Great heaps of wreckage piled high by the Galveston disaster.
In September, 1900, the city of Galveston was visited by one of the
greatest disasters known in American history. A fierce storm swept the
waters of the gulf over the island on which Galveston is situated,
destroying property aggregating many millions of dollars and causing the
loss of 6,000 lives out of the total population of 37,000. For a time it
seemed that the site of the city would have to be abandoned, for the
highest land on which buildings stood was but a few feet above the
highest waves. It was determined, however, to build a stone wall three
miles in length which should be massive enough to protect the city from