Shiner gazette. [volume] (Shiner, Tex.) 1893-current, 1902-05-21
A TEXAS CYCLONE.
GoLlAD THE CENTER OF DEATH
AND DEsoLATloN.
ONE HOUSE in A MILE
seVenty-Four Dead, Thirty-Two Whites
and Forty-Two Negroes-About
Same Number Injured.

teruay afternoon cyclone struck Ine
beautiful and historic town of Go
lad and left death and desolation in
its pathway beyond the power of pen
to portray. A special train reached
the scene at o'clock from Victoria,
bearing doctors, nurses, medicines,
friends and relatives of Goliad people
and the O'Connor guards. The scene
which met the eye on reaching the
scene of destruction, which was in the
western part of the city, was appall-
ing, Between Church and Patrico
streets, which run north and south a
distance of a mile in lenght, only one
house was left standing, and scarcely
vestige many could be seen. Very
little damage was done except within
these boundaries, a width of $50 yards.
The cyclone was preceded few mo-
ments by heavy hail storm and a
deep rumbling, but no one had any
premonition of the disaster and there
was no opportunity for escape to ref
uge as the cyclonic death-dealing dis
aster was all over in five minutes. The
section which suffered was the resi-
dence portion, the lower part being
the negro settlement, while the upper
part contained many fine residences.
The Methodist and Baptist churches
and the Baptist parsonage, both just
completed, and the negro Methodist
church were destroyed. The Episco-
pal church was badly damaged and
fully 100 houses were totally destroy
ed. The stone residence of r. T. Da-
Wis of the Goliad Guard was the only
building in the pathway Of the storm
not demolished and it is a wreck.
The people of Goljad, realizing at
once the stupendous nature of the ca
lamity and the terrible loss of life
and injured, telephoned to their sis
ter cities of Cuero and Victoria for as
sistance which was responded to i'm
mediately. General Superintendent
Forbes stopped the regular Beeville
train at Goliad and turned it back
to Victoria, bringing on the return
trip six doctors from there and abnn-
dance of medicines and surgical appli-
ances. Another train came later from
Cuero, with the same number of ply
sicians and dozens of nurses and many
citizens. Meanwhile the citizens here
had effected systematic oreaniza-
ton, as far as possible, and provided
temporary morgues, hospitals at the
court house, the hotels, public places,
Davis residence, and several other
places for the whites; the negroes
We're similarly cared for.
Seventy-four are dead and eighty
five are injured, as nearly as it is
possible to ascertain, but there is no
doubt but there are fully 100 dead, as
many names of the dead and injured
can not be obtained and many of the
injured will undoubtedly die before
morning.
The scenes around the temporary
hospitals are heartrending, old men
and little children side by side, the
| former bereft of families and the lat
ter orphaned, and all suffering excru-
ciating agony. The doctors and nurses
have worked like Trojans and so have
everyone else, residents and visitors
white and black,a alike. The merchants
opened their stores and dispensed
everything needed for any purpose
without cost.
Those who passed through the ter
rible ordeal say they never want an
other such experience, the noise was
terrifying timbers were flying in ev-
cry direction. giant trees were razed
TO the ground, cattle and horses were
droven against and wrapped around
trees, the iron county bridge across
the San Antonio river was torn in two,
while debris from the river bank Gov
cred the houses in town. The prop
erty loss is estimated at fully $4,000
This is the first cyclone that has
ever been known in this section OF the
state, which was supposed to be in no
danger of such disturbances. The
funnelshaped cloud, which usually pre-
cedes such disasters, was not seen
prior to this one, It is known that
there was no loss of life north of
here and it is not believed that there
was any except right in the city.
| Trains from Beeyillq and Victorsa
arriving at midnight brought addi-
tional doctors and nurses There are
now thirty doctors here at work car.
ing for the injured.