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'The
Galveston Tragedy"
Article from 'The Cosmopolitan' November, 1900 |
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THE GALVESTON TRAGEDY |
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and held possession until encroaching civilization made the pirate business
unhealthy and hazardous. ..... There are no cellars in Galveston. One cannot dig four feet without striking water, Toward the western extremity the island approaches within a few miles of the mainland. Here the city grappled the permanent shore with three low bridges constructed on piling. The water to the north of the island is Galveston Bay. To the south is the wide expanse of the Mexican Gulf. At the far eastern end, |
the
United States. The deep-water channel on which the government has expended
six and a half millions of dollars comes in on the bay side. The nearest
mainland to the city is the site of Texas City, eight miles northwest
across the bay. ..... Galveston covers the shifting sands from bay to gulf for four miles. The business district is on the bay side. The residences are on the gulf and along the central avenues. At this point the island is but e a trifle more than a mile wide. The streets run at right angles, those from bay |
 ON THE WAY TO GALVESTON |
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almost
overhanging the point where the waters of the gulf and bay mingle, is
the city. Why a city should thrive and develop on a low sandbar eight
miles from the nearest mainland, at the mercy of the tropic winds and
waves, may be puzzling, but Galveston stands as an example of man's
combat with nature.
..... Even before the government began the work which made Galveston an ocean port, the city was thriving. Last year it was the fourth wealthiest city, per capita, in |
to gulf being numbered, and from east to west alphabetically lettered. ..... The storm came over the bay from the north before daylight Saturday morning. At 4 A.M. there was a heavy rain and the, wind was blowing steadily about thirty miles an hour. When dawn came, the sky was overcast with surging clouds, and the velocity of the wind was increasing. The waters of the bay began to bank up at the wharves. At 10 A.M. the inundation from the bay began. Even then no |
