Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1900-10-05
THE GALVESTON STORM,


BINA COUNTY, OF THE DISAS-
TER-ENTIRE FAMILY LOST BUT
ONE.
Mrs. James Huffman of Walhalla,
Pembina county, has the following let
ter from her brother Milton, whose
father, mother and brother were lost
in the Galveston storm:
This is Thursday night, five days we
have put in since the storm, and I hope
l will lever have to go through such
experiences again. l have not found
any trace of the remains yet, although
l think I will tomorrow. can tell
something about the direction that tho
house went by the appearance Of the
ground, but cannot be sure and cannot
guess closer than about two blocks
and then the debris is piled fifteen to
twenty feet high for a block or more,
twisted and wedged in so that it is al
most impossible to remove it and there
is three to four miles of this on the
outside, hundreds of men are at work
on this repiling and burning it, but 1t
will be a long time before they get all
over the city.
On Saturday morning the weather
was fine, a brisk breeze blowing out to
sea and we all went down to the beach
early, about sunrise. The tide was
higher than we had as yet seen it and
had washed out some climbers of the
street a track, which run on a trestlc
out a little over the beach. After
breakfast we went back again. A
number of people were there enjoying
the big waves and about 10 o'clock the
wind increased some and the tide a
little higher, the wind was also a little
raw. Ma and Dwight went back to
the house, a little I'VE a block from
the beach. BY this time. the water
had got up two or three blocks in the
bitches, burt not the least concern was
felt by anyone. Pa and l went over
to the bathing houses. These we're
immense buildings built on pilings out
over the water and extended for about
three blocks, and close along and over
hanging the beach were a number Of
restaurants, shell houses, and houses
for all kinds of amusements. This
street was called Midway. BY II
o'clock some of these small shacks
were being washed down and Pa and
l went over to watch; hundreds of peo-
pie were there enjoying it. BY .
o'clock it was getting still higher and
the water in the street was two or
three feet deep, still we were not un-
easy, as it was apparently still and
would have to raise many feet before
doing any damage. But at about 4
O'Clock we concluded to move across
the street in a large fine house that
was built on a brick foundation and
was high off the ground. We put our
trunks on the beds and went across
Even then we were not much con-
cerned, when we got there we felt en-
tirely safe. 1t then began to get bad.
the wind blew at a terrific rate and the
v on the beach were fast washing
down the houses between us and the
beach. A nan and wife with five or
six children, a woman with five or six
more children, and two or three men
came in for refuge. I think altogether
there were seventeen or eighteen in the
house. At about half past 5 the house
was getting shaky, some Of the win
dows were blown in and an addition
parted from it.. still the men seemed
satisfied that it could not be wrecked.
All at nv It went off it's foundation
and we were up to our waists in water.