“They fully realize the vastness of their misfortune and the magnitude of their task to repair it, yet, amid all the wreck and havoc that the elements have wrought they say, with determination, that as soon as they bury their dead and provide for the immediate necessities of their living and destitute ones, they will set about to clear away the debris, and begin anew their lives of toil and energy on their storm-stricken island.
“They are inspired with the sentiment that Galveston must rally, must survive and must fulfill a glorious destiny, as the great entry port of the Southwest. As in the case of the great Johnstown disaster, in 1889, the whole American people have responded with alacrity to their cries for help, and with such aid to assist and such sympathy to inspire them, they will surely meet the success that their patriotic efforts so richly merit.
“A. H. Belo.”
STORY OF DEATH AND RUIN.
Reviewing the situation it may be said that again were heard the cries of those in the wilderness of devastation asking for succor, for again, as a score of times before, Galveston and surrounding coast towns are the scenes of death and desolation. Homes razed and washed away by the waters that have claimed their occupants as victims of death and horror, has more than once been the story from the shores of the Gulf.
History is now repeating itself, and the repetition has become frequent since 1860. While severe storms sweep the Atlantic coast between the mouth of the Savannah River and the Chesapeake, still the resultant damage is far less north of Savannah and the Cape Fear River. This is because the land is higher, serving as a barrier to the encroachments of the sea, while the further south one goes, it will be found, the land is lower, increasing the liability of becoming submerged by heavy inshore winds and tidal waves.
Florida, Louisiana and Texas coast cities are but a few feet above high tide register and therefore the more subject to overflow. To compute the total loss of life and property from the storms which from time to time have devastated the coast of the Gulf of Mexico it would be found the loss of human life would extend well into the thousands, while tens of millions of dollars have been laid waste.
STORMS THAT BROUGHT DESOLATION.
There have been many such storms before whose fury has been felt by the coast people. One of the worst storms was in September, 1860, which caused ruin and death from Rio Grande to Mobile, and when the waters had subsided the loss could be figured at $3,000,000.
Then in October of the same year, one month later, another storm swept down upon Galveston and Houston, and $5,000,000 had been wiped out. There were other storms of less violence, as, for instance, in June, 1891, when a southeast wind blew a hurricane for four days and the city was inundated and shipping was seriously crippled.