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

DR. YOUNG’S GRAPHIC STORY.

The following very interesting account of the beginning of the great Galveston storm and graphic story of his experience was prepared by Dr. S. O. Young:

“Tuesday morning, September 4, I was standing near the signal service officer who makes the weather bureau map each day for the Cotton Exchange. This is simply a large blackboard on which is painted a map of the United States. Wherever the bureau has a signal station the readings of the barometer, thermometer, direction and force of the wind and rainfall are recorded on this map, different colors of chalk being used to indicate each.

“When the observation at Key West was-recorded I saw that the barometer was low, that the wind was from the northeast, and the map as a whole showed pretty plainly cyclonic disturbances to the south or southeast of Key West. There was a region of high barometer over Pennsylvania and New York, shading gradually down to Key West and presumably far to the south of that point, while there was another region of high barometer over Colorado, with a comparatively low barometer between the two, all shading toward low the further south the records were made.

“I remarked to the observer who was making the map that the Key West record, backed by the map as a whole, showed pretty plainly that there was a cyclone forming. He agreed with me, but said his office had received no notice of anything of the kind. Wednesday afternoon the tide in the Gulf was high and the water was rough, though there was no wind to cause the disturbance. Thursday afternoon the tide was again high and the water very rough, while the atmosphere had that peculiar hazy appearance that generally precedes a storm, though not to a marked degree.

“The wind was from the north, and during the night was rather brisk. Friday the wind was from the north, and as night came on it increased in violence. The tide was very high and the Gulf very rough, though as a rule with a north wind the tide is low and the Gulf as smooth as the bay. I was then confident that a cyclone was approaching us and accounted for the high tide by assuming that the storm was moving toward the northwest or against the Gulf stream, thus piling up the water in the Gulf.