The record-union., 1897-04-29
A Wave Eight Feet High and a Mile
Wide Breaks Upon West Guthrie,
Wrecbing Hundreds Of Houses and Sacrificing
Scores Of Lives.
FIR Miles Farms Were Completely Ruined, BTldgcS and
Tracks Washed out, and Railway franc III
Every