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

OLD GENTLEMAN WITH BAROMETER.

“There was an old gentleman in the depot who seemed to be a scientist. He had a barometer with him, and every few minutes he would examine it by the solitary lantern that lit the room, and tell us it was still falling and the worst was yet to come. It was a direful thing to say, and some of the crowd did not like it, but the instrument seemed to be reliable. About 9 o’clock the old man examined it and announced that it stood at 27.90. I give the figures for the benefit of any one who wants to know the reading at the height of the storm. He announced to the crowd that we were gone and that nothing could exist in such a storm.

“At that time the hurricane was awful. Once in a while I could hear a muffled detonation, a sort of rumbling boom. I knew that it was a house falling, and it did not add to my comfort. There was no lightning or thunder, and at times the moon gave some light. The clouds did not appear to be up any distance, but to drag the ground.

“About 10 o’clock the old man looked at his instrument and gave a whoop of joy: ‘The worst has passed,’ he shouted. ‘We are all safe. The storm will soon be over.’ Few took in the full meaning of his words for the wind was still a hurricane. Within almost as many minutes it had risen ten points and we felt safe.

“I went over the island the next day and words can not describe what I saw. Everything was wrecked along the gulf front for three to four blocks back, the ground was clear and the houses which had stood there were piled in a windrow which in many places must have been fifty feet high.

“What is needed is able-bodied, honest men to clean up this wreck and remove bodies and bury them. They want no idlers or surplus people to feed and protect. Disinfectants to purify the streets from the slime and silt left by the water are necessary.

“I saw 600 bodies in an undertaker’s house. I saw them loaded on floats, piled up like cotton, black and white alike, with arms and limbs sticking out in every direction. I must have seen nearly a thousand bodies along the wharves and coming across the bay. It was frightful.”