Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1900-10-03

ly connected history Of the events of
the tragic night at Galveston that
has been printed here.
Galveston, Sept. 14th.
So far as I have seen, no definite,
connected story of the disaster here
has yet been written. What has hap
dened is this:
of $4,000 people, at least ), OOO are
dead, most of them literally blotted
ont, buried in unknown, hastily dug
graves, dumped with other masses of
purifying flesh far at sea or burned
and destroyed.
OF an assessed valuation of between
forty-five and fifty millions, twenty
five millions have been literally de-
stroyed.
Business Of all kinds has been par
alyzed at the very height of the sea-
son and the wage-earners on whom
$4,000 people depend for their living,
are deprived of employment except
that of day laborers at the wages of
day labor. OF 1000 buildings in the
city, $500 have vanished from the
face of the earth, and fully 5000
have been damaged in degrees vary
ing from trivial to virtual destruc-
ton. Taking it all around, think
it is about right to say that every
building in the city has been dsmag-
ed Is per cent. of its cost
Galveston is on Galveston Island,
thirty miles long by from a mile to
three miles wide. The city occupies
the Seward or Eastern end. 1t is
sixty-six blocks-three miles and a.
half-long and twenty-seven blocks
"a mile and s-half-wide. On the
South the waters of the Gulf of Mex.
leo roll in with line after line of high
curling surf upon the broadest, long
est and most beautiful beach in the
world. AS looked at this yesterday
afternoon, behind the many long
ranks of tall green waves coming in
slow succession and arching into
white foam with placid dignity, there
stretched 20 the horizon a sheet of
opal and gold and purple, gradually
darkening as the western light of a
peaceful September evening faded.
There is not more glorious marine
view from the shores of any sea. Yet
behind me the inner edge of the
beach was furrowed with graves and
the fires where the dead were being
burned
On the North side of Galveston
was Galveston Bay, separating the is
land by from ten to two and a-third
miles from the main land. Across
the narrowest part were three rail
road bridges and the wagon bridge,
the longest of its kind in the world.
The bay is from five to nine feet ex-
cept along the seward, or Eastern
end of the city, where channels had
been dug and wharves built for blocks
on each side.
The wind began to blow strong on
Friday night, but Galveston people
gave little heed to it. The highest
point of the city is less than seven
feet above high tide, but there had
been many storms and high water be-
fore. Galveston had grown from a
village to city-snd one of the rich
est and most prosperous cities of the
country-conservatively in thirty
years in the face of prophecies of di-
saster from rival cities on the main
land-especially Houston.
1t was point CT honor with all
Galveston people to laugh at these
and to ignore the possibil-
ity of serious harm from wind or wa
ter. The wind blew and shifted and |
blew harder, but the people went
about their business all Saturday and
discussed the then raging storm mere
ly as a matter of current local inter
est. There had been ample warning
OF a hurricane and the shipping, big
and little, had been made snug. but
30 far as | can learn, not a soul left
the city.
1t was, and is. thoroughly a COM
a people united in the COM
mon purpose of believing in and low
ng and being proud of their city
on sand spit, and no man
Or woman seems to have had the
thought of permitting fear. Fear
Or doubt would have been disloyalty
and cOWardice and both uara thr,,a+