Police Officer W. H. Plummer is the happy possesser of a four-oared boat which he has christened “Cyclone Rescue,” in honor of its work in the storm. The boat is constructed on the pattern of what is known as an Eastern pod, such as is used by the lobster fishermen of Maine. The boat was built to withstand the rough seas, and was so constructed with two air-tight compartments as to be used as a lifeboat. This boat, with lashed oars, was kept by Officer Plummer in his yard, corner of Seventh and Church streets, one of the first districts to suffer from the invasion of the destructive Gulf on the fatal day of the storm.
GRAND WORK OF RESCUE.
When Captain Plummer went home to dinner on that day the Gulf was rising very rapidly and the storm gave indications of greater severity. Having spent many years at sea, Captain Plummer called his two sons, who are sailors, and the three men launched the boat and started rescuing families in the neighborhood, taking them to St. Mary’s Infirmary. From noon until late that night the good boat and its faithful crew braved the terrific storm and are credited with having saved two hundred lives. On the last trip that night, with Captain Plummer almost helpless from exhaustion and his sons fast succumbing to the terrible battle of the day, the boat suffered a slight mishap. She was struck by a piece of wreckage driven with great force into her side. But the boat held the water and landed her crew safely at the Infirmary.
Once, during the height of the storm, the boat, with seven on board, was capsized, but the experienced seamen soon had her righted and bailed, and all on board were saved. Captain Plummer lost his home and everything but the scant clothes on his back, but he says he wouldn’t part with the “Cyclone Rescue” for its weight in gold.
Some who were out in the water from the time the houses first began to go down drifted but a few hundred feet, while others were carried miles by the water. So it was with Miss Anna Delz, a 16–year old girl, who lived out in the west end near the beach. She drifted a distance of over eighteen miles, landing not far from Texas City. She passed the bay bridge and hung for some time on one of the piling, then catching a piece of driftwood, continued her perilous journey, landing not far from her aunt’s house on the mainland.
STORY OF A PERILOUS TRIP.
She tells the story of her trip on the crest of the waves as follows:
“It was about 2 o’clock in the afternoon when I first realized that the storm was increasing. Together with a girl-friend who was in the house, I packed my mother’s trunk and carried all of the household goods that I could and piled them in the second story to keep them from being washed away by the water, which was rapidly rising. During this time the wind had been increasing in velocity all of the time.
“At about 4 o’clock my mother and sister, who is 13 years of age, were taken to a place of refuge by a friend. A girl friend and myself were left, thinking that we would be safe, but it was not over an hour after that when the house went down. It went with a crash, and myself, together with the others in the house, were thrown out into the furious waters. I caught onto a tree and stayed there for a little while, but was dashed off and sank under the water several times. While hanging on to the tree a roof came along, on which there were about twenty people, mostly women and children. I got on with them and stayed there for some time, seeing my companions in distress being washed off one by one, until at last there were only a young girl and myself left. Soon she went, and I was left alone to battle with the waves. Soon I caught a piece of driftwood and I think I floated out into the Gulf. Then the wind changed and I began going the other way. I was tossed out into the bay at last, having passed during this time many people floating on drift of all kinds, and people struggling in the water trying to save themselves.
“I drifted thus for a long time, coming after a while to where the railroad bridges crossed the bay. I caught hold of one of the piling and stayed there for a time trying to rest. During the night my clothes had been entirely torn from my body and I was in a horrible plight. After having stayed there a little longer, I caught a piece of drift and turned loose and drifted with the tide. At last I drifted to a pile of lumber, and finding that the water was not deep there, I fell on top of the lumber. I was so exhausted by the terrible ride that I had taken that I immediately went to sleep.