The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1897-04-14
THE RAGING SALUDA.
THRILLING DESCRIPTION
OF THE DROWNING OF
THREE MEN SIX MITES
FROM GREENVILLE.

River is within it's banks again, after
being on boom Monday night and
this morning, during which three
men were drowned and one mule and
two horses perished. Three more
men miraculously escaped death
after being considerably bruised. and
thousands of dollars worth of
bridges were swept away. The
dead are John Freeman, white, of
Pickens County Jackson Byrd,
colored, of Pickens County /; Babe
Gillespie, colored, of Greenville
County. The wounded are Claude
Hood, William Green and Mr..
McDade. all white. of Pelzer This
river has a decided reputation for
turbulence and violence, and many
drownings and hairbreadth escapes
are related of its former sprees. 1t
was fifteen feet above normal at mid
night before the last and was out of
it's banks hundreds of yards on both
sides, surging and sweeping by at a
terrific speed and frowning and
threatening with eddies everywhere
Rising as it does in the mountains,
the Saluda, above all other streams
hereabouts. is particularly violent
aftehr eavy rains The great incline
of its bed and the hilly character Of
its banks give it remarkable speed
and volume. 1t came within three
inches yesterday of smashing all
previous records.
The drowning scene was at the
Cox Bridge. within six miles of this
city. One Of the victims was john
Freeman, we'll to do Pickens farmer
aad a man of family. He perisbed
in the presence of about fifty persons
gathered on the Pickens and Green
vile banks. The bridge is large
covered wooden structure and its
floor is thirteen feet above the normal
height of the river The two abut-
ments are substantially constructed
of granite, filled 10 to the banks with
earth. The men who perished were
driving from Greenviile The water
was rushing over both earthen abut-
ments, about two feet on the Pickens
side. The water was about a
foot and half above the floor and
six inches more would have sent the
whole structure whirling down the
river.
The party crossed the bridge in
safety Jeff Davis, colored. in the
two.borse wagon with Mr. Freeman,
and Bryan was in a cart in front.
Bryan crossed the overhowed abut-
mept with ease, but as the wagon
reached the Pickens end of the
bridge, the mule, the left hand ami
NAL of the team, doubted the pro-
priety of going over the abutment
and backed. The lash was applied
and then the horse, which was on
the left, stepped into a hole about
eight inches deep. The mule SHE'D
and carried the horse with him few
feet down the embankment of the
abutment on his side which was
down stream The negro jumped
out and fed to the bank. Mr.. Free
man got out into water about waist
deep and went to his team and at
tempted to lead chem back on the
embankment. But the animals were
excited and, rearing up, struck Mr.
Freeman in the face aud sent him
under the water and down the
stream into water about ten feet
deep. The team was swept after
him. About fifty feet from the scene
of the first trouble Mr. Freeman
seized tree and grabbed his horses
bride again, and in the struggle
went under the second time. The
horse got away, and Mr.. Freeman
went under for the last time In
few minutes Jackson Byrd aud Babe
Gillespie were drowned in the same
way as Freeman, their teams going
off the bridge. Heroic efforts to
save them were futile.
The men wounded were hurt by
the falling Of the Peizer bridge. The
new $4,000 iron bridge over the
Saluda River at PeIzer was swept
from it's piers on Monday night The
bridge was to have been accepted by
the county supervisor on Saturday
The loss falls upon Contractor j. II.
Whitner, of Tennessee.
The three white men named above,
who were trying to save the bridge,
were swept overheard by the food of
water as the bridge went down and
narrowly escaped being crushed in
the wreckage The fall ofthe bridge
was due to the undermining of the
masonry pier on the anderson side.
within few hundred feet of the
main building of the Pelzer Cotton