Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1885-06-03
FLED FROM A FLOOD.
Two Thousand Inhabitants OF q
Suburb Of Waco, Texas,
Driven from Home.
Eleven Persons Known to Have Been
Drowned and Five Others Still
UMaccOunted For.
Waco (Tex.) special.1

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The violence Of the late storms here are
overshadowed by the rain and tornado OF
last night The rainfall did not cease until
this morning. All streams in and close to
the suburbs Of the city. the banks of which
were dotted with hundreds OF residences,
over6owed and transformed their surround
ings into vast sea. The scenes Of terror
and confusion were heartrending. People
fed for their lives from their homes in the
midst OF the raging storm.
Thomas DenninghofE, hia wife. and three
small children, remained In their house,
which was washed away, and all were
drowned.
Howard Lewis, his wife, his sister, and
three small children lost their lives in q
similar manner.
Eleven persons are known to have per-
ished and Ave others are unaccounted for,
and reported to be drowned.
The damage to property by the tornado
was immense.
The total damage in the city is estimated
at $50, 900. The Brazos River rose two feet
above high water mark. The finest cotton
plantations in Texas are located along it's
banks. and we're submerged. The losses
in McLennon County will aggregate fully .
quarter of million dollars. The grain
crop is destroyed--beaten to the earth by
the wind and terrific rain
East Waco has been inundated since
Sunday, and the scenes there last night
and to-day were indescribable. Seeing
that the waters Of the Brazos River threat
ened them with watery graves. the popula-
tion--about two thousand persons--fled
from their homes in the midst Of the storm.
aided in escaping by the light of the vivid
lightning and hundreds of lanterns. No
lives are reported lost in that portion Of
the city.
Relief measures have been organized for
the suffering hundreds that are destitute
and homeless.
There were no trains on any of the roads
to-day. Scores of bridges we're swept
away and the road beds badly damaged BY
washouts. The highest point reached by
the Brazos River was thirty-two inches
above the hlgh-water mark of the great
overflow Of last year. The approaches to the
suspension bridge on the east side Of the
river were demolished The estimates of
the damage to property in and about Waco,
do not include the damage to crops and
farm property, which cannot now be esti-
mated, but good judges place the damage to
the growing crops at $500, 900. The storm
was so terrific for three hours that it may
be properly called a tornado, accompanied
by rain. Rain fell in binding sheets, and
was blown against the large buildings, pro-
ducing sound like the distant roar of
Niagara. Everybody in the city was up all
night. Many colored people thought o
second deluge was upon them, and pre-
pared themselves to go by vigorously pray
ing.
At Iredell and Morgan, in Bosque
County, number of residences were
wrecked, but no fatalities are reported
Advices from Austin report that the
Colorado River has overfown immense
tracts of bottom lands planted in cotton
and corn. The damage to these crops will
be immense. Six small bridges on the In
ternational and Great Northern Railroad
were swept away. All railroad embank-
ments for nearly hundred miles have
been badly washed, rendering travel dam
gerous.
Weatherford, Midlothian, Dublin, Mar
lin, and other points in the State report an
immense rainfall, accompanied by heavy
wind, vivid lightning, and deafening thun-
der. All tell the same story of swollen
streams, submerged farms and fields, and
general havoc to the growing grain. Farmers
are greatly detected over the outlook. The
rains cover very large wheat area. Crops
were doing finely before the rains, but the
rust will now certainly set in on the wheat,
and the weeds will grow SO rapidly that the
yield of wheat will be reduced one-half.