Cottel County World War 2 Casulaties

Dallas Morning News
Texas Sep. 17, 1919
San Antonio, Texas Sept. 16
Property losses amounting to more than $1,000,000. were sustained by residents and corporations of Aransas Pass, Harbor Island, Hogg Island and Port Aransas according to A. H. Hertwig, auditor of the Aransas Harbor and Terminal and Aransas Dock and Channel Company who reached San Antonio from Port Aransas today. The greatest losses reported by Mr. Hertwig in Aransas Pass were as follows:
The terminal railway from Aransas Pass to Corpus Christi was completely washed away. The railroad offices and station of the San Antonio, Uvalde & Gulf Railroad were completely demolished. Practically that entire portion of Aransas Pass lying on the bay side of the S. A. & A. P. tracks was washed away. One Hie (sic) was reported lost up to up to the time of Mr. Hertwig's departure, but the body had not been identified. It was that of an old man,
PORT ARANSAS SWEPT AWAY
Reports received in Aransas Pass early Monday morning: from Port Aransas indicated that the entire town swept away. The report came by boat from Port Aransas just as Mr. Hertwig was leaving. He did not learn how many lives were lost in Port Aransas, but it is believed the dead and missing will reach an appalling total, as only those people who took safety on the steamer Median which was anchored at the Port Aransas decks, had the slightest chance Mr. Hertwig said. The report was to the effect that the oil tanks, with the exception of those owned by the Magnolia Petroleum Company the shipyard of the France-Canada Company, the Aransas Compress Company work, the Harbor Island
docks and warehouses and the property of the Aransas Dock and Channel Company were completely and swept away. Hundreds of bales of cotton being loaded on the steamer Media were also swept away, according to this report.
Mr. Hertwig was the first person to reach San Antonio from the Aransas Pass section. Railroad connections between that point and Sinton have been completely destroyed. Mr. Hertwig made his way to Gregory by horseback Monday morning. he went from Gregory to Sinton by motor car and from there to San Antonio via the San Antonio, Uvalde & Gulf Railroad.
According to Mr. Hertwig the storm reached its height at 2 o'clock Monday morning, when the wind velocity was over 100 miles an hour. However, the water damage began Sunday morning and reached its height Sunday afternoon about 4 o'clock practically every business house in Aransas Pass suffered serious damage.
Hundreds of residence were completely washed away, but not until the owners had reached safety in the higher parts of town. Mr. Hertwig's own home was completely destroyed. Except for the one casualty mentioned, he said he knew of no more deaths, but on account of his early departure Monday morning he said that there may have been many others of which he did not hear.
The wind in that section was from the north Sunday morning; but during the night switched around to the south Mr. Hertwig reported a great deal of rain, so much so that the roads between Aransas Pass and Gregory were almost impassable.
NONE DEAD AT INGLESIDE
He expressed the opinion that residents of Hogg Island, together with all property were washed away; In Ingleside, on the road to Gregory, Mr. Hertwig: reported no loss of life, but said that the Ingleside station was washed away. The entire S.A. & A. P. tracks were either swept away or submerged.
At Ingleside, he said, a woman and baby were washed ashore and were picked up alive. They were from Hogg Island and had been adrift the entire night, clinging only to bits of timber of driftwood. He could not recall the woman's name. Mr. Hertwig said that property damage is reported all the way from Port Aransas to Beeville.
In Sinton Mr. Hertwig met a soldier of the Thirty-Seventh Infantry,. Company I, who had been stationed at Corpus Christi. He said he had been adrift all night with two other soldiers and an old lady and two girls. The old lady and one girl were saved but the other was drowned,
"It was the most terrible thing I've ever been through" Mr. Hertwig said. "The 1916 storm was nothing in comparison. I did not expect to get out of it alive"

Aransas County Democrats
Rockport, Texas, June 8-
Aransas County Democratic convention met yesterday afternoon and elected delegates to the State and various district conventions. Instructions were given as follows: Governor, Lanham; Comptroller, Love; Chief Justice, Garrett; Congress, Burgess; District Judge, Stevens; District Attorney, Martin; Representative, Timon.

[Source: The Houston Daily Post, Houston Texas, June 9, 1902 edition
Transcribed by: Melody Beery]