Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1897-05-06
DEAD AND MISSING
First Reports Of the Loss Of Life
at Guthrie Exaggerated.
Not Over Twenty Dead, Many of Those
Given Up for Lost Having Been
Found Alive and Rescued from
PeriIcus Situaticns.


forts towards the rescue of those un-
fortunates whose lives We're still en-
dangered and for the relief of the hun
| dreds of destitute and hungry. To-
| night it seems certainty that the loss
of life in Wednesdays deluge will not
exceed 30.
During the greater part of yesterday
| the roaring torrent of water cut off
communication with the submerged
| district and in the general excitement
| the death list was swelled to hundreds.
| The negroes who lived in the stricken
| portion of the town, had, in their ter
ror, given up their missing friends, or
| relatives as lost, and it was the general
| belief that scores had persisted in their
homes or in tornado cellars. But when
| daylight came this morning the flood
had subsidized and examinations to-day
of the houses and cellars failed to con-
| firm the reported heavy loss of life.
Daylight found dozens of people still
clinging to trees, overturned houses or
timbers in perilous positions which
they had sustained all during the
weary night. For miles along the
scene of devastation 1. 500 people home
less, half-i1 from exposure and hun
ger, passed a miserable night, and
morning found most of them too weak
to give much assistance either to them
| selves or others.
The scene in the f1ood-swept district
this morning was one of desolation.
The river fell rapidly during the night,
and when the sun rose the awful ex
tent of the damage done to property
could be..seen. The river was still bank
full, but the water had receded from
most of the inundated district.
There was a confused mass of debris
and overturned and demolished houses
scattered over the valley where last
night was sea of water. The banks
We're Uttered with the carcasses of
drowned horses, cattle, hogs and chick
ems. Whole blocks, where yesterday
stood home on nearly every lot, were
stripped bare; huge trees, torn up by
their roots, were scattered everywhere,
gulches had been washed out of the
streets, gardens We're devastated, fruit
trees leveled, lawns and flower beds
cleared off level as a table, and fences
completely down.
With the first ray of daylight the
work of rescue and relief was taken up
with a vim and kept up with a tireless
energy till nightfall made it impossible
to continue. During last night men
had been put to work in lumber yards
constructing boats and dawn to-day
witnessed a dozen craft darting out
from all directions to the rescue of the
unfortunate people. People who had
missing ones began searching every
where for their bodies, taking risks
that ordinarily they would not have
been able to have taken. Many of
those who had only lost property went
up and down the stream trying to re-
cover some of it-sOme parts of a house,
bed clothing or wearing apparel
The work of the raftsmen proved
most effective and one by one the peo-
pie were transported from their peril
GUS positions to places of safety on
land. All day long the rescuers
worked necessarily and every house,
drift pile and tree was closely exam
ined in search of the dead.
Excited negroes, who had climbed to
the roof house, held an all-day prayer
meeting and their shouting could be
all finally rescued. The family of
drowned, was found safe.
The only bodies found during the
day were those of Mrs. Fannie Ruffin
and five children, all lodged in a pile
of driftwood. These, with George
Owen, the butcher, drowned while
rescuing others; Frank Myers, Mrs.
Ella Dumas, Mrs. Francis Moore, Mrs.
Drummond, Mrs. DENIES and child,
and Mrs. Watson, are the only identi-
fed dead, though many are still miss
ing.
During the day systematic relief was
perfected and carried on. Ferries
piled the river, carrying provisions and
clothing everywhere, and returning
with any injured or urgent cases of
distress. Such were cared for in pri-
vate homes in Guthrie. By nightfall
ample arrangements had been made
for the immediate care of the home
less and there was an assurance of no
further suffering, at least, for the time
being. Five hundred homes had been
swept away, $50 houses were
wrecked and 90 stores devastated,
leaving 1000 people homeless and half
as many destitute and the work of sup
plying shelter and food for all these
was no mean undertaking. But the
Guthrieites were equal to the task, and
by night thousands of dollars had
been subscribed to aid the afflicted and
was being distributed with good eff
feet under the direction of the Guthrie
club.
The damage along the Cimarron
river east is very extensive and hum
dreds of farms have been devastated
along Deep Fork in Lincoln county.
Hundreds of men worked all day re-
building houses along the stream or
strengthening or tearing down dam
aged bridges, as the cases warranted.
The Santa Fe had 500 men working
on its tracks alone. Late this after
noon trains were running north, but it
will be several days yet before the
road is open south The approaches to
the new bridge across the Cimarron
river are crumbling away, and pas
senSers to-day were transferred by
boats. Between Guthrie and Sew
ard fully six miles of track are
gone. The Santa Fee road is refusing
shipment of live stock or perishable
freight Bad washouts have also been
experienced on the Choctaw railway,
seven miles west of Oklahoma City
1t is still impossible to accurately es-
innate the loss to property and crops.
A New Railway Freight Association.
WASHINGTON, April 3O.-The South
eastern Railway Freight assertion was
formally organized at a meeting here
d. i