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

PREPARED FOR THE WORST.

Two hours after Captain Haines’ attempt, the life saving station collapsed and Mrs. Haines, the nearest neighbor of the lighthouse keeper’s family, and one of the crew were killed. As the shades of night began to fall the destruction in and about the Point was about complete, and the keeper of the light and his faithful companion withdrew to prepare themselves for the worst. From the sleeping room of Colonel Anderson a stairway, winding around a steel post, which extends from the top of the light tower through the center of the entire structure, and fastened to a screw pile in the sand bed, leads to the light tower.

Promptly at the usual hour the keeper who, for five years, has watched and cared for the light, made his way to the tower with his brass kerosene lamp, and placed it within the strong, magnifying circular lens. The linen curtains which shade the glass enclosure during the day were drawn aside and the bright light shed its rays out into the gloom, and storm-tossed vessels in port were able to get their bearings.

The water rose higher and higher and the storm waves sent their spray over the top of the tower. The hurricane increased in violence and the slate from the roof of the keeper’s home was picked off piece by piece by the wind. An hour passed, and the keeper had made frequent journeys to the tower to see that the light was burning. He went up again, but had hardly reached the landing through the small opening in the floor, when one of the large panes of thick glass on the northeast side was smashed by flying slate. The light was extinguished and a piece of glass struck the aged keeper in the head and face. The opening in the lens faced the broken window pane and it was useless to relight the lamp. Stunned by the blow, and bleeding from the wounds in his head and face, the old man made his way down the stairs where his wife waited and watched for his return. “Mama” quickly dressed the wounds, and then the aged couple went into the parlor and in silence waited for the end.

Above the howling tempest the agonizing grinding of the jetty railroad iron on the metal supports of the lighthouse struck terror to the hearts of the anxious watchers imprisoned above. The slate roof suffered severely and the rain pouring in from above added to the pitiful experience of the night.