Newspaper Page Text
THE - CORRESPONDENT.
VOLUME IX.
GALVESTON HORROR GROWS
Details of Fearful Calamity Given
The Outside World.
NEWS NOT EXAGGERATED
On the Contrary, No Pen Can
Depict or Language Describe
the Awful ness of the Situa¬
tion— It Is Simply Un¬
paralleled.
A special of Monday from Houston,
Texas, says: The first reports of the
ippalling disaster which has stricken
the city of Galveston do not seem to
have been magnified. Communication
was had with the island city Monday
by boats and reports received indicate [
that the death list will exceed I
i.oOO, I 100 while while the the uronertv property loss loss cannot cannot'
be estimated, although it is known it
will reach several million dollars.
A mass meeting was held in Hous¬
ton and liberal contributions were
made for the immediate relief of the
destitute. Governor Sayers appealed
to President McKinley for aid. This
appeal was met with by a prompt re¬
sponse from the president, who stated
that 10,000 teuts and 50,000 ratious
had been ordered to Galveston. Gov¬
ernor Sayers also addressed an appeal
to each municipality in the state, ask¬
ing for prompt assistance in caring for
the sufferers.
Telegrams of inquiry aud sympathy
poured in throughout the day and
night from every state in tbe union,
and in almost every instance substan¬
tial reliof has been offered.
Reports from the interior confirm
the loss of life and destruction of
property rep° rted previous dis¬
patches.
COBRESPOrr-DEHT’S STOBT OP DISASTER.
Richard Spillane, a well known
Galveston newspaper man and day cor¬
respondent of tbe Associated Press in
that city, who reached Houston Mon¬
day after a terrible experience, gives
the following account of tbe disaster
at Galveston:
“One of the most awful tragedies of
modern times has visited Galveston.
The city is in ruins and the dead will
number probably 1,000. I am just
trorn the city, having been coinmis-
sioned by the mayor aud citizens'com-
mittee to get iu touch with the outside
world and appeal for heip. at
“Houston was the nearest point
which working telegraph instruments
could be found, the wires, as well as
nearly all the buildings between here
and the gulf of Mexico being wrecked,
When I left Galvestou shortly before
noon yesterday (Sunday) the people
were organizing for the prompt burial
of the dead, distribution of food and
all the necessary work after a period
of disaster. The wreck of Galveston
was brought about by a tempest bo
terrible that no words can adequately
describe its intessity, and by a flood
which turned the city into a raging
“Tha weather bureau records show
that the wind attained a velocity of
eightv-four miles an hour when the
measuring instrument blew away, so
it is impos ible to tell what was the
o’clock Saturday morning. Previous
to that a great storm had been raging
in the gulf and the tide was very high.
The wind at first came from the north
and was in direct opposition to the
force from the gulf. While the storm
in the gulf piled the water up on the
beach side of the city, the north wind
piled the water from the bay on to the
bay part of the city. evident that
“About “About noon noon il became
ings in higher portions of the city,
Every home was opened to the refu-
;*na
bay and culf met submerge/ aud by dark tbe en-
tire 5 city tL was eTecUie Hgft The flood-
iug plant and the
KNOXVILI.E. GA.. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 14. 1900.
gas plant companion’ factories left the
city in darkness.
“To go upon the streets was to court
death. The wind was then at cyclonic
height—roofs, cisterns, portions of
buildings, telegraph poles and walls
were falling and the noise of the wind
and the crashing from the buildings
were terrifying in the extreme.
“The wind and the waters rose
steadily from dark until 145 o’clock
Sunday morning, During all this time
the people of Galveston were like rats
in traps. The highest portion of the
city was four to five feet under water,
while in the great majority of cases
the streets were submerged to a depth
of ten feet. To leave a house was to
drown. To remain was to court death
in the wreckage.
“Such a night of agony was possi-
bly never equaled by people in mod-
eru tiuQe8 ' Without apparent reason,
water8 gaddenly began to aadside
at 1:45 a.m. Within twenty minutes
they had gone down two feet, and be-
fore daylight the streets were practi-
cally freed of the flood waters. In the
meantime the wind had veered to the
southeast. Very few, if any, build-
ings escaped injury. who had escaped
“When the people the
death went out at daylight to view
work of the tempest and the
they saw the most horrible sights im-
aginable. beach front for
“The whole of the
three blocks in from the gulf was
stripped of every vestige of babita-
tion, the great bathing establishments,
the Olympia and every structure hav-
ing been either carried out to sea or
it, ruins piled in pyramid Ur into the
town, according to the vagaries ol tbe
tempest. end end is in
“The bay frontfrom to
ruins. Nothing but piling and the
wreckage of the great warehouses re-
main. The shore at Texas City,fourteen
miles away, contains enough wre ‘•J kage
to rebuild a city. Eight person to who
were swept across the bay during the
storm were picked up A,onday morn-
ing.”
