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 PROJECT WAS APPROVED.

The plan also involved the extension of the jetty channel through Galveston Bay and up Buffalo Bayou as far as Houston, more than sixty miles distant, making the latter city an open seaport. Railways would have, by means of the filled-in land, ready access to the city, and, in addition, the port facilities of Galveston would be many times increased, and a continuous sea channel be constructed from the Gulf to Houston.

This project, as outlined by Colonel Robert, received the unqualified approval of the various interests concerned in the development of Galveston harbor, and steps had been taken to carry out the plan before the onslaught of the recent storm swept away water lines and much of the city itself. Colonel Robert now proposes an additional plan, simple and inexpensive, for affording the fullest and most complete measure of protection from all storms. This new plan is to construct a sea wall along the Gulf front of the city.

It is estimated that the height of the waves in the recent storm, which was the severest ever experienced on the Texas coast, was about ten to twelve feet. Colonel Robert suggests that a wall at least twelve feet above the beach, and running the entire length of the water front, or about ten miles, be built immediately to barricade the city from the Gulf. A height of twelve feet above the beach would give fourteen feet above the water, and would, Colonel Robert thinks, afford ample protection.