The Great Galveston Disaster, Containing a Full and Thrilling Account of the Most Appalling Calamity of Modern Times Page: 226
xiv, 17-536 p. : front., plates ; 24 cm.View a full description of this book.
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226 DOOMED CITY TURNED TO CHAOS.
forced at the point of the bayonet and made to do their share of
the gruesome work. Up to Monday noon many of the dead were
identified, but after that identification was impossible because of
the swollen and decomposed condition of the bodies.
" Monday afternoon several hundred were loaded on barges
and carried far out into the Gulf, where they were thrown over to
become the food of sharks and fishes. Sunday and Monday morning
many were buried down the island in the shallow sand, but by
Tuesday morning these, as well as other bodies gathered along
the beach, were piled on wood and burned.
"There is still great danger to Galveston from sickness and
pestilence. The streets are filled with sediment from the Gulf
and bay, and this is beginning to smell almost as bad as the dead
bodies. Because of the immense heaps of wreckage it will be
impossible to flood the streets for weeks to come, even if there
were plenty of water."
BURYING THE VICTIMS IN TRENCHES.
Four days after the disaster the following account was an
accurate picture of the condition of Galveston: This evening the
committees in charge of clearing up-the city, caring for the destitute
and arranging for transportation feel much encouraged.
Something like order has been been brought out of chaos. There
is organized effort and the day's work has been big. It was impossible
to handle the dead bodies of human beings or the carcasses
of animals to get them to sea, because of putrefaction. Hundreds
were buried in trenches and many were cremated. It was necessary
to handle fire with great caution; as there is no water supply
as yet.
The city is not suffering much for drinking water, but water
is needed in the mains, that fire may be controlled. The water
has been flowing steadily from the Alta Loma supply pipe into
the tank. Unfortunately there was no connection from the rig
tank to the mains, except through the pumps, and it is impossible
to get the water through by that route. Alderman McMaster,
who has been directing the work to-day, is getting out the
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The Great Galveston Disaster, Containing a Full and Thrilling Account of the Most Appalling Calamity of Modern Times (Book)
This book covers the Galveston Hurricane of 1900, the United States' deadliest natural disaster. It includes accounts from survivors and eyewitnesses, and photos of the devastation.
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Lester, Paul. The Great Galveston Disaster, Containing a Full and Thrilling Account of the Most Appalling Calamity of Modern Times, book, 1900~; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth26719/m1/280/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.