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

SAYS MONEY IS MOST NEEDED.

“What do we need worst? Money. If we have money we can order just what we need and probably get better value than the people who are buying it. Many people have made the mistake of sending money to Houston and Dallas and asking committees there to buy for us. They do not know just what we need, and if we had the money we could do better for ourselves. Money should be sent to us.”

One of the most remarkable things attending the Galveston disaster is the fortitude of the people. Their loss in relatives, friends and property has been so overwhelming that it seems too much to be expressed with outward grief.

Two men who had not seen each other since the disaster met in the street. “How many did you lose?” they asked by common impulse.

“I lost all my property, but my wife and I came through all right.”

“I was not so fortunate. My wife and my little boy were both drowned.”

There was an expression of sympathy from the other, but nothing approaching a tear from either.

“They are making good progress cleaning up,” remarked the one whose losses were heaviest, with a pleasant smile. The other one makes light answer and they pass on.

The people of Galveston have seen so much death that they are temporarily hardened to it. The announcement of the loss of another friend means little to a man who has seen the dead bodies of neighbors and townspeople hauled to the wharf by the dray-load.

No services have been attempted for the dead. Neither has there been memorial services. The Rev. J. M. K. Kerwin, priest in charge of St. Mary’s Catholic Cathedral, said: “It was impossible. Priest and layman had to join in the work of cleaning the city of dead bodies. I don’t expect there will be memorial services for a month.”