Year: 1875




expansion of the currency As matter
OF course it strongly favors reform
and denounces the corruptions and in
lquities of the present State administration,
which is in the hands of the democracy. 1t
is lamentable to contemplate the depraved
condition of all our State governments as
viewed from the standpoint of the ''outs."


The Topography OF the Texan Coast


and the Cyclone.


When reviewing the long list of disasters
attending the recent storm on the coast of
Texas we are struck by the awful suddenness
of the catastrophe and the peculiar character
of the visitation. The records of storms in
the Gulf of Mexico show that since 1880
nothing like that of September 10 has been
experienced on the Texan coast within the
memory of the oldest residents on that sec
tion of our coast Few storms have reached
as far west, the usual point of turning north
ward and northeastward being about the
ninetieth meridian of west longitude. How
ever, q study of the coast line of Texas fur
nishes unmistakable evidences of the prev
alence of violent seas, created, without doubt,
by the passage of great storms to the east
ward. A branch of the signal service system
is devoted to the observation of waves break
ing on the seashore, and when these are
found to have attained more than ordinary
size and force they are accepted as proof
of the approach Of a storm or the
passage of a centre of disturbance to
seaward of the point Of observation.
The effect of the action of waves breaking
against low, sandy coast, is to wash up
sandbars parallel to the shore line, and
these accumulations grow in proportion to
the frequency and force of the waves
and in the direction of the prevailing
winds An illustration of this fact is to be
found on the southern coast of Long Island,
along which sandbars have been formed ex-
tending from New York Bay to Montauk
Point. The coast of Texas, like that of the
Middle Atlantic States, is broken up into
numerous lagunes or bays, inclosed by those
natural dykes of sand, and an internal sys-
tenn OF ntercommunication is maintained
between points along the mainland through
eiiO ohOlbOiOu OhdAuClo VI tutSo lnClOSeQ Wa
ters. For the convenience of this traffic and
the facilities afforded for the shipping trad
ing with the coast cities have been built
on the inland margins of the lagunes, as in
the case of Indianola and sometimes on the
sandbar or island itself, as at Galveston.
The basins formed by the inclosing sand
bars are usually shallow, the outlets being
kept deep by the diurnal scour caused by the
ebb and flow of the tides through the narrow
passes The capacity of these outlets for
the drainage of the lagunes being limited
by the operation of natural causes to the
actual requirements of the particular area
drained, any extraordinary accumulation
of water in the basin cannot escape in time
to prepare for the reception of the incoming
tide wave, and an overflow on the land re-
suits as q natural consequence. Now, the
region visited by the cyclone had series of
extensive basins inclosed by sand islands
lying along the entire coast, and when the
terrible energy of the storm forced the waters
of the Gulf through the passes and over the
sandbars themselves-for their crests were
elevated only few feet over the sea level
the waters that could not escape were poured
over the adjoining flat country, inundating
it to depth of many feet. We have shown
that from the actual direction of the storm
centre the apex of it's parabolic course was
between Indianola and Galveston, and that
consequently its forward movement was
slower at this stage of its progress than at
any other and the local duration of the storm
longer. Cities built on sandbars on the
Texas coast are as certain of ultimate injury,
if not destruction, by storms such as that
which has devastated Indianola and Calves
ton, as a tall tower built in district subject
to earthquakes. They may escape for half
century, but their fate is inevitable