,
Mr.. NJ. T. Morrisscy, Captain Charles
or Clark, Joscph b. Hughes and others.
~ These mon pitched in, handling the
bodies themselves snd urging the few
ies mon they could pick up to work. Rev
!" rather Kirwin, who went cut to sum
,,r mon mon for>he work, reported that IT
i'm i'm nSwhn mSs w1hmnpossibIc'o get any con9idcrabIe
nan rnuhDer, and he M'ged that ahlc.bodicd
aen rnen DO Impressed. Soldiers and police
iaS iS' were sent out al every able. bod.