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

ENCROACHMENTS OF THE SEA.

“The residents of Galveston are plucky in the extreme in their determination to rebuild and make Galveston a greater and better city than it has ever been before, but in one direction, at least, they have suffered a loss that is beyond repair, and that lies in the extent of the territory wrested from them by the storm. The waters of the Gulf now cover about 5,300,000 square feet of ground that was formerly a part of Galveston. This loss has been suffered entirely on the south side of the city, where the finest residences were built, facing the gulf, and where land was held at a higher valuation than in any other part of the city.

“For three miles along the shore of the Gulf this choice residence property extended, but the shore line was so changed by the storm that at low tide the water is 350 feet higher along the entire three miles. In the eastern part of the city there are places where 350 feet is less than the actual amount of ground taken from the city. It is a fair estimate, however, for the entire distance. The foundation pillars of the Beach Hotel now stand in the water. Before the storm there was a beach in front of the hotel site nearly 400 feet wide. There is no possibility of any of this land being reclaimed.