The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 24, 1901, Page 1

"VOLUME XC— ONDAY, JUNE 24, 1901. PRICE FIVE CENTS. HUNDREDS OF PERSONS PERISH IN FLOOD THAT SWEEPS VALLEY IN WEST VIRGINIA, DESTROYING A HALF-DOZEN MINING TOWNS WITH PROPERTY VALUED AT MILLIONS " AWFUL RECORD OF THE WEST VIRGINIA DISASTER IN LOSS OF LIFE AND PROPERTY. N APPALLING disaster, rivaling the Johnstown fiood, has visited the Elkhorn Valley in West Virginia. Precipitated by a cloudburst a torrent A of water swept down through a narrow vale between two mountain ranges, destroying in whole or in part the towns of Keystone, Vivian, Northfork, Fennis, Landgratf, Tazewell, Elkhorn and Welch. [n Keystone, a place of 2000 inhabitants, only one house was left standing. Consecrv- ative estimates place the number of deaths in the flood at 200, The damage to property will reach at least three millions, Almost the entire pop- ulation of the district has been made homeless. Miles of railway trackage has been washed away and the mines of the district are flooded. Those who cscaped death have fied up the mountains for safety and thousands are without sheltér. Owing to the destruction of railway commu- nication it is impossible to send immediate relief. Troops have been ordered out to protect property and State officials of West Virginia are moving to succor the destitute. Cloudburst Lets Loose Torrent in Narrow Vale Between Mountain Ranges. LUEFIELD, W. Va, june 23—This scection has just been visited by a floed, the extent of which, in all prob- ability. 1 equal or exceed that of Johnstowr in 188 so far as the loss of p is concerned, shortly after of rain d by a severe elec- 1uch increased in volume, yesterdayl roing downpour several hours The able cloudburst, con- our the entire day and iles of the Norfolk and West- 4 track, bridges and tele- entirely destroyed and s entirely cut off west of Elkhorn it is impossible to learn the f of the loss of life and prop ficials of the coal ocated in the stricken dis- trict have sent out messengers to Elk- horn, the terminus of both telegraphic and rzilroad communication, and have yeceived a report that on a conservative estimate the loss of life will easily reach 200. Some of the drowned are amorg the most prominent citizens of the coal ficids SCENE OF THE FLOOD. The Pocahontas coal field is located basin, with high mountain ranges on either side, Elkhorn creck flowing through the center of the basin, which ranges from one-fourth to one mile in width From Tennis, W. Va, to Vivian yards, 2 distance of ten miles, miners’ cabins, coal company commissaries and coke plants line the basin. The Elk- horn Creek, being fed by numerous e«mall streams coming from the moun- tain side, rises very rapidly. This waterspout, came so suddenly that the entire basin between the two mountain ranges was flooded and be- fore the terror-stricken people realized what was upon them they were carried down by the flood, which swept every- thing in its path. companie: the incipal in the Pocahonta coal Eeids and m;ated near its center, be purchased. At this place there twelve or fifteen saloons, all of were washed away. The repost comes that the mining population is o g now occupying the banks of the stream below, catching the merchandise and barrels of whisky and beer as they fioat down. N HEAVY PROPERTY LOSS. A great number of the coal and coke plants throughout the Pocahontas dis- trict are reported practically destroyed and are in some imstances entirely washed away. Owing to the very high water which has flooded the region and prevented communication, anything like a correct estimate of the loss of property is impossible, but from the best information cbtainable the loss to the property will easily reach $2,000,000. At Landgraff the beautiful home of General Manager OFd is reported gone, but his family is said to be safe. Passenger train No. 4 of the Norfolk and Western Railway reached Vivian about 8:30 o'clock this morning. met the flood and was unable to proceed farther. The waters reached such a depth that the coaches had to be aban- doned, the passengers being rescued by means of ropes strung from the win- dows of the coaches to the tops of re- maining coke ovens, some distance away. Between the Elkhorn and Vivian yards, a distance of ten miles, 100 cars are said to be washed from the tracks and many of them were carried down the stream. CUT OFF FROM RELIEF. A rough estimate places the number of bridges washed away between the Bluefield and Vivian .yards, a distance of twenty-eight miles, at from fifteen to twenty and from present indications it will be impossible to run trains through to Vivian and points west of there under a week or ten days. This will render it impossible to get relief into the stricken districts, and with those who escaped with their lives, homeless and without food, indescribable suffer- ing is inevitable. On the Clinch Valley branch of the Norfolk and Western Railway, between this city and Norton, communication is entirely severed west of Tazewell, Va. Reports come from that point of great loss of life and property throughout that entire section. In Shakerag, a negro settlement on the outskirts of Tazewell, the water stands to the depth of six to eight feet in the streets and houses. All of the occupants have been removed to points of safety by means of a boat. Three miles west of Tazewell. on the Higinbotham farm, the house of Paris Van Dyke, a farm hand, was swept