Isaac's Storm - Erik Larson [117]
3 Barometric pressure had fallen: Daily Journal.
4 In Galveston harbor: Weems, 101.
5 The hull was built: Ibid., 102.
6 In the train station: First Baptist Church, 4.
7 Years later, scientists: Rappaport and Fernandez-Partagas, 9.
8 “Assuming that the reading”: Garriott, “West Indian,” 392.
9 The bureau later estimated: Monthly Weather Review, Sept. 1900, 424.
10 Each would generate: For an excellent discussion of wind force and effects, see Zebrowski, 248–51
11 Captain Storms: Mason, 160.
12 One man tied his shoes: Personal Accounts: Wolfram, 1.
13 A survivor identified: Personal Accounts: “Charlie,” 1–2.
14 One of the deadliest: Pielke and Pielke, 199.
15 In 1876 Henry Blanford: Monthly Weather Review, “What Is a Storm Wave?” Oct. 1901, 461.
16 In October: Garriott, “West Indian,” 391.
17 If a hurricane strikes: Henry et al., 19.
18 In effect, the storm’s trajectory: Cline, “Relation,” 208. Garriott, “West Indian,” 391; for a summary of the hurricane’s character and path, see 384–92.
19 The first shift: Cline, Tropical Cyclones, 246.
20 At 7:30 P.M., the wind: Cline, “Special Report,” 373. Cline, “Relation,” 207.
Avenue P½: The Wind and Dr. Young
1 About seven o’clock: Young, 2.
2 A single cubic yard: Cline, “Relation,” 203.
3 One man reported: First Baptist Church, 34.
4 “It turned partly”: Young, 3.
5 “The wind at 125:” Ibid.
6 “The drops of rain”: Ibid.
7 Venomous snakes: Henry et al., 19, 23. Here I make the assumption that phenomena common in later hurricanes were likely to have occurred in the Galveston hurricane. Henry et al. cite Hurricane Audrey, which struck the Louisiana coast in 1957. “It is thought that the majority of people who drowned sought safety by climbing into high trees and then fell into the rising flood waters after they were bitten by snakes also taking refuge in the trees” (19). Later, they state, “Snakes, which are strong swimmers, will be along roads, in the remains of buildings, in trees, and in other high and dry places” (23). A schooner, Viva, out of Corpus Christi, arrived in Galveston soon after the storm. A passenger, Leopold Morris, told a Galveston News reporter he saw large snakes swimming in the Gulf. “The snakes seemed to plead for a ride on the boat, and if ever I saw a serpent look kindly toward a human being those were the ones.” Galveston News, Sept. 16, 1900.
8 A rocket of timber: Cartwright, “Big Blow,” 114.
9 At the expensive Lucas Terrace: Mason, 126–27. For a compelling photograph of Lucas Terrace before and after the storm, see Weems, plates, between 84 and 85.
10 At another address: Mason, 157–58.
11 “The house rose”: Young, 3.
25th and Q: What Joseph Saw
1 “As the house capsized”: Cline, Joseph, 54.
2 “All the other occupants”: Ibid.
3 “I had hoped”: Ibid., 55.
The Beach: Ruby Credo
1 As soon as Ruby Credo’s: Tapp, 8–9.
2 “The water was rising”: Ibid., 9.
3 “When our house”: Mason, 111.
4 “We could lie back”: Tapp, 10.
25th and Q: What Isaac Did
1 When the trestle struck: Cline, Storms, 96.
The Beach: A Light in the Window
1 Her sister, Lois: Personal Accounts: Hopkins, “The Day,” 7.
2 The ten sisters: St. Mary’s. See also Cartwright, “Big Blow,” 115, and Mason, 148–51.
3 A few older children: St. Mary’s. There is some disagreement as to the name of one of the three survivors. Mason, at 151, identifies him as Francis Bulnavic. The St. Mary’s booklet says his name was Frank Madera. I chose Bulnavic arbitrarily. Where all accounts agree is that only three boys among the orphanage’s ninety-three children survived.
4 Later, a rescuer: St. Mary’s. Also, Ousley, 114–15. In another macabre sighting, a steward aboard the Mallory liner Alamo said, “One of the saddest sights I saw was the dead bodies of a Sister of Charity and three little boys lashed together floating in the water.” The New York Times, Sept. 23, 1900.
5 August Rollfing sat alone: For August’s story, see Rollfing, 3: 4–7.
25th and Q: Isaac’s Voyage
1 He was alone: Cline, Storms, 96.
2 “My heart suddenly”: Cline, Joseph, 55.
3 “We placed the children