“I looked back and could see nothing of the boat that I had just abandoned. I have been informed that she went ashore about a mile and a half west of Texas City. If the other ten poor souls were saved, I have not heard of them.
“Do you know there is something thrilling and exciting about being shipwrecked when you are near the shores. I presume a man feels the same that a parachute man does when he gets near the ground in his downward flight. If his parachute works all right he is safe. With a sailor he must first adjust his life preserver and try to avoid the rocks and trees.”
Mr. E. W. Dorris, of Houston, was one of the relief party that helped to bury the dead as they washed ashore from Galveston. At daybreak he was unable to secure a boat of any kind to cross, but he and two others constructed a raft of some loose planks and started across the bay, reaching the draw of the Galveston, Houston and Henderson bridge. They were unable to go any further or cross the channel, the party being entirely exhausted, and after signaling distress for more than an hour, the tramp ship grounded at the wagon road bridge, in the middle of the bay, finally sent a lifeboat to the rescue of the party, taking them ashore to the Galveston side. Mr. Dorris states that the party saw no less than 600 dead bodies between the bridge and the Santa Fe depot.
GLARED AT THE THRONG.
He stood on the corner of Main and Congress streets in a half dazed condition. He glared at the great throng that was passing, some on business bent while others were seeking the latest news and hunting their relatives. He did not observe that he was being watched, nor would he have cared, for the expression upon his face showed him to be a man of great determination to be brave under the greatest misfortune of his life. You could trace in his every action a man in great sorrow.
But he had to show his emotion and give vent to his feelings, which so long he tried to smother; mechanically he raised his hand and covered his face in order to hide his grief. As he took his hands down he wiped both eyes, which had been flowing with tears. At this juncture he was approached by a citizen who, in kind tones, asked him of his solicitations and grief.
He said: “I am trying to be strong both in mind and body, but I cannot suppress my feelings in this public thoroughfare. Yes sir, I am suffering, mourning for the dead; my wife and sweet baby are among those who have gone to the great beyond.”
“How did it occur and bow did you escape?”
“Six weeks ago I kissed her (my wife) and my darling baby good-bye and took the first train for an interior town, where I had secured employment. By correspondence it was arranged between us that she was to come to me on Monday. The storm occurred Saturday night and she and the baby were drowned.
“Were the corpses found?” was asked.