South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-08-19
SEA WALL KEEPS
DEATH LIST LOW
Thousands Would Have Per-
ished at Galveston But
For Protection.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE)

! special police force to protect prop
erty.
All saloons have been closed by or
der Of Mayor Fisher. The footing was
done in most cases by negroes. VINO
were drowned at work when daylight
l broke Wednesday. Prompt steps
were taken 10 prevent further depre-
dation. Although the sea. wall stood
/ the test Of the terrific storm, the
great Galveston boulevard through a
/ great part of its extent. is washed up
/ and was today only a series of brick
piles. The city is Uttered in all dt-
/ rections with debris and il will take
months TO restore conditions 10 nor
NAL.
! Although all public buildings and
most Of the town stores were crowded,
| as soon az the storm moderated peo-
pie began returning to their homes.
Chartered at Court House.
There were fully one thousand peo-
pie uuartered in the court house and
an equal number was found IN many
/ other buildings.
The most pathetic sight perhaps
was presented at the city hall and po-
! lice station. Here were gathered hun
dreds of refugees who had been picked
up by police and fire department pa
| trolls which worked without rest
bringing in men, women and children
VITO were thrown on the streets or in
the shanties in which they lived. In
the number were perhaps 40 men with
! babes in arms and the wall Of these
/ little creatures and the efforts of
! frightened mothers to sOOthe them
were heart-rending.
There were some cots, but the few
who slept made their beds on the bare
floor Early Wednesday police officers
found two wandering cows. which
they drove through the binding rain
and the waist-deep water TO the city
hall. The COWS were taken into the
hall and there a mother with four
tiny tots filled a tin pail from their
bags. thus obtaining a milk supply
for her own brood and for the other
babies. 1t was the first meal many
of them had had in II hours or
People Get Warning
The wind began blowing Monday
and soon citizens began leaving the
city for the mainland The itful gusts
of wind which preceded the steady
| blow of the storm, was n warning to
those who knew the characteristics of
the West Indian hurricane. The
barometer dropped rapidly. The
weather bureau had sent out ample
warning and this precaution in great
measure saved many lives. The exodus
was too great for the capacity of trains
and interurbanS, and those who could
not get away settled down 10 face the
music" Practically all people living
near the water front or beach came up
town for safety early Monday after
/ noon.
The gale still continued to a velocity
of 20 miles an hour at o'clock Tues
day. Street car service had then been
suspended for a considerable time.
Lights and power were gone and wires
and signs began TO crash to the streets
from every direction.
At that time the wind was north
northeast, and it was hoped the cen
ter of the hurricane would pass Gal
weston 10 the west.
Water Fills Streets.
A tropical dOwn-pOur had augment
ed the force of the wind from L
o'clock and shortly after noon the
streets began to fill with water.
Bv o'clock the waters from Gal
weston bay were being backed up by
the north wind and soon the streets
were covered To a depth of two feet
and water began 10 run into all stores
AMI easements. The rise continued
until midnight. when throughout the
business district the depth ranged
from shoulder deep to over a mans
head. This put all the telegraph COM
panies out of commission. In the
Western Union office | sat until the
water was waist deep in hope that a
wire would be opened. L swan most
of the way to where l had my family.
, blocks away.
TerrOr over the Ominous situation
was further increased shortly after l 0
o'clock that night by the fury of the
storm. The O. X. laundry and a large
cotton warehouse on the water front
were burned to the ground Many
feared that the city would be destroy
ed by fire.
A fortunate veeT in the wind which
sent it to the southeast was received
with shouts of approval 10y refugees
in the buildings and there were many
ioyoUs shouts of She's letting up;
she's letting up"
JOY is short Lived.
But this JOY was shOrt-lived. The
storm king had braced up his power.
and the fiercer roar II the storm was
heard and in a short time the velocity
of the wind was 90 miles an hour.
This wind came directly off the gulf
and the waters were dashed over the
seawall in torrents. The force of the
waves tore down the bath houses
along the beach and destroyed long
sections of the splendid boulevard. 1t
added also to the great swamps of
water in all the streets. The gale con-
tinue1 for hours and while the We
AOtlAN ntN q ItdtUtu tic DIOpOl liOils VI
the 1900 storm, it was of longer dura-
ton than any other and had the added
danger Of blowing from the northeast
for hours and then repeating worse
than ever from the southeast
As I write the wind has subsidized
and practically all the water has run
off into the bay. The tug Pilot Boy
and the launch r. Waverly, with l )
men, have not been accounted for and
are given up by their owners for lost. (
Dredges including the Miller Davis. the
JacintO. the Houston, the Submern .
and the DOlson and Hanson. it is fear +
ed are lost with their crews. One
schooner blew all the way into Calves (
ton from Mobile, loaded with hemp, Z
and was deposited on top Of the sea- (
wall near Fort Crockett. Two of her
sailors suffered broken limbs but no /
ives were lost.
The steamer RibstOn aground here, /
is feared 20 be dangerously damaged. /
The scene at the Galveston docks is /
one of wreckage and great disorder. I
Hundreds OF sailbOats anC launches I
are piled up in indiscriminate heaps /