ROOF BLOWN AWAY.
About four o’clock Dr. Cline, who was in charge of the Weather Bureau at Galveston, the letter stated, passed, and Rev. Palmer asked him what they had better do. He advised them to stay in the house, as he thought it was perfectly safe. The storm increased and the water flowed into the yard. Mr. Palmer went downstairs and found the wind had blown down the front door and several windows.
About dark sections of the roof were blown off and all the persons in the house went into Mr. Palmer’s room. There a prayer meeting was held, all joining in prayer and singing. Little Lee’s prayer was: “Dear Jesus, do make the water recede and give us a nice day to play to-morrow.”
After that all who could went into the bathroom. The water arose until it came up to the necks of Mr. Palmer and his wife. They then stepped upon the edge of the bathtub, Mr. Palmer holding Lee, with his little arms clasping the father about the neck, Mrs. Palmer held to the shower-bath fixtures overhead and passed her other arm around her husband’s neck. Suddenly there was a grinding noise. The house upset. There was a rush of water and all were engulfed in the flood.
Mr. Palmer and his family became separated and he never saw them again. He went to the bottom as he was sure he was drowning. Suddenly he was caught by a swift current and arose to the surface. He crawled upon what he believed to be a bundle of shutters and drifted until his raft struck a shed and it sank. After several hours he succeeded in getting on one of the outbuildings of the Catholic convent, where he remained until the water receded. Mrs. Palmer’s body and that of her son were not recovered.
On September 20th a correspondent furnished the following facts: “Normal conditions are being restored swiftly in Galveston. The work of clearing the streets of debris continues unabated and all relief work is now thoroughly systematized. Several human bodies were found to-day. No attempt was made to identify them, and they were immediately cremated.