The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-09-10

feet deep in the fremont hotel. prob
ably the highest point in the city.
Galveston. Tex. Sept 1o.--Starting as
soon as the water began to recede the
Houston Post correspondent with others
began the work Of rescuing the wound
ed and dying from the ruins Of their
homes. The scenes that were presented
can not be told of In a prosaic manner.
It is not possible to do it. Screaming
women, bruised and bleeding, some of
them bearing the lifeless forms of child
ren in their arms, men broken hearted
and sobbing, bewailing the loss Of their
wives and children. Streets filled with
floating rubbish. among which there were
many bodies of the victims of the storm
constituted part Of the scene. In every
direction as far as the eye could reach
the scene of desolation and destruction
continued.
The first loss of life reported was at
Reitter's saloon on the Strand, where
three Of the most prominent citizens of
the town lost their lives and where many
others were manned and imprisoned
Kelner and Richard Lord. These three
were sitting at table on the first floor
making light of the danger, jocularly
telling each other that they would stay
in the city Suddenly the roof caved in
above them and came down with crash
into the saloon, killing all of them. Those
in the lower part of the building escaped
with their lives in a miraculous man
ner. The falling roof and flooring were
caught on the bar, the people standing
near it, lodging and resting under the
debris. 1t required several hours of hard
work to get them out. The negro wait
er who was sent for the doctor was
drowned at the corner of the Strand and
Twenty-frst street and his body was
found a short time after.
700 HURT IN CITY HALL.
Col L. J. Polk, the general manager of
the Gulf, Colorado 6s Santa Fe and sew
eral prominent citizens of the city left
the restaurant a few minutes before the
collapse. The next place visited was the
city hall. Here were congregated fully
700 people, who were more or less injur
ed in various ways. One man from Lu-
cas- Terrace reported the loss of so lives
in the building from which he escaped.
He himself was severely injured about
the head.
On Avenue NJ. several ladies we're i'm
prisoned in a residence by the water
and debris. They were rescued by par
ty headed by Captain M. Therot- Several
of them were badly hurt but they are
still living.
Coming back to fremont street and
going out to Avenue p, by climbing over
the piles OF lumber which had once been
residences, four bodies were observed In
one yard and seven in one room in an
other place while as many as so bodies
were to be seen lying singly and in
groups in the space of one block. A ma
Jority of the bodies, however, that have
not been recovered, are under the ruined
houses and it will take several days hard
work to get all of them out. The body
of Miss Sarah Summers was found by
the correspondent near home on the cor
ner of fremont and Avenue F, her lips
smiling, but her features set in death,
her hands grasping her diamonds tight
ly. The remains of her sister, Mrs. Claude
Fordtran. have not been recovered.
ONLY EIGHT ESCAPED.
The report from St. Marys infirmary
shows that only eight persons escaped
from that hospital The number of
patients and nurses could not be ascer-
tanned but ordinarily the number of in
mates was seldom under a hundred.
Rosenberg school house. which was
chosen as a place OF refuge by the peo-
pie Of that locality collapsed Some of
those who had taken refuge there
escaped; how many can not be told. OF
those who did not escape, nothing mortal
remains except the inanimate flesh
AS Sunday morning dawned the streets
were lined with people half clad, Grip
pied in every conceivable manner, hob
bling as best they could to where they
could receive attention of physicians for
themselves and summon aid for friends
and relatives who could not move. Police
officer John Bowie, who recently was
awarded a prize as the most popular
officer in the city, was met by the Post
correspondent in q pitiable condition, the
toes on both of his feet were broken, two
ribs caved in and his head badly bruised
but his own condition, he said, was moth
ing.
my house, with wife and children. is
in the gulf. I have not g. thing on earth
for which to live
EVERYTHING GONE
Notable among the sufferers was Pat
O'Keefe, who has for years kept pop
ular resort on the beach, and who is
known to every visitor to Galveston. AS
the old man came trudging along he was
bemoaning the loss of his wife and ev-
erything he had on earth. Where his
resort stood on the beach, facing the
gulf there is not a veStige of building to
be seen. The great bathing pavilion
known as the Pagoda, the big pleasure
resort known as the Olympia and Muir
doch's bath house are all swept away in
to the gulf. There were few bodies on
the beach. They had been swept into
the gulf or driven UP into the rubbish
by the waves. Only half dozen OF
them were in sight from the site where
the workers were.
One incident was that Of a three-year-