The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1905-06-29
ollI1shn's Great Sea Ya1l
Rapidly Hearing Completion
$3.50
u ths

Waves end otsrm.
disturbances. about the time the hur-
ricane Of iSo0 entered the gulf. Il had.
apparently. greatly Increased In en-
ergy since u was last noted, and by the
time u attacked Galveston II was blow
Ing at an estimated velocity Of 10 miles
an hour.
"A wind blowing at this rate Il q phe-
nomenon with which the weather bu-
reaus had little to do until the Calves
ton storm. but at this tremendous We
waters OF the Gulf of Mexico and hurled
them over the Island city. dealing out
death and destruction until It's mighty
force had been spent.
Such a wind blowing for two hours
over any other city would have done az
much and probably n great deal more
damage than was done nj Galveston.
again be duplicated. That a wind Of
such enormous velocity is possible has
been proved In virtue OF its having &C.
Cured at Galveston. still. It's duplica-
tion n 90 remote a possibility that the
weather bureau OF Washington has de-
signated the storm OF September 9.
1900. M . freak.
Galveston In now, however. well pro-
tected from any recurrence OF freak
wall. mightier than the wall OF China
and Infinitely more useful. has been
built around her three open sides. and
a. Il stands Il In representative OF the
characteristic engineering achieve
ments for which the present time n
noted.
The engineers who were chosen to de-
eide upon some safeguard recommend
ed wall extending from q connection
with fha Rnvspnnnenf fsftiea ARenffs
A and Sixth street. running south and
southwest around the city TO Thirty
ninth street. The wall Ia a little over
three miles In length. sixteen feet wide
ut the base. ave feet at the top and sew
enteen feet high above mean low tide.
The foundation Of the wall rests upon
four rows Of round piling twelve inches
In diameter and driven four feet apart
into the ground and forty-four feet
down into the clay. There In also row
OF sheet piling just inside the outside
row OF round piling. driven into the
ground twenty-six feet below mean low
tide to prevent undermining. There In
also an apron twcnty-seven feet wide
by four feet thick extending seaward
In front OF the wall. composed OF solid
granite blocks. 40 q further protection
In case OF storms and undermining cur
rents.
The wall proper In composed OF solid
concrete made OF crushed granite from
Granite Mountain. Tex: sand from San
Jacinto river. cement from Germany
and water from Alta Iona. Tex; al
thoroughly mixed by immense machin-
cry constructed especially for the pur-
tons. and. TO give additional strength.
immense steel rods. nine feet In length.
were placed In the wall every three feet
as the wall went up.
Some Striking Figures.
To better Judge OF the magnitude of
this great undertaking the following
figures are appended: Concrete used.
10000 yards, or 100000 tons. or $500
carloads; riprap. or broken stone. to
prevent the action OF the water directly
on the sea wall. 100000 tons, or 5000
carloads; sand. 10000 yards. or $4,000
tons. or $500 carloads: cement. $4,000
barrels. or $1,000 tons. or 1850 car
loads: round piiing. $4,000 tons. or 1000
carloads; sheet piling. 100000 feet, or
$50 carloads: re enforcing steel rods. 10
carloads: total number OF carloads is,-
900. This IL equal TO one carloads OF
10000 pounds. or 20 tons to every foot
OF completed wall.
The funds for this immense UNDER
taking was raised practically by the
people OF Galveston. The legislature
authorized Galveston county TO issue
&l,boo,o00 In 4 per cent. bonds. run
ming for fosty years. and these the citi-
Gems OF the town Immediately sub
scribcd for. The sentiment OF the peo-
pie Of Galveston was behind this work
and the public credit which was evoked
to carry II into effect. and as such Il
stands without parallel
The plan adopted for the completion
OF the work contemplates a portion
filled I'm TO the height OF the wall for
q distance OF 100 feet back and this will
be made into driveway, which will.
when completed. be one OF the most
beautiful TO be found I'm the south. and
at the same time IL will render the
city N safe n place for human hablta-
ton a. any other In the world.
There was not. according 20 Mr..
Henderson's report. n single individual
OF the entire population who escaped
loss TO a greater or lesser extent I'm
the hurricane that swept the city. and
not only was this true. but confidence
promises 20 pay after the tremendous
losses Il had suffered was severely
shaken. and public credit was practice
ally gone.
But II the storm had destroyed thou
sands OF lives and had wiped out mil
lions OF dollars worth OF property. Il
had at the same time developed quail
lance In those who were left OF which
the world has had too few examples
The great wall the living have built
stands az n monument TO those who fell
victims 90 the storm kings anger and
a silent barrier against any storm that
may ever visit Galveston again. and
those who make IL their homes may
rest henceforth In peace and security
under Its protecting wing.