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

STEAMERS TORN FROM THEIR MOORINGS.

General Agent Denison was unable to give any definite information about the movements of steamers out of Galveston. There are now three here. The Alamo is aground on the north side of the channel, having been torn from her moorings at the wharf during the storm and swept to her present position.

Mr. Denison expressed the opinion that it might be possible that dredging would be necessary to relieve the steamer. The Comal arrived in port Monday and berthed at pier 26, but was unable to discharge much cargo. She moved down into the roads Wednesday afternoon, driven there because of the stench at the wharves and the impossibility of doing any business. The Sabine arrived this morning and also anchored in the roads to await an opportunity to discharge. The wharf is in bad shape for the handling of cargo, being wet and muddy and torn up in a good many places.

There was talk of urging Governor Sayers to call a special session of the Legislature to take action to relieve the situation at Galveston. This was done by Governor Culberson in 1897 in the case of El Paso, and is said to be sanctioned by the State Constitution. Representative Dudly G. Wooten, of Dallas, said:

“In regard to the necessity for a specially called session of the Legislature, it is difficult to speak intelligently unless we know all the conditions. So far as the immediate physical wants of the flood-stricken district are concerned, the liberal contributions of private charity will readily meet the emergency, as has been demonstrated by the generous manner in which the people every where, both in Texas and outside, have responded to the appeals for help. Food, money and all the necessaries to alleviate the present distresses of Galveston and the adjacent coast are already in sight and being rapidly utilized.

“But I think the most serious problem is the one of sanitation. It must be borne in mind that the results of this flood are such as to create a condition that will inevitably produce a pestilence unless it is dealt with promptly, intelligently and firmly. Not only Galveston Island, but all the towns on the mainland and all the coast for many miles have been subjected to an overflow that has left the country in a deplorable unsanitary condition. This is the season of the year when yellow fever, cholera and other epidemic diseases have usually originated and done their worst ravages. If a plague were to add its horrors to the fearful havoc of the winds and waves, then indeed would the coast be ruined, and the spread of the disease would speedily involve the whole State and the South generally, resulting in a paralysis of commerce and a state of terror and helplessness, the cost of which cannot be even approximated or imagined.