away, carrying with it Mrs. Van Dyke and her four children. Two of the Van Dyke children, John, 17, and Charles, s, were drowned. Mrs. Van Dyke with the remaining two children were found at 9 o'clock this morning in a dying condition one mile from where their et home stood by Mr. Van Dyke, who was absent from home at the time of the cloudburst. While the rescuing party was searching for the Van Dyke family it found the body of a white woman, well clad, floating down Plum Creck. No one thus far has been able to identi- fy her, and it is supposed that the body had been washed down some distance. CHILDREN LOSE THEIR LIVES. A report comes from Wittens, a small station between Bluefield and Tazewell, that three children, Christian names un- known, belonging to Raleigh Brush, were drowned early yesterday. There is no telegraph station at Wittens, and it is impossible to ascertain particulars. The railroads and telegraph com- panies are working between 1000 and 1500 men day and night. Officials are on the ground hurrying the work of constructing lines and repairing the road, and hope to be able to communi- cate with both the storm-swept districts by noon on Monday. Nothing what- ever has been heard from the section of country between Vivian and Wilkinson, other than that the river is reported as being entirely over its banks and higher than ever before. The town of Welch, county seat of McDowell County, must have suffered seriously and, a number of the large lumber plants along the banks of Tug River no doubt are entirely washed away. FAMILIES RACE TO MOUNTAINS Hundreds of Wrecked Homes Mark the Flood’s Course in the Valley of the Elk- horn. BLUEFIELD, W. Va, June 23— Details of the great Pocahontas flood are hard to obtain, due to the inacces- sibility of the mining district where the fury and havoc of the angry waters caused appalling loss of life and prop- erty. At Keystone the water began t6 rise at 9 o'clock this morning and by 11 o’clock the flood had spent its fury and at least two-thirds of the little city had been washed away or demolished. It is known that sixteen residents of the north side of the stream lost their lives and at least fifty of those living on the south, or lower side, were drowned. At Burke, a suburb of Key- stone, a number are missing and eight are reported dead. It is now certain that the total list of the dead from one - o WHERE TWO HUNDRED PER- SONS PERISHED IN A RAG- ING FLOOD. * . o+ end of the Elkhorn Valley to the other will reach 200. A full list of the names of the victims cannot be ascertained at this time. Hun- dreds are missing, having taken to the mountains to escape the fury oi the flood. The dead so far as recovered and identified are: John Lewis and Martha Morgan, white; Sam Poindexter, Bet- tie Brown, John Ballard, Annie Smith, Laura McCoy, Nellie Smith, colored, all of Keystone; Ivan Solisky, white, and a colored family named Hairston, consisting of mother and four children. at Algoma. 'HUNDREDS ARE HOMELESS. At least 300 mine mules were drown- ed. But little damage was done to the mines proper, as the drifts were high up the mountain sides. Several mines, however, are reported flooded, but it is impossible to ascertain the extent of the damage. On the North Fork branch of the Norfolk and Western, which. is five and a half miles long, there was no loss of life, -1 f~r »= known, but hundreds were rendered homeless and to-night are camping in the mountains, The dam- age to property on this branch is very heavy. Only one of the-ten collieries located ‘on this branch escaped—the Ashland—it being located at the head of the stream. The McDowell Coal Company lost twelve residences. The Roanoke Company lost its boiler house and the 100-horsepower boilers: il el MO were swept four miles down the stream The Louisville Company’'s storehouse is a wreck and the stock of goods a total loss. At Rolfe a large number of miners’ houses were swept away, as well as the handsome residence of the company's physician Twenty-five houses are jammed together in one large mass of broken timbers and debris At the Gilliam Company's the power house and fourteen are demolished. colliery houses At Indian Ridge the country store was completely demol- ished and the stock lost. The resi- dence oi Captain C. P. Botsford, the manager, is wrecked. The North Fork track is nearly all washed away, with all the trestles gone except one. LOSS WILL EXCEED $2,000,000. In the Elkhorn Valley it is estimated the loss to the railroad and coal inter- ests will exceed $2,000000. Out of twelve miles of main line, double track, only one mile remains, and all the bridges are gone. Some of the bridges with the heaviest masonry and founda- tion resisted the force of the flood. The Cosion Company, one of the largest operators, lost a 1000-horsepower elec- tric plant, and many buildings and coke ovens. Its loss is said to be $50,000. The Houston Company is damaged from $20,000 to $25.000. ‘The Tierney interest, consisting of four col- lieries, loses heavily. Many miles of tracks leading to coke ovens and mines are gone. In some instances mine lo- comotives and cars have been swept for miles down the stream. Fifteen hundred laborers have been rushed to the scene to work on repairs, and it is expected that complete communicatiof will be established before noon to-mor- Tow, Late advices from the Clinch Valley division confirm the reported drowning of ten persons. . A family named Hook living near the river close to Pounding Mill station, on the Clinch Valley division, were all drowned, six perishing. A pathetic story is told of a Hun- garian family at Keystone. The father was at work in the mines, and when the alarm was given did not reach the drift mouth until the town was partly inundated. He made his wav to the cabin, where his wife and new-born babe were lying helpless. He ‘tried to rescite both and after a fierce battle with the waters, logs and - debris he reached a place of safety with them, only to discover, that both were dead. - Wéshing Out of Railwa);s Prevents the Sending of Relief to the Homeless Populace. LUEFIELD. W. Va. Tune 23.