Another account of tbe disaster »ftys:
The most appalling calamity m the
history of modern times has befallen
Galveston. Everywhere there is death
and ruin and desolation. A greatcom-
merc-.al city is stricken with misior-
tune and her people appeal to th»out-
side world for heip. life the
Estimates of tbe loss of it
city vary from 600 to 1,000. It is
thought 2,500 people in the state have
lost their lives. Parents mourn their
children and children are made or-
phans by the terrible hurricane which
swept all of south Texas Saturday md
Saturday night. and
The damage to business rtsi-
dence property is beyond computatbn.
The city is almost ruined. 1 he wharf
front is entirely gone. Every ocean
steamer is stranded. The fine steauer
Alamo lies upon the top of the Mallcry
wharf, and a big English cotton-laden
steamer was driven ashore at Texas
City. Other vessels are aground in
SSS ofth ° bay ' 8om ”
lessly wrecked,
4°wbS “Jsssut,
situation. It is simply immense, m-
paralleled, and even those who wert
through the experience of the storn
and survived are so dazed they cai
hardly realize the enormity of the loss
Debris is everywhere. Electric liglt
------- „ nearly all
and telegraph poles are littered proa witl
trated and the streets are
timbers, slate, glass and every con
ceivable character of d ® br *®*
_____________ the water began
Starting as soon ---------- work^ as of ------ jhe
to recede the reacning
„ ______ theruinsof
wounded and dying from
their homes began. The scenes that
broken and sobbing, bewailing tie
j loss of their wives and children; strees
*xttE£Ti~**** direction p.. s
of the scene. In every f
far as the eye could reach the scene
desolation and destruction continue,
F1VE thousand dead
Galveston's Mayor Places Loss of
Life at That A pp alli “g F *g“ re
the dead are being buried at sea
-
Soldier* On JPatrol IAaty Ar« Forced to
Shoot Down Many Vandal* Kn-
t>Ced la Tooting.
On Tuesday Mayor Walter C. Jones,
of Galveston, estimated the number of
dead 1Q the wrecked city at 5,('00, and
he is conservative. Over 2,300 bodies
had already been taken out to sea or
buried in trenches. Other hundred.
were yet to be taken from the ruins.
These bodies were all badly decom¬
posed and were being buried in
trenches where found. Others were
cremated in the debris when conveni¬
ent.
Thero was little attempt at identitt-
eatioD and it is safe to sav that there
will never be a complete P A list of the
, , , >• • fwhom f
some 0 are dead and
^he j- Zolice
flre in oharrre 8 of the
ofburving bodied (/men the dead Ther« tbit ara
, A tearin/nn enoa.ed in
Th the rums
, ” , V it the dead s n mo of
r
thoB ,, ° JJ , ^ bodies are h«i n£ r tnken
* probably onlv injured when
th 1 7 first struck down ° but there
®„iV tti g relief d tbev 7P nprish
,
w„- n . T i« i. in nnm-m. P
Tfae remuants of tha [o rce of reffU l ar
soldiers who were stationed at ftalves-
, _ d ^ is a verv [. small remnant_ T "
, ^^ilv - . - . .
levers, Persons have alreadv 7
b sbo( . ^ j reported
. . Cantain Raffertv’s bat-
. while £ catrolinff f the beach Tnes-
orilil or ., er d . lo desist
( rom lo „ tiug . The iellow drew .
weanon Ife/ and atta/ked was shot dead four' The
billed was alloftLmHe bv other men
aild * J® *i .nd’each hail five
?“u h rifle h^ve of them als“
oda victim [he Other men
J ° * but detafls are
°J ’ tbe exact probXe number be
a8C ta ned but it is
t wentv*five were killed haTwhen Some of these
^ were shot foi failing Otler. to or-
d „ ,o. were .hot lor
vandalism.
