Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1909-07-24
Graphic Stories Told by Tarpon Pier
Survivors.
RECKAGE SAVES THEIR LIVES
One Man Floats for Awhile on an Old
Mattress.
BETT1sON BODIES ARE FOUND
Captain and His wife, with Life
Extinct, Discovered Twenty Miles
from Their Point of
Starting.


HOUSTON, Tex, July 2s.-The number
Of persons dead as the result of Wednes-
days hurricane is tonight conservatively
estimated at twenty five; those more or
less seriously injured number twice as
many, and the property loss is conserva-
lively estimated at $1OOO.OOO. Except to
Isolated points, all communication has been
restored.
Late dispatches add the towns of Rock
Island Wharton and weimer to those
which suffered TO any extent from the
sweep Of the wind. At Rock Island nine
of the largest buildings we're either razed
or partially wrecked the damage being
estimated at $4,000 Fifty houses were
blown down at Welmer and the property
loss will approximate 100000.
Wharton suffered more than from the
storm Of 1900 From Quintina comes the
report that the sloop Columbus with all on
board had been blown out to sea-
Extends Far Into Interior.
p Advices show that damage was done by
the storm throughout a section In Texas
extending on an average Of 100 miles tol
the interior. In many counties some re-
ports indicate that very few househOlders
escaped losses of at least minor sort
While the property destruction has been
great the loss of life and the proportion
of injuries is almost inexplcably small.
This is attributed largely to the fact that
the storm warnings gave the Inhabitants an
opportunity to prepare,
In many places crops have been hurt,
but the hot sun following the hurricane
is doing much to restore normal conditions
in the fields
Following are the towns from which re-
ports of the greatest damage have come:
Galveston, Bay City, Velasco, Angelon,
wharton Columbia, Columbus, Palicas,
Eagle Lake, Weimer, New Ulm, Schuken-
burg, Attention, Beastry. Kendleton, Sub
lime Glidden, Markham. Lagrade, Bostrop,
Elcampo, Yoakum, Gsrwood. Matthews,
Bonus. waldor, Flatonas and Austin.
List of the Dead.
With six known dead on Tarpon fishing
pier at Galveston. the list Of supposed
dead of eleven Wednesday Is cut down.
Five of the supposed Victims were rescued
from the bay alive. the sixth was dead
when taken from the water.
The identified dead are
INFANT OF NJ. GALLOWAY. Bay City.
CAPTAIN MATTHEW'S swept from the
schooner Ellen in the gulf.
E. c. HAFFNER, at Eagle Lake
formerly of Waterloo. Ia.
BAYSIL DAIGLE AND TOM MURRAY,
Cameron parish Louisiana.
DIR. CLOUD, Richmond, Tex.
Galveston today began the rebuilding of
the structures razed in Wednesdays storm.
Wires are down, but later reports from
the interior show greater damage and loss
of life than were sustained at Galveston.
Graphic tales are told by those who were
swept from the Tarpon fishing pier off
Galveston, into the gulf and rescued cling
ing TO bits of wreckage along the beach
near Morgans Point.
Survivor Tells Graphic story.
Ray c. Teetshorn of Houston says II
was shortly after midnight of Wednesday
that the first real alarm for the safety OF
Bettson's pier was felt. Ten hours later
the pier gave way and the party of ten
was cast into the water.
'sortIy before the building sank we wen
to the roof" said Mr. Teetshorn. "Th,
building went down easy--in fact simpi!
cIumbled into the water. Everybod!
scrambled for himself ! think ali OF u
started off on some wreckage and tn
wind and tide carried us through the water
while the high sea beat us and the roller
broke over and beneath us. The firs
piece Of wTeckage got onto crumbled AM
broke and l fisheo around and finally go
onto a mattress, which soon became waite
soaked and sank Then I finally crawle
onto a piece OF lumber about twelve fee
long and l stuck 10 this until picked up.
Captain Bettlson. VINO owned the plel
was a cool fellow and went about delibeT
ately giving Instructions when the storr
came up. With our life preservers on, W
went to the roof OF the pavilion TO b
prepared for the worst. Bettson, the poo
unfortunate, discarded his cork legs earl
in the day. / don't know what became c
him"
BettisOn Bodies Found.
NEW ORLEANS, La, July 2S.-All douh
as to the fate Of Captain r. L. Bettiso
and his wife. who were reported browne
when the Tarpon pier wRS washed ava
near Galveston. was removed today whe
their bodies were found in The water nea
LaPOrte. Tex, twenty miles away.
beaumont Family Safe.
BEAUMONT. Tex, July 2S.-The AbeI
nathy family OF thirteen persons, reporte
lost In the storm OF Wednesday has al
rived at Stowell uninjured.
Heavy Rains in Texas.
LOUISVILLE Ky. July S-Acc0fdlu
to reports received by the weather bureau
excessive rainfall has occurred in sewers
parts OF Texas following Wednesday
hurrican. Kerrville reports $40 inches; ID,
Ria, asa, and Quanah. aO2
Sugar MIL Demolished.
New ORLEANS July 2S-Reports fro
Brazoria, Tex, state that a large sugt
mill al the Clemens penal farm We
demolished in Wednesdays storm. Los
k275,OOO one of the prisons was wrecke
but no one was injured. The sloop Colun
bus, with four men aboard, was blown OF