The Great Galveston Disaster, Containing a Full and Thrilling Account of the Most Appalling Calamity of Modern Times Page: 413
This book is part of the collection entitled: Rare Book and Texana Collections and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries Special Collections.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
THE STORM'S MURDEROUS FURY. I 13
thousand times more furious than any the world has heretofore
known. Any attempt to support either proposition is absurd. It
is admitted, however, that the assertion that the island has been
standing since the flood, or is a part of the original creation, is a
theory, and worth no more than any other theory started from a
proper predicate, but Galveston island has been known for more
than 400 years, and has a fairly well-authenticated history since
1542. In 1541 De Soto is said to have landed on the Texas coast
near the island, established a base of operations and penetrated the
interior as far as the present site of the town of San Marcos.
" After his death a part of his exploring force settled on Galveston
island in I542, and constructed some kind of fortifications
to protect themselves from the Indians and Spanish pirates or freebooters.
This was 358 years ago. This undisputed historical fact
proves beyond question that the Spanish pirates and the American
Indians were acquainted with the island before De Soto's men
established themselves. Just how long is not known, but a knowledge
of the island strip may be contemporaneous with the existence
of the aborigines of America that were here during the explorations
of the Norsemen, who made several voyages in the ninth
century, Iooo years ago. In 1585, while La Salle was cruising
around in the Gulf of Mexico, he mentions having lost a man in
the Malign (Brazos) River, and it is therefore very probable that
he touched at Galveston island.
A MATTER OF HISTORY.
"(In 1715, Governor Casparlo Awaya established the Orquisaco
mission on Galveston bay and made a thorough exploration of
the ishnd. In i816 the Mexican envoy to the United States,
General Herrera, and Commodore Ansy took formal possession of
Galveston island in the name of the Mexican republic, and from
that time until now the history of the island is a connected, wellauthenticated
story, and as much is known of its climate, soil,
products, temperature, rainfall, wind storms, etc., as any part of
Texas. At that time the island was much lower than now, much
)f it a mere marsh, entirely unprotected by improvements, and a
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This book can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Related Items
Other items on this site that are directly related to the current book.
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.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Book.
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/m1/471/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.