The ruins of the heavier brick build-
lugs have not yet been searched for
the dead, and there are u large nnm-
her there. In the mass of rubbish
which marks the site of the Lucas ter-
race boarding house forty or fifty peo-
pie were killed outnght and their
bodies are still in the ruins.
The orphan home on the beach is
totally demolished. Ninety-two chil-
dren and eleven nuns were killed there,
Some order is being brought out of
the chaos. Something like a
matic attempt is being made to c ear
the debris and remove tbe dead. Idlers
are being pressed into service at the
point of tjie bayonet and made to woi k,
and a mbitai y cordon is being drawn
tighter and tighter about the place.
Every horse ana mule that vas left
iu the city is in service and a ray or
hope is shooting above the pal of
gloom that has hovered over Ga veston
f Texas City. Large forces are working
on the railroads and in a few < ays the
peopieof^Galvestion believe the situa-
tion will be greatly improved,
Based ’ on reports *" believed to be ac-
curate, the following statement is
probably correct . , be
as near as can
arrived at at this time as to loss of
^ nd p ^ op ®^ ,y s a ® :
Galveston, „ , 1 . k I lives lost, , 5,000, — c\t\t\ n n proper-
ty lost, $10,000,000.
Houston, lives lost, 2; property lost,
$300,000. lost,
Alvin, lives lost, 9; property
lost, $(o,000.
Bend county^ lives . lost,
Fort
erty wtaj-.««■ lost, $100,000. >o»*.»:
Colorado county, property lost,
$250,000.
WITHDRAWAL
IS UNCERTAIN
Powers Are Engaged la Consider-
fog Momentuofls Qnestiou.
INDEMNITY BOARD PROBABLE
Washington Officials Have Long
Conference Regarding Situa¬
tion With flinister Wn.
A Washington special of Friday say.:
It known that th® government has in¬
ferential knowledge of the attitude of
all the powers regarding the Russian
proposal, but it is still awaiting official
advices as to some of them. The in-
fo ” n f tion concerning those regarding
y^ich no official announcement has
,)eeu received it is stated is practically
kljat which is in possession of the gen-
eral publieund is bused onnewspaper
reports and the opinions of official of-
gan8 of the various countries.
Minister Wu arrived in Washington
from Cape M ty lato Frulay ^ert-oon
and P roeeeded directly to the stat.
de P arkm ® n *- It is understood that he
received > an intimation that the
d ** rt “ t officials were desirous of
« oufer f ln « w ! th him - For » earI y a *
honr the mlul8ter wa » closeted , behind
locked doors with Acting Secretary
HiU and Assista at Secretary Adee.
.
were c ' ommQ ? lcatlve a8 to tbo confer-
encr, but at its conclusion Dr. Hill re-
paired to the white house with a port
fol *° we)1 fill ? d with P 0 ^ 8 *
Fl,r *® verft i hours peceding the min- .
* . fite r s v * fdk Acting Secretary Hill and
As ' sl>itant Secretar y Adee bad been en-
fS I u " ia ere approaching another
V ^' , t , ^ at an ? ther auiunincemeut
° f ^ D Wa 8 P' eparat ! on -
" he “ th f T T ( 8Ut ?
Bp ° n " e tb ® Ru * MaQ uote 0Q the “^ h
T Td ? 'f " )a l expre88ed tb *
that about a week , s time would
b f re< l ll,r ed ^determine upon the next
8te P; and 1 at the ead of that time it
"T? ? dehalteIy . ka °T. a wbe ' ber or
F
DOW ela a
The reports from the European chan-
ce || or i es indicate that, officially at
j eaht> tbis j mpor t an t subject is being
j rea { e d with the greatest deliberation,
ftU( j at ] eaa t another week, and prob-
a b)y even more time, may be consumed
in framing the last of the answers to
the Russian note.
Meanwhile onr government h»«
p re tty we ji satisfied itself as to the
attitude toward this last proposition
eHt>b au( j a jj Q f tbe p OW6r8 interest-
ed in tbe CDincpe proUlem. It may be
tfaat this knowledge is regarded as
Bu gi c i eQ t upon which to base another
f orwar d and perhaps, in tbis case, an
independent movement by the United
g ta tes toward the ultimate withdrawal
D f the troops and the settlement with
wb i c h the government has had
m m j nd 8 i uce the beginning of the
j roub ] e .
