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

THE OLD FAMILY BIBLE.

“As time passes and we begin to realize that all is gone, there is a desire to find something, even if it is of no value, when the wreckage is cleared away. My wife expressed the wish that the family Bible might be found, be it ever so dirty and torn. It contained records that could be nowhere else secured, and if a new one is purchased and the records again written, it must be entirely from memory.

“But though we lost all, we were among those families where no life was sacrificed in the storm, and in that respect were more fortunate than some of our neighbors and many of our friends. The number of broken families in Galveston seems innumerable. As one walks the streets he meets friends of whom he had never thought, and the first greeting is ‘Did you save all your family?’ An affirmative answer brings out the remark, ‘You are lucky; many have lost not only all their worldly goods but their families.’”

“In many instances the reply is that your friend has saved his family but has lost his other relatives. It seems that there is scarcely an individual in the city who has not lost some relative. Where the loss is not positive it is believed to have occurred, because no news of the supposed dead ones has been received.

“Tales of rescues and narrow escapes continue to come to light, but to record them all would require the work of hours in writing up and fill the paper full to the brim with this class of matter alone.

“The stores and groceries are again getting down to business, but they are badly handicapped by damaged stock, more especially the dry goods and clothing stores. A complete overhauling of these establishments has been necessary and the separation and sorting out and drying of damaged goods is not yet complete. Those which have fully opened for business are crowded with customers, and in some instances it is still necessary to keep the crowds out, letting in only a few customers at a time.