The Great Galveston Disaster / Containing a Full and Thrilling Account of the Most Appalling Calamity of Modern Times Including Vivid Descriptions of the Hurricane and Terrible Rush of Waters; Immense Destruction of Dwellings, Business Houses, Churches, and Loss of Thousands of Human Lives; Thrilling Tales of Heroic Deeds; Panic-Stricken Multitudes and Heart-Rending Scenes of Agony; Frantic Efforts to Escape a Horrible Fate; Separation of Loved Ones, etc., etc.; Narrow Escapes from the Jaws of Death; Terrible Sufferings of the Survivors; Vandals Plundering Bodies of the Dead; Wonderful Exhibitions of Popular Sympathy; Millions of Dollars Sent for the Relief of the Stricken Sufferers

by Paul Lester

A MATTER OF HISTORY.

“In 1715, Governor Caspardo Awaya established the Orquisaco mission on Galveston bay and made a thorough exploration of the island. In 1816 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, well-authenticated 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 of it a mere marsh, entirely unprotected by improvements, and a thousand times more liable to be swept by storms than now, and still it stood, and still stands.

“When Commodore Ansy abandoned the island, Lafitte succeeded him in possession and held it until 1821. Lafitte’s description of its topography agrees with Commodore Ansy’s in every essential, and both state much of the area was marshy and low-lying, and unfit for settlement. Is there any man who will assert that during the past eighty-eight years the altitude and stability of the island has not been constantly improved or increased? If such is the case, and truth forbids its denial, the conclusion is unavoidable that Galveston island may be crossed by howling tornadoes every week, but it is just as secure as any part of Texas from destruction.