The Houston Post from Houston, Texas • Page 1

ggJL FOURTEEN PAGES TODAY I COMPARISON FT FJI'n $Tr (T MOSTOFTHEBEST It a proud boast i but Tha Poat "mad good" with It and haa, aa reault, booom tha HouaehoM' Paper. Hi, hv1 jJlK.voL:y3o. Ngm Houston, texas. Thursday, august price 5 cents 'pj -J, I 1 1. MOWWWIMWMaMI JtJJ, tJ b7Mf hlEh fM 1.1' i tiv' "iiA-Tk 'Vrp-'-'As 1 i fir t'iNil -t-W if 'sM fgr -r, ,.,,,,,,......1.,.

X'- t-tmh in Calreston Following the Storm WereTiken Tiiewiay by C. L. Bering of the'C Bering of Houston and Are the Firt Pictures of the Flood to Be Published eoeeee) GALVESTON DEATH LIST IS PLACED AT NINE lHHHnMNMMm(MMniHHIHMMHtMMMnHNIIIIHMMINHMMmHUHMHIMimMHMMMnNIINNI POST REPORTER FIRST TO REAGH CITY OVER DAMAGED CAUSEWAY 60 BELIEVED LOST WHEN DREDGEBOAT WAS SUNK Three Surviyors Battled Seas for Fourteen Hours in Tender. After Hard and Dangerous Journey, H. D.

Ross, in Company With Telegraph Operator, keached Goal-Found City Fast Recovering From Worst Storm in Its History. Number of Injured Is Also Found to Be Small After Visit to Hospitals. Property Damage Is Said to Be Heavy Official Version of Storm on Gulf Brought by Dr. Powell of Chamber of Commerce. First Mate, Engineer and Operator Came to Houston Wednesday Night and Said They Did Not Believe One Saved Houston Man in Crew.

placed in Galveston in a few moments. Most of them remained over night, but the reporter and lineman and a few other came out as soon as they could complete their business, arriving in Houston at midnight, after 38 hours in rain, wind and water. INTERURBAN CARS ARE HALF 8UBMERGED. The causeway Is badly damaged as the result of the storm. A barge Is lodged DEATH TOLL IN STORM DISTRICT PLACED AT 73 At 3 o'clock Thursday morning the Associated Press placed the death toll of the storm In all sections surrounding and including Galveston and Houston at TS.

This estimate Is believed to be at the point where the abutment of the "The seawall did its duty fully and Galveston was saved." These were the fist words of Dr. Vernon Powell, official representative of the Galveston Commercial association, and sent out with the first party leaving Galveston since the storm for the mainland. Only nine people were killed, including four soldiers at Fort Crockett, and the list of injured is small, it was found after a visit to the various hospitals of the Island City. The property damage is great, running into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, but the heaviest loss is confined to stocks of goods of merchants in the' business district by the Weathering the most terrific storm of the past century on the Mexican gulf, breaking the shock of the waters which threatened to deluge the whole city, warding off the attacks of the elements, the seawall saved the lives of thousands, kept the death roll of the city of Galveston very low and saved the larger portion of the city from complete destruction. The citizens of Galveston are calling for water, bread and meat.

The main city water supply was cut off with the breaking out of the causeway. Fires, most of them of unknown origin, added to the damage toll of the storm. The 'first person Into the stricken city reached the piers early Wednesday afternoon. There were some 16 In the party, and they had come by the causeway, taking a tug from the drawbridge. H.

D. Ross, a representative of The Post, and the first newspaper man to enter the city or leave wjth news of the disaster, was in the party. There was also a representative of the Southwestern and Telephone company, who had made the trip to see the dnmage to the company's toll, The party had come together to the piers from LaMarque, where they weathered the night In a leaky station, side by side. bridge formerly stood on the Virginia Point side of the bay'. From Virginia Point to the drawbridge, a distance of some mile and one-quarter, the structure Is leveled.

At the drawbridge two in-terurban cars of the Galveston-Houston line rest, half under, half above the water. Beyond the drawbridge for half a mile the spans of the structure are Intact. Then again for a distance of one mile or more the concrete gateway to the Island City smashed to small bits of blocks. In the city the property damage is far greater, according to partial estimates made by Mayor Lewis Fisher and business men, than in the 1900 storm. Chief of the property loss was that of nier-(Contlnued on Page Two.) WADED FIVE MIItS THROUGH THE WATER.

They had left he station 'Wednesday morning at daylight and started in the direction of the causeway terminal at Virginia Point. En route they had waded five miles of water varying in depth from the knees to the waist. At Virginia Point they been forced, after two of their number had almost lost their lives in early to wait for the tide to recede before risking themselves on the smashed and demolished causeway. Near noon a tug came within one mile of the party and they waded the causeway to the tug. They were then Between 66 and 60 members of the Sam.

