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

SAW FOUR MEN SHOT IN ONE DAY.

“Everybody who remains in Galveston is made to work, and the punishment for a refusal is about the same as that meted out to ghouls. I saw four colored men shot in one day. There were confined in the hold of a steamer in the harbor, six colored men who were found by the soldiers with a flour sack almost filled with fingers and ears on which were jewels. These men probably have been publicly executed before this time.

“In the work of rescue we found whole families tied together with ropes, and in several instances mothers had their babes clasped in their arms.

“Scores of unfortunates straggle into Houston every day and their condition is pitiable. Several have lost their reason. The citizens of Houston are doing all in their power to meet the demands of the sufferers, and every available building in the city has been converted into a hospital. When we arrived in Houston we scarcely had clothes enough to cover us, and the citizens fitted us out and started us north. The fear of fever or some awful plague drove us from Galveston.

“Already speculators are flocking into the city, and there is some activity among them over tax-title real estate. In several instances whole families were wiped out of existence, and the opportunities in this line seem to be great.”

General Chambers McKibbin, U. S. A., and Adjutant General Scurry were both emphatic regarding the necessity for prompt work in clearing the streets and surroundings of Galveston.

“I am personally in favor of burning as much rubbish as possible,” said General McKibben, “and of burning it as quickly as the power of man will permit. I am not an alarmist by any means, and I do not predict a pestilence, but I think things are coming to that point where a pestilence may be possible unless prompt measures are taken, and there is nothing so effective as fire. Burn everything and burn it at once.”

“I haven’t a dollar to pay the men who are working in the streets all day long,” said Adjutant General Scurry. “I am unable to say to a single one of the men ‘You’ll be paid for your work.’ I have not the money to make good the promise. I hope and believe that the country will understand the situation. We must have this city cleaned up at any cost and with the greatest speed possible. If it is not done with all haste, and at the same time done well, there may be a pestilence, and if it once breaks out here it will not be Galveston alone that will suffer.

“Such things spread, and it is not only for the sake of this city, but for others outside that I urge that above all things we want money. The nation has been most kind in its response to the appeals of Galveston, but from what I hear, food and disinfectants sufficient for temporary purposes at least, are here or on the way. The country does not understand. It cannot understand, unless it could visit Galveston, the awful situation prevailing here.”