Lindsey Graham

These men found one of the few boats still intact and set out across the bay to begin a 50-mile trek to Houston.

Upon reaching the mainland, they made their way across the flooded plains to the town of Lamarck.

There they found a rail handcar which they used to crank their way 15 miles north to League City.

It was there that they encountered an oncoming train from Houston and climbed aboard.

Despite their warning that Galveston was inaccessible, the conductor refused to turn around, so the messengers were forced to retrace their steps south.

It was only when the tracks gave out, as the men said would happen, that the first train turned back to Houston.

While these messengers traveled north that afternoon, Galveston's Mayor Walter C. Jones, a former police chief who was popular among the city's working class, called a meeting at the Tremont Hotel to organize relief.

The citizens that gathered there formed what they called the Central Relief Committee, led by the mayor and eight chairmen.

To better coordinate relief efforts, they created subcommittees to oversee public safety, hospitals, burials, water, finance, transportation, and correspondence.

And they divided Galveston into 12 wards, each with an elected chairman who would manage teams of men tasked with collecting bodies and debris, digging drainage ditches, and disinfecting the streets.

These were volunteer teams, but there was a warning that any able-bodied men who refused to work would not be fed.

And because the first priority was obtaining fresh water, the committee immediately set about recruiting 100 men to begin work on restoring the water system.

While this was happening, at 3 a.m.

on Monday, September 10th, the six messengers sent to Houston finally managed to place phone calls to the Texas governor and U.S.

President William McKinley, who pledged to provide Army supplies.

Thankfully, the people of Houston had already anticipated the need for relief, and at 4 o'clock on Monday morning, 250 volunteers set out with a rail car of provisions, followed by a steamer loaded with additional supplies and 100,000 gallons of fresh water.

However, they were forced to travel the last few miles to the edge of Galveston Bay on foot, hauling goods to the shore.

From there, a small party rode across the bay, reaching Galveston at 1 o'clock that afternoon.

Over the next few days, rescuers from the mainland continued to arrive on the island in shifts, some to help deliver aid, others to search for lost loved ones.

But every one of these rescuers was shocked by what they found.