Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-07-24
A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT.
The FIpOd-Gates of Heaven Turned
LOcse-A Water-SpOut in the Foot
Hills-TwO Girls Drowned.


Hflls-TwO Girls Drowned.
From the Denver (Col) News, July Is
Those who have ever witnessed a water
spout viii bear testimony to its appalling
nature. By some it is supposed to be
formed by whirlwind ofextreme intensity,
while others ascribe it to an electric origin.
1t occurs for the most part at sea, but some
times also on shore, and particularly in
rocky Businesses, though generally in the
neighborhoOd of water. One of these Curl
Gus phenomena occurred on the Central
stage route, in Golden Gate gulch, four
miles above the town of Golden, on Sunday
afternoon about O'Clock. People residing
In that vicinity report having seen, just
above the higher mountains, numerous
dense clouds from which conical pillar
resembling dense vapOr was seen to de-
scend, and almost simultaneously deafen-
ing peal of thunder was heard.
Mr.. Jack Virden, wife, and bis sister, and
Miss Blood, daughter of Lyman G. Blood,
all of whom resided some five or six miles
up the canon, had been to Golden, and were
returning home in a double carriage, and
had reached the point indicated above,
when the peal of thunder came and the
water spout dispersed. a moment before,
they had passed Fred Buckman, who had
pulled his team ON to an elevated spot OF
ground, and was sheltering himself under
ledge of rocks from the approaching storm.
Presently violent commOtion, with con-
fusion Of sounds, like the tumult OF the eie-
ments, was heard high up in the mountains.
Then came tremendous torrent Of water,
bearing trees and boulders, and calculated
to astonish and terrify by its
magnitude, force aid violence. The
horses, seeing that they were to be
sacrificed to this prodigious volume, took
fright, and shying to one side, upset the car
rage, and all occupants were pitched into
the bottom of the gulch. In an instant, as
it were, and before they could recover their
feet, the wave, with a perpendicular breast
of ten or twelve feet, was upon them, and
licked them up like the sands OF the gulch.
Mrs. Virden chung to her husband, and he,
by miraculous chance, got hold OF limb,
and held fast until the flood subsidized. The
poor giIls-Misses Blood and Virden, aged
respectively twelve and fourteen years
were less fortunate. They were carried
down, down, BY the mighty current, to an
appalling death. After the torrent had exc
hausted its fury, and search for the bodies
had been instituted, that of Miss Blood, mu-
tilated beyond recognition, was found buried
in the sand, all but one foot, about halfm1e
below where the accident occurred. Her skull
was completely denuded in places, and her
body was frightfully gashed. 1t is a singu-
lar fact that Lyman G. Blood, her father,
who had been down TO the valley and was
returning on horseback when the accident
took place, and had joined Buchanan in the
search for the bodies, was the first to dis
cover the corpse of the girl, though it is
still more singular that he did not recognize
her, for he supposed her to be at home.
The body Of Miss Virden was@ecovered
some three miles below the scene of the
disaster, where it had lodged against tree,
and was stripped of its clothing.
1t is a matter of history, and will be
readily recalled by many, that water spout
equally prodigious descended upon Guy hill
few years ago and flooded stage coach
containing Gems. Grant, Sherman and Sher-
idan, though they were far enough removed
to escape disaster.