Asheville daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1890-1900, 1891-07-21
TREMENDOUS DOWNPOUR
A PHENOMENAL. PRECIPITA-
TION OF WATER.
Win Scarcely a Cloud, the YapOrs
are Suddenly Condemned Into
Water and Dropped Upon the
City-OMly Slight Damage Done.

NatNT dhu DTOpPCu NpOH hhC
City-OnIy Slight Damage Done.
The rain, if il can be called rain, Of
yesterday afternoon, was something not
soon to be forgotten, for some of its fca-
lures were too remarkable to escape OBJ.
servation. 1t was not cloud burst, for
there were no clouds to burst. A few
hcccy, watery masses Of vapor lay in the
sky here and there, but they were too
thin to indicate volume or danger. They
hoatcd idly along before gentle south
cast breeze, and looked as innocent as
the fog which obscurcd the sky early in
the morning Suddenly, at about half
past five o'clock. the whole upper STRAIT
um of air seemed to have been condensed
into water, as if the proportions of the
hydrogen and nitrogen had been instan'
tancously changed, and what had been
air became water, and fell in ovcrwhem-
ing volume. There was little wind, there
was little electrical discharge; there may
be said to have been scarcely any cloud.
The upper sky seemed at once to have
changed its functions and became an over
hanging sea, unable to hold its contents.
The downpour continued for quite an
hour to the confusion and suspension of
all out door operations.
At town branch the water filled the
roadway to the upper edges of the fiat;
the drivers of half a dozen teams made
Intellectual efforts to get their vehicles
across. but the seething waters forbade
the passage and the occupants of the
carriages were compelled to wait until
the storm had passed.
The denizens of the upper end of the
Cripple Creek section behcld with dis
may the near approach of the effects OF
the phenomenal precipitation and as the
angry water like masses of twisting,
writhing. Kissing serpents curled to
their doorways, they fled in terror to
the ranches lower down the bottom;
the relief was but temporary, compara-
lively few minutes elapsed before the I'M
washed were stampeded, and their prog
rcss was continued to the high grounds
with evident signs of terror and distress.
The yards of the Carolina wood work
ing company were devastated. Wood
was lifted by the torrent and carried
down the stream in huge piles. A team,
ster surrounded by the water was COM
PEELED to swim his mules, and only Sue
ccedcd in gaining place of safety after
moments OF ceascless activity. The loss
was fortunately small, not exceeding SIS
or $40.
A carload of passengers, d weakened
bridge, and the surging deluge at point
on the track Just below the company's
shop, combined all the elements tor a
lively swimming party. The pcrilous
passage was safely made. however. The
washout in the roadbcd made it unsafe
for succeeding cars to pass over the linz
and passengers were transferred to the
station with the slight inconvenience o
minutes walk around the break. The
mass of surging, roaring water appeared
to be twenty feet deep at this latter
point.
The basement of the Glen Rock hotc
was submerged the entire ground foo
used for laundry and storage purpose
being two feet under water. The suddel
rush Of the water prevented the exit o
some of the inmates OF the house from
the lower rooms, and tables therein al
forded welcome resting places. The serv
ants quarters were flooded four and hal
feet and the yard was mass of floating
debris. Measurements made on the tree
in the rear OF the house showed the dept
of the water to have been eleven feet.
In Montford park, on the northern sid
of the city, considerable damages wa
. done. The dam to the lake, though no
washed away, was greatly injured, an
the new streets and avenues considerabl
washed. The damage there will prob;
bly, aggregate $3.50.