Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1905-06-30

ana the catastrophe lndt ocCuIieu oH
the night of September 8, 1900, when a
terrific storm swept over the Oleander
City, destroying more than 5000 lives
and nearly $50, 900, 900 worth of prop
erty. can never again be repeated.
In the remarkable short period OF
four years a new city has arisen like
the tabled bird of Egyptian mythology,
young and beautiful. from one or the
most destructive calamities upon the
records OF time, out the effort that has
beer put forth by the survivors shows
that the spirit of Davy Crockett still
lives in the lone star state, and that
as long as life endures defeat viii re-
| main an unknown quantity.
There is something strikingly roman
tic In these cities that have been sub
jected to the refining influences of fire
and water, as Pompeli, Herculaneum
and Galveston, but the spirit of the
new world differs from that OF ancient
history In that no ordeal, however, Sc
we're, can brighten or daunt those VINO
still survive, and instead OF seeking
safety and building houses elsewhere
they fortify their town and utter a
def to the elements that be.
On the walls OF the public library in
Galveston there hangs a portrait bear
ing the name OF Condo de Galvez. II
is a magic name, for he city OF Gal
weston was cdll6O III MS hOLoI' diu oh
this picture is inscribed the following
bit Of history: About the year 1882 a
Spanish fleet made an examination OF
the coast of the Gulf Of Mexico west
Of the Mississippi river and named Gal
weston bay and island in honor or
Condo de Galvez, the governor OF
Louisiana"
They found on the island one white
man, who subsisted by hunting n
fishing, and from him they obtained
a description of the bay, and, with
out extending their explorations across
It, made their report to the governor
ut Madrid. At that time there were
overland routes or trails from New
Orleans TO San Antonio and the San
Jacinto was believed to be a branch of
the Trinity river. According to Colonel
Thasher, when the exploring party left
New Orleans the governor said: III
o discover any place OF note remem-
Der me in giving it's name" so they
called it Galveston. There is, how
ever, another version. CT. w. rover
has a photograph made from a steel
engraving of a portrait OF Ell Exmo
Senior de Galvez, viceroy of Mexico,
published in the city of Mexico in 1887.
With it is a coa OF arms representing
a brig with an officer holding a drawn
sword on deck between the masts,
while over it Is inscribed the motto,
10 oOlOs ol OllC SidC VI lC NNSSNh -
the full name, Galveston" The Incl
len which lead to the design is as
follows:
Founding the City.
Spain sent to Gaivez, who was gov
ernor OF Louisiana from 1880 TO 1885.
a colony, whom he established on the
lake shore east OF New Orleans and set
them to building a brig. When the
Spanish feet visited him Galyez want
ed the commodore to capture a port to
the east. The commodore, not having
pilots acquainted with the coast, was
unwilling to attempt it, "whereupon
Galvez with his brig approached the
fort n demanded their surrender.
Awed by the appearance of the fleet,
this they speedily lid. After this ad-
venture the fleet sailed toward the
west, and 1t Is conjectured that CAL
vez, seeing the rapid ~tensi of the
English language, suggested If the
commodore should name any place
after him the name should be Gal
weston, which was complied with, and
thus was derived the name of the city
as it is known today"
However this may be, the island re-
manned inhabited until 1910, when La
itte and his pirate band for the Louis
mi coasts tested the capacities OF the
harbor, and not long after this 1t was
occupied by the forces Of the Mexican
ACphDtlCV WEI dllAA q iAN 5NN
ernor OF the island under Mexican au-
thority.
During the next twenty years many
thrilling adventures took place oil the
island between the M~exicans, pirates,
Indians and whites. After the annex"
alton of Texas, in 1888, and the out
break of the Mexican war, the first
Texas regiment to join General Taylor
was composed OF s~ix-months' men
raised and organized in Galveston n
commanded by Albert Sidney John
stcn.
The city of Galveston was incorpo-
rated in 1889, and the first railroad to
be built was the Galveston, Houston
and Henderson, which was begun In
1855, and in 1860 the Galveston bay
bridge was completed n trains were
run into the city. In 1863. during the
civil war, the battle OF Galveston oc-
Cured. After the wal the growth OF
the city was rapid. and when the jet
ties were finished. In 1895. the bar was
gradually reduced until vessels of the
heaviest tonnage could enter the harbor
as easily as at New York or San Fran
cisco.
This improvement places. the Gal
weston wharves in such close proximity
with the sea that vessels require only
one hour to reach deep water. while the
railroad and wharf1ng systems com
bined provide terminal facilities that
are unexcelled anywhere in his coun-
try.
Cause cf Catastrophe.
This was the thriving condition of
Affairs at Galveston just prior to it's
destruction on that fearful night five
years ago. and which, to quote Mr.. d.
B. Henderson, the Galveston county
commissioner, was the most misunder-
stood phenomenon that has ever oc-
Cured, and 1t Is astonishing that so
few of the people who passed through
II and had opportunity to observe Its
progress and effects are able to give
any satisfactory explanation of Ii.
To those who have given the matter
serious consideration IL is surprising
tina the majority OF the people inside
as well as outside the city believe the
occurrence to have been a tidal wave
or tornado" when, in truth. 1t was
nothing more OF less than a regular
West Indian hurricane that originated
in the vicinity of Martinique about five
or six days before IL struck Galveston,
and given out TO the world every few
hours by the weather bureau from the
moment Of its discovery. and It's prog
casters by entering the Gulf OF Mexico
in the vicinity OF Key West.
As long as II was possible for the
weather bureau to keep track of II. II
did not appear different from the usual
September hurricanes, which are gener-
ally OF yearly occurrence and which al
ways cause more or less damage along
the Atlantic coast as they travel