The Great Galveston Disaster, Containing a Full and Thrilling Account of the Most Appalling Calamity of Modern Times Page: 108
xiv, 17-536 p. : front., plates ; 24 cm.View a full description of this book.
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108 HARROWING DETAILS OF THE DISASTER.
of a short street leading to the wharf. This gave the wind from
the Gulf full sweep against it. There were several other men in
the cafe, and one of them said: 'Why, did you all know there are
just thirteen people in this room ?' Papa laughed, and remarked
that he was not superstitious. Just then the crash came, killing
five out of the thirteen. In the floor above the cafe was a large
printing establishment. A beam hurled down by the weight of
the presses above struck papa, killing him instantly. His body
was dug out of the ruins Sunday afternoon by about a hundred
friends, and his was the first funeral in Galveston."
"Were you frightened much ?"
"No, we were not very scared, because we had no idea how
terrible the storm was. We were not worried about papa, thinking
he was safer, even, than we were. We secured the shutters and saw
that the windows were braced. After that we sat quietly on the
first floor. The water never did get above the basement, as the
house is situated on an eminence. After a while seven people
whom we did not know came in and asked for shelter, as their
homes were flooded.
THE STORM GROWS WORSE.
" When the storm kept growing steadily worse we got a rope
ready, so that if the worst came we could all be tied together.
One family whom I knew did this. They tied loop knots around
their wrists. All were drowned together and all were buried
in the same hole. All night long we could hear cries for help.
To every one who came we gave shelter. Once some one knocked
at the door; when we opened it a woman fell headlong across the
doorstep. She had fainted from exhaustion. We found a little
girl in the basement, who had been tied to a skiff. She seemed
dazed, and kept talking about a beautiful carriage she had seen.
"We did not know what she meant, but next morning we
saw a neighbor's carriage perched high on top of a pile of wreckage.
Even when we looked out of the window we could not tell
the extent of the damage. The moon rose, giving a very clear
light, by which we could see objects floating around. It did not
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The Great Galveston Disaster, Containing a Full and Thrilling Account of the Most Appalling Calamity of Modern Times (Book)
This book covers the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, the United States' deadliest natural disaster. It includes accounts from survivors and eyewitnesses, and photos of the devastation.
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Lester, Paul. The Great Galveston Disaster, Containing a Full and Thrilling Account of the Most Appalling Calamity of Modern Times, book, 1900~; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth26719/m1/131/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.