The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-09-11
Waters of the Gulf Roll Over
the City.
WRECKS OF STEAMERS LITTER THE BAY
An Appeal to the Government for Help
Help is Promised and Orders Given
to Forward Tents and Other
Supplies to the Stricken
and Helpless People.
and Helpless People.
(By the Associated Press.)

(By the Associated Press.)
Houston, Texas, Sept. 1O.-Richard
Spillane, a well known Galveston newspa-
per man, and day correspondent of the
Associated Press in that city, who. reach
ed Houston today after a terrible ex-
perience, gives the following account of
the disaster at Galveston
One of the most awful tragedies of
modern times has visited Galveston. The
city is in ruins and the dead will number
probably 1000. / am just from the city,
having been commissioned by the mayor
and citizens committee to get in touch
with the outside world and appeal for
help.
Houston was the nearest point at which
working telegraph instruments could be
found, the wires as well as nearly all the
buildings between here and the Gulf OF
Mexico being wrecked.
When / left Galveston shortly before
noon yesterday the people were organiz-
ing for the prompt burial of the dead,
distribution of food and all necessary
work afer a period of ldisaster.
BLEW OVER "a MILES AN HOUR.
The wreck of Galveston was brought
about by a tempest 50 terrible that no
words can adequately describe its inten-
sfty and by a flood which turned the city
into ringing sea. The Weather Bureau
records show that the wind attained a
velocity of 81 miles an hour when the
measuring instrument blew away, so ii
is impossible to tell what the maximum
was.
The storm began at o'clock Saturday
morning Previous to that great storm
had been raging in the Gulf, and the tide
was very high. The wind at first came
from the north, and was in direct opposi-
tion to the force from the Gulf While
the storm in the Gulf piled the water uE
on the beach side of the city, the north
wind piled the water from the bay on the
bay part of the city.
About noon it became evident that the
city was going to be visited with disaster
Hundreds of residences along the beach
front we're hurriedly abandoned, the
families fleeing to dwellings in higher por-
tions CT the city. Every home was open
ed to the refugees, black or white The
winds we're rising constantly and 1t rained
in torrents. The wind was so fierce thai
the rain cut like a knife.
LIKE RATS IN "A TRAP.
BY o'clock the waters of the Gulf and
the bay met and by dark the entire city
was submerged. The flooding of the cleo
trio light plant and the gas plants left
the city in darkness. To go upon the
streets was to court death. The wind
was then at cyclonic velocity, roofs, els
terms, portions of buildings, telegraph
poles and walls were falling and the
noise of the wind and the crashing OF
the buildings were terrifying in the ex-
treme. The wind and the waters rose
steadily from dark until 1:45 o'clock Sun
day morning. During all this time the
people of Galveston were like rats in
traps. The highest portion of the city
was four to five feet under water, while
in the great majority of cases the streets
were submerged to a depth of ten feet
To leave house was to drown To re-
main was to court death in the wreckage
Such a night of agony has seldom beer
equalled. Without apparent reason the
waters suddenly began to subsde at La
a. m. Within twenty minutes they hat
gone down two feet and before dayligH
the streets were practically free of the
waters. In the meantime the wind hat
veered to the southeast.
SCENES OF HORROR.
Very few if any buildings escaped in
Jury. There is hardly a habtable dry
house in the city. When the people who
had escaped death went out at daylight
to view the tempest and the flood, they
saw the most horrible sights imaginable
In the three blocks from Avenue tc
Avenue in fremont street, l saw eigh
bodies. Four corpses were in one yard.
The whole of the business front fo1
three blocks in from the Gulf was strip
ped of every vestige of habitation.
The whole of the business front fol
three blocks from the Gulf was stripped
of every vestige of habitation, the dwell
ings, the great bathing establishments
the Olympia and every structure having
been either carried out to sea or its
ruins piled in pyramid far into the towr
according to the vagaries of the tempest
The first hurried glance over the city
showed that the largest structures, sup
posed to be the most substantially built
suffered the greatest.
THE DESTRUCTION IN DETAIL
The Orphans Home Twenty-frst
street and Avenue M, fell like house Of
cards. How many dead children and
refugees are in the ruins could not be
ascertained
OF the sick in st. Marys infrmary. to-