The cou3U lt a »ion with Mr. Wn is
7 .*
rr. b ?rrs^'r.
to constitute the Chinese side of any
comro i K8 i on which may be made to ar-
range a settlement of the
Mr. Wn is an ardent adherent of Earl
r j
It seems ---------------- to be regarded as highly - „ „
probab j e j n official ciroles that when
tb4) t j me arr i ve8 for* the negotiations
for for the the settlement settlement with with China China this this
government will appoint a commission
for that purpose rather than place the
negotiations in the hands of a single
individual. There have been various
8Ugg< »Hon8 a8 to who might be ap-
a commission the general impression
Beem8 be that it would not consist
7 .„ ,h L “xsrsi
thority that there will be upon the
mm , ssion BOtne American of pre-
eminent ability.
NUMBER 49
m sweenev winner
The Result of South Carolina's
Second State Primary.
DISPENSARY advocates victorious
--
Frneat Oorernor Defeat* Col. Hoyt, Pro¬
hibition Candidate, By a Good majority
After a Red-Hot Campaign.
A Columbia special says: The sec¬
ond South Carolina Democratic pri¬
mary passed off without incident
Tuesday. There were abont 80,000
votes cast. In the first primary two
weeks ago the Tace was uerrowod
down to the highest candidate for each
office.
For governor th. incumbent. Mile,
B. McSweeney, then led Col. Jame.
a. Hoyt by 5,000 votes. Tbe bulk of
the vote seems to have gone to Mc-
Sweeney in Tuesday’s primary, for re-
turns Tuesday night showed him to
be 7,300 votes ahead of Hoyt., with his
lead increasing as rural precincts wejre
heard from.
James H. Tillman, nephew of 8ena-
tor B. R. Tillman and a dispensary
advocate, leads John T. Sloan for
lieutenant governor by 10,000.
\y. D. Evans, chairman of the atate
railroad commission and vice president
of the national commission, ia beaten
. b y J. H. Wharton by 10,000:
Th. state’s delegation in congress is
added to by the election of R. B. Sear-
borough over James Norton aud Jos-
; e ph T. Johnson over Stauyarne Wil-
^ b7 lar " e nju j° ritieB - Scarborough
lfl present lieutenant , governor and
'Johnson is a recognized leader. Fin-
j ey and Latimer retain their seats ia
congress over all competitors,
Timmerman, state treasurer, is beat-
en by Jennings. Otherwise the pres¬
ent administration is unchanged after
“» v “ **>“ ~«»'7 •»
"n The 7 ' race , for governor , Las . been
especially warm. The dispensary was
‘be issue. Last December the dis-
V^nary directors fell out among them-
"elves and scandals were aired. Op-
position to the dispensary was strong,
When the campaign was opened the
prohibitionists and other enemies of
the dispensary selected Colonel James
A - Hoyt to lead the fight against the
^, ar7 ‘ an “ males aua governor Me-
iZfedZ race" ffirht it out with **’
The has been hot and sensa-
tional. Senator Tillman came into
the campaign and fought Hovt.
Tbe result on the main issue is the
the lecislature is for the disnensarv'y
two-thirds. McSweeuev will ree 1Te *
10,000 majority and Tillman woen‘ mc ^
to the United States senate ’yMougla
18 000 scratched bis name/ on the
ticket and he had no oppoue^-
Colonel Hovt the defeaAel candi-
dale, is a confederate ve/e»n, was
chairman of the state Demoircj, presi-
dent of the Baptist conveuton several
times and grand master a! the Ma-
sonic lodge.
McSweenov is a prinkr, was lieu-
tenant governor and becAne governor
on the death ol W. H. Eierbe.
.rw-mnin*
A Charleston ^ snecial •▼a* One man
wounded ia
™
oc-
®ounTv 'i| Johnson tam«[»n shot and
kil j ed A gtereptoo in an election
row.
The other sherting affray was at
Bythewood, in sand hills, where
Ed Brazewell vas shot in the leg,
some say by h/f own father, others
say by John CtnpbeU, The leg was
ampntated and Baxewell’s condition is
critical.
SELLS CO If ON FOR II CENTS.
Lnuinian* Plwlnr Dlipnic* of One Hun¬
dred Bale* at That Price.
offered 11 cents for his cotton—for at
much of it as has been baled Th.
- the ■*• situation •» *°« **** of the marke
believes
indicates an unprecedented price fe
*™th s staple.