Houston dredge crew, on a Houston Heights man, were reported drowned in' the channel, seven miles off of Texas City, early Tuesday morning by the three only known jsurvtvors who were brought to the editorial rooms ot The Post Wednesday night Swinging hand over hand, the trio followed a rope attached to a small tender a9 the dredge went to the bottom. The survivors are First Mate Ben Anderson, Hans Hermansen, dredge operator, and Claude Perpal, fireman, all of Galveston. The Houston Heights man believed lost is William Schultz, chief engineer. The dredge sank in less than five minutes, they stated, and they account tor the loss of the rest of the crew in the fact that all were working to keep the bulkhead closed as the dredge listed to port and perished before they realized their danger. After the-dredge sank they cut the rope, but were unable to start the engine in the tender, and, drifting for more than 14 hours, were finally washed ashore at Cedar Bayou.

They made their escape in the height of the storm and exhibited cuts and lacerations, sore eyes and bruises as the result of the severe laghing of the sea. 1 Mr. Anderson stated that the, big tender left them anchored in the channel early Monday morning and started for Texas City for oil and supplies. Why she did not return in time to tow them to shore they could not explain. Theys fully expected her early return, they said.

The sea was heavy shortly after forenoon and continued to roll higher and jL. higher until midnight Monday, when the bulkheads began to give way. All hands were rushed to close them and were busy only a few minutes when a spud casing in the stern exploded. Attention was directed to repairing this and closing the bulkheads, but the water rushed in in such enormous quantities they were unable-to it and the dredge began to list sgore'drSwn life saving station razed Galveston Advises the World of Adequacy of Its Seawall and Glories in Her Strength i water rising in their stores. None of the large buildings in the business district were seriously damaged wind or water, and the structures which were demolished wire frame buildings of more or less flimsy construction in the section of the city nearest the beach.

The Galvez hotel situated upon the beach facing the gulf was damaged only to the extent of a few broken window panes and water in the basement. Every one in the hotel is safe. Shipping in the" harbor suffered slight damage. Many small fishing and pleasure craft were blown aground and in some instances destroyed, but the ocean vessels in port fared well. The United States transports which were tied up At wharves have been offered by the army authorities to the city of Galveston to bring milk and other special supplies from the mainland.

The water system was damaged, the pumping station at Alta Loma having been injured. There is enough water in the small reservoir at Galveston to last a week, by careful economy. 1 Telegraph, telephone and street car service is still demoralizedyotherwlse -normal conditions are returning to the city the water is" all out of the streets and off the island and the people have set to work clearing away the At the mass meeting of citizens this morning the following telegram was prepared for transmission to the Associated Press and leading newspapers of the country: Galveston has successfully passed through a West India hurricane that blew continuously for 18 hours. The government weather gauge registered the maximum vlocity'of the wind at 90 miles per hour. The city.

due to the adamantine resistance of the seawall, has. ustained comparatively small lofs in destruction of I property, and but six deaths have been thus far reported. The great granite gtructure erected after the calamity of 1900, grimly met and conquered the raging seas of' the gulf and hurled them back defiantly when they came. Our citizenship is bouyantly cheerful be-t cause of the demonstrated impregnability of heir protective works in this, the supermost test of their 'i. 'V 'v I M' 1 1 In mass meeting today assembled, Galveston's citlienghlp aend greetings to the world, assure friends 'Pi a j.

,1 1 1 ,1 i I Information iwaa received in Houston body haa not been recovered. Tho 12- Wednesday that the life aaving atatlon Captain andjBdj. weanoaa i Ste nhart la reported to rtave. pertahed with the others. The namea of the oth- I northeaet of Freeport, was entirely demolished.

Captain John P. Steinhart and Pollet Shannon, the helper, were the rubbish and "setting their house in again. and admirera everywhere of this sincere pledge to strive diligently and heartily to attain that superior suc- Vt.t.'lt wl.titni nmrnlua tn tha com mil only aurvivora. Mrs. oioinnan, nsmoera ui the crew and some vlHltora, one family by em who periahed could not be learned, but there la no doubt of a heavy toll In life by the destruction of the Ufa aaving station.

This station was located near the mouth of the Braaoa rWer more than a quarter of a century ato, and has been In charge of Captain BMnhart practically all of these years. An appropriation waa made recently to chalice the location of tha Ufa saving station, but work In making: change had nor begun. The lighthouse nation is practically undamaged. 1IULU UlftU. a VMa.p Lewis Fisher, Mayor.

Morr la Stern, President Commerciarassoclatlon, I. Bard, President Labor Council, I. H. Kemprwr, Presldent.Cotton exchange, W. P.

Hammersmith, Vice President Merchant's Ass'n. S. Saitcovlch. Vice President Maritime association. Q.

JBriggs, Editor. The Galveston Newt. the name of Florea, numoenna in ui. are reported lost, and rescuing parties at work trying to reiover the bodies. The Information further la that Captain The official version of the storm, was brought to Houston oy ur, roweu, who oame from Galveston to Texas City on the Galvei, an excursion boat well known in Houston, about 300 people, Including Galvestonlans and upstate visitors, being on board and from Texas Dr.

Powell and a few others caught the first automobile to Houston, the car being a Ford driven by' Bam B. Herbert of Houston, Powell being the first man from Galveston to Btelnhart made a hereto effort to aave his wife and naa ner ciuicnea in me arme ana hold In to a poat when a jlgantia av iwejft her from his arm and her i :3.