The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-12-17
AT GALVESTON.
Experience ofths Leyisad Liner Mexa
can in BIg Gale.

The steamship Mexican OF the LeyIand
line which now lies at shed No 3, Grand
Trunk docks, was lying at quarantine
on the city Of Galveston during tue hur-
ricaue which devasted that city and
rolled the waters OF the gulf eight feet
over &c, drowning thousands OF people.
An officer OF this ship told a TIMES re-
porter about It saturday night. lie said
that the Mexican was the only ship which
weathered this storm OF all those which
were In Gslvsto1 hay at the time. Dozens
of big ships were carried for miles inland
and left high and dry on the beach while
others were swept ashore and pounded to
pieces bv the sea. The storm broke Sat
urday morning and continued until sun
day morning without letting no at all.
The Mexican with three or four other
ships was lying at anchor on tins quaran
tine station. She had her port anchor
out" not an anchor OF .tne new tangled
kind, but one Of the old style" as the
fiicer said, and his held her. The star
board anchor was dropped when the first
began to drag and every inch Of chain ON
the ship was paid out, The officers
''nurssd'' these anchors all night and
though they dragged half a mile they
didn' { 20 ashore "a did the other ships.
at was the worst storm 1 ever saw,
said the officer OF the Mexican. "To go
forward one had to crawl on the hands
and knees and wigsle along like
snake. Coming aft again all you had to
do was to sit up and turn your back 20
the gale and you would land smash up
against q ventilator. The Oil suits OF the
mate and myself were absolutely torn OF
onr bodies and so was about half the
clothing we wore. 1 saw the captain who
| bad orawlsd forward to feel OF the chain
10 see IL the ship was dragging much, for
this was the only wEy you could tell
about It, start to come aft. he was
caught by a fierce putt OF the hurricane
and csme sailing aft like piecs fpAper
and was SMASHED against ventilatorsas
though he had bssn thrown out of cat-
apuIt. Other big ships were taken from
their mornings, carried over Pelican
island which in ordinary times is hig b
and dry above the water, and landed half
mile In land without knowing thew had
gone over tbs Island.
THE next morning the city Of Calves
ton was plotted of the map. l never
want to witness such scenes as saw In
the succeeding days. Hundreds OF
bodies of men, women and children ioated
by us, We saved twomen, one OF whom
had been In the water twenty-one hours
| For days and days the tide was carrying
bodies out to sea aud bringing them back
egain the next day. Big lighters loaded
with putrid bodies If human beings were
towed to sea past us every day and when
outside dumped overheard, to be brought
ashore again the next tide. Carcasses of
cattle, live COWS, pigs. hens, dogs. cats
ana everything you could think OF were
floating all around us. The air was NIL cd
with an into lerable stencil for many
days and as far as the eye could reach
nothin but wreokags could be seen.
Some sohooners were lying alongsi de
wharves when the storm came and In tho
morning they were on top OF the
wharves with the bodies OF men, women
and children mixed mp with those OF
pigs and cattle lying crushed under their
keels The world has no idea or this ter.
ribIe disaster. Half has never been told
about 10 nor ever can be told. The
newspapers told some wild tales about
this half but they didn't tell half they
m light have told.