Читать книгу The Great Galveston Disaster - Paul Lester - Страница 101

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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.

There was another fearful visitation on September 17, 1875. A good part of the city was under water several feet deep. Vessels were wrecked and the City Hospital was filled with water and the Ocean House, on Gulf Beach, crumbled and fell and floated away in remnants. Thirty lives were lost. It was the hardest storm since 1867 up to that time. The storm raged for several days.

Indianola, one hundred and twenty miles southwest of Galveston, was almost totally destroyed. More than one hundred and fifty of its inhabitants were found dead in the ruins of their homes. Nearly all of its three thousand houses were unroofed or badly damaged, and $7,000,000 in money has gone to waste.

A hurricane on the lower Texas coast and in Mexico on August 20, 1880, carried destruction far and wide. As many as three hundred houses in Matamoras, Mexico, were demolished, even brick buildings offering no more resistance than so many toys. Brownsville, Texas, saw its houses unroofed and the infantry barracks were demolished, and twenty-eight army horses and several mules were killed. A convent did not escape damage, and several of the occupants were injured by falling debris.

The railroads, quarantine stations and the lighthouses were seriously damaged. Thirty lives were lost and property damaged was estimated at $1,000,000. This hurricane was followed by one of equal violence on the Mexican coast, which completely wiped out the town of Altata and the port of that name. Not one house was left standing and ships in the harbor suffered greatly.