Connecticut western news., 1900-09-13
STORM DISASTER Thousands of Lives Reported
 Lost In Texas Towns. GALVESTON IS INUNDATED The Place Reported to Be Almost
 Q Complete Wreck.
 DAMAGE TO OTHER TOWNS.
GALVESTON IS INUNDATED
DAMAGE TO OTHER TOWNS.

Terrific Hurricane Swept Up From the West Indies, Carrying Death and Destruction In It's Pathway. The Gulf Cities Cut on From Conn munication by Wire OF Train and Only MsaEer Details Yet obtaina- bls-Bodies of Dead strsw the Streets and Bay at GaIveuten-Late
 Estimates Place the Loss of Life at Five Thousand.
 New York, Sept. 12.--The Herald has the following from Galveston: Galveston Is almost wiped of the earth. Fifteen thousand persons are homeless. 1.-The loss of life will reach Into the thousands. Bodies are piled ev- erywhere.
 "From Thirteenth street east to the gulf there are few houses standing. The end of the island is obliterated. Every house in town, big, little. public or pri- vate, Is more or less damaged. "A thousand small craft lay wrecked | on the shore. A big vessel Is ashore north of Pelican island, two others near Texas City, one against the railroad bridge and one at Deer island. A sloop is stranded in a hallway in the center of the city at its highest level Another Is berthed in a stable near the Fremont hotel. "The hurricane lasted from o'clock in the evening of Saturday until half past 1 o'clock Sunday morning. Be tween and o'clock nothing could be seen from the island but an unbroken circle of sea. It looked for all the world as though Galveston would be swallowed in the terrible embrace of a monster cyclonic hurricane.
 "Angry currents of the deep were seen l in a torment, flashing the wharfs and pouring into the streets. The wind howled and screeched and shrieked, mak- ing an uncanny furore that sent fear into | the hearts of the bravest.
 Driven to Refuge on Rsfts. 'There were no electric lights, and the town was shrouded in darkness. Men hid in their homes or groped their way here and there in the streets and breath lessly watched in the distance the tiger leap of each mountain wave. Streets were deserted an hour after the storm struck the city. When the more lightly built houses began to sway later and 1t became dangerous to stay within some people came into the streets again.
 "Men tied their wives and children to | them with ropes and stood out in the | open, lodging flying timbers and tine ele- | ments rather than chance being crushed | to death within doors.
 ''The streets rapidly became flooded | Shutters and doors were cut down in | many instances with axes and used as rafts. The medley of cries and shrieks | of the women and children and even of ] stout hearted men was weird.
 "Fiercer and louder howled the wind and greater became the flood. Men were drowned in sight of each other. The heavens grew darker and darker. The waters swirled, the breakers could be heard roaring in the streets, and the rain | came down in torrents.
 | Fierce Waves Beat Down Houses. | "Men and women stood on rafts and | prayed. Some were seen to ,succumb | and fall lifeless into the waters.
 "The combcrs dashed up by the gale l were fierce in their death dealing power. Houses bordering the ocean and bay front could be heard crashing to destruc- I tion, the cries of the dying mingling with the weird screech of the gale. Almost through a ghastly night this scene lived on, but at last a hiatus occurred and parting clouds permitted a ray of moon light to irradiate the tormented sea and soethina island.
 "When daylight broke over the ex- | pdnbe OI uOhlinR DOules, EuDuisu hedpS and ruins, all that remained of the pros porous city, a few leading citizens as- sembled In several feet of water at a street corner and called a meeting at Fremont hall, to which they adjourned.
 Triumvirate Declares Martial Law.
 "A committee of public safety of 15 leading citizens was formed, and Colonel
 ]. H. Hawley, one of the best known men in Texas, was made chairman. He,
 Mayor Walter c. Jones and Chief of
 Police Edward Ketchum formed a tri-
 umvirate, with absolute power, and de- clared the city under martial law.
 '"They issued commission to Major
 L. R. D. Fayling, which read:
 By the authority invested in me as chairman of the committee of public
 safety of the city of Galveston, I, J. H.
 Hawley, chairman, do hereby commission
 L. R. D. Fayling as commander in chief
 of all military forces and special depu-
 ties of police, with the rank of major
 and only subject to the orders of the un-
 dersigned, the mayor and the chief of DO. l lice.
 "'Major Fayling is hereby authorized l to reQuisition any men or property he
 may require for his force, and his re.
 ceipt will be honored by the city of Gal
 weston and any such property paid for
 by the city,
 Horde Robs Dead and Dying.
 "As soon as Major Fayling received
 his authority he collected a handful oi
 half naked, barefooted soldiers, clothed
 them, supplied them with food and put , them under command of Captain Ed ward Rogers. Around this nucleus of q
 force he has built up to meet the neces
 sities of the situation his present force
 of three full companies of volunteer sol
 diers and a troop of cavalry. "A horde of negroes and whites-ever white women-were in the ruins of tn,
 city. They were robbing the dead anc
 dying, killing those who resisted, cut , ting of fingers tc obtain rings and eari to obtain earrings. Drunken men reelet
 about the streets intimidating citizens.
 "Chief of Police Ketchum ordered tn,
 sale of liQIor stopped and began to swea
 la hundreds of special policemen to res
 cue the wounded, feed the living and con
 vey the dead to a hundred differen
 norgues He worked for 86 hours with
 put going home to inquire about his fam
 iy's fate, which was In doubt.
 "When told he should do so, he replied
 rharacteristically, God will be good to ne and mine for I am going to be good 10 others'
 "Ths dead, mangled and crushed be-
 Tond recognition, were dragged from the
 liver by the rescuers, all citizens join
 ng In the grewsome work.
 Threw Bodies Into the Gulf.
 ''The stench from the dead by Monday
 morning was unbearable. Estimates by
 .itizens of Galveston this morning place
 the number of dead at from 2,000 te 1000. Four hundrad ware found aAat