—Bodies of flood victims are being recovered many miles down the stream, whither they were washed ashore. When it is considered that the Elkhorn River is so small that it supplies barely enough water to flush the coke ovens when in its normal con- dition, some idea of the extent of the downpour of rain can be formed. The railroad company now estimates the damage to its tracks between this city and Vivian at more than a half million dollars. There is at least a hundred miles of track bordering Tug River that cannot be heard from. as there is no means of communication intact. The destruction of the railways ren- ders impossible the sending of immedi- ate relief to the homeless. and there will be great suffering before anything can e. . 1"e(‘(i)(;:municzmnn has been established as far west as Ennis, this being through about one-fourth of the stricken dis- trict & Latest reports say that the lower end of the coal fields between .Vivian and Gray suffered severely. Fully a million dollars’ damage has been done to coal and lumber interests. Three daughters of Coal Inspector - Dinsmore are reported drowned at Keystone. They were alone in their father's residence when the flood came, and all trace of them is lost. The Pocahontas Company - lost $30.000 worth of coke in cars and coke yards. At least 100 freight cars stand- ing on sidngs collapsed, rolled into the flood and were destroyed. Freight trains in transit were overtaken by the flood and some cars washed from the tracka. Relicf committees will Jeave here a¢ daybreak for the stricken region. TENTS TO HOUSE THE HOMELESS Company of West Virginia Militin Ordered to the Scene to Give Protection to Property. CHARLESTOWN, W. Va., June 24.—At midnight last night Secretary of State Dawson. In the absence of Governor White, who is at Parkersburg and cannot be reached on account of the telegraph wires being down, sent a message to Colonel John C. Hewitt, at Bramwell, to take full charge of the situation and to wire to the Governor the needs. The com- pany of Natlonal Guards at Bramwell was ordered out to assist in guarding property and more troops will be sent as soon as it is possible to get them there. A supply of tentage at Bramwell was ordered to be given out to the suffering, and as soon as a rellef train can be sent over the Norfolk & Western road more tents will be sent from Huntington and this city. If the road cannot be ready for use to-morrow noon a rellef train of wagons will be sent overland. DISASTER DUE" TO CLOUDBURST Flood Sweeps Away Norfolk and Western Railway Tracks That Are at a High Ele- vation. NEW YORK, June 2.—Henry Fink, president of the Norfolk and Western Rallway, was seen at his hotel to-night in reference to the West Virginia disas- ter. Mr. Fink was In receipt of a dis- patch from General Manager Johnson of the-system. Mr. Johnson's headquarters are In Roanoke, Va., from which place he telegraphed. He sal th-‘t the lo;. ;( :n': ry large and tha ::: ::&ou?:ldeatomb:t about 9)") persons hal perished. Mr, Fink sald: “The amount of money lost cannot at present be estimated. As to the loss of FLOOD VICTIMS : AT PITTSBURG Six Persons Meet Death by Drowning or Electric Shock During the ‘Storm in Alleghany County. PITTSBURG, June 23.—The storm which broke over Alleghany County on Satur- day afternoon carried with it deaths by drowning and deaths by electric shock. floods that caused much damage and wind that created terror and havoc. Every part of the county suffered. The killed: CHARLES BITTNER. farmer, Spring Gurden Borough, drowned in Spring Gar- den run. MOSIE MARCOS, drowned in = sewer. JAMES P. DUNN, aged 12 years, of Braddock, drowned In two feet of water at Rarnkin. CONRAD HART, aged 12 years, of Du Quesne, killed by a live wire In a viaduct of the Monongahela Traction Company, near his home. At Fast Pittsburg the Westinghouse plant, - which extends for nearly a mile parallel with the hill, was submerged again to-day with six feet of water on the lower floor, which left thres feet of mud when it receded. More than 400 strest car motors are apparently destroyed and the loss to Westinghouse, it is belleved, ‘will reach $500,000. @ it R O Nfe, the country it not very thickly sets tled around there and T cannot but bee lleve that it has been exaggerated. It IS in the coal reglons and the peopie are principally miners. The flood must have been due to a cloudburst. as a dispateh from Mr. Johnson states that the damage to our property is on the Blue Stone aud Norfolk branches. one of which is east and the other west of the Fiat Top Mouns tains." TAZEWELL, Va.. June 23.—The traine master of the Norfoik and Western Rafl- road walked the track between YVivian and North Fork, a distance of twelveg miles, to-day. He discovered thirty beds {es flcating In the cives. A g s Italian Iaborer,