Friday, September 12, 2008

Galveston shot or lynched looters after 1900 Hurricane

"Because of The Great Storm we have a great respect for the devastation a hurricane can bring," said Gina Spagnola, president of the Galveston Chamber of Commerce.
clipped from news.yahoo.com
A statue commemorating the storm that devastated the island city of Galveston, Texas in 1900. Residents there are warily following the progress of Hurricane Ike -- currently bearing down on the Texas Gulf coast -- mindful of the anniversary this month of a storm that devastated Galveston in 1900.(AFP/File/James Nielsen)


Galveston's history of barely surviving the "Great Storm" of 1900 makes residents inclined to prepare for the worst.


The 1900 hurricane produced a storm surge that submerged Galveston and killed 6,000 people.


News reports and letters written at the time told of bodies washing ashore and stacking up on the beach like driftwood, then attracting clouds of black flies. With food and water in short supply, vigilantes shot and lynched looters and those suspected of looting.

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