The Great Galveston Disaster, Containing a Full and Thrilling Account of the Most Appalling Calamity of Modern Times Page: 447
xiv, 17-536 p. : front., plates ; 24 cm.View a full description of this book.
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GALVESTON STORM STORIES. 447
"Did you ever feel the thrilling experience of being on a
ship as she was just in the act of sinking ? " said a sunburnt sailor
to a citizen. He was one of the survivors of the ill-fated dredge
boat which sank near Texas City.
"The night of the terrible hurricane at Galveston," he continued,
"it was predicted by several of us on board the dredge
boat that a destructive storm was approaching, and it was deemed
best to put out all anchors. We had no more than done so when
the wind veered to the southeast. We had not put out all of the
anchors any too soon, for of all the high winds and waves, those
that lashed our boat were the worst I have ever seen.
" I have been in many a shipwreck, and realized that it was
only a short time before I would be in another world, for I felt
the boat dragging her anchors and drifting inland at a terrific
speed. We were then some eight or ten miles from shore.
BOAT PASSING OVER TREE TOPS.
"It seemed to me only fifteen or twenty minutes before the
fury of the storm struck us. I saw our boat passing over tree
tops. I knew we were then approaching the bay shore, and possessing
that knowledge as to when to leave a sinking ship, I procured
some fifteen life preservers and gave one each to the crew,
and told each man how to put them on and to follow me to the
upper deck, and be ready to dive off when I gave the word.
"They were all frightened nearly to death, and only two
succeeded in getting their life preservers on and reaching the top
deck with me. When the fearful moment came for man to battle
with the winds and water, I gave command to jump. In an
instant three of us made a plunge into an immense breaker, which
carried us high into the air.
" 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 pre-
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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/m1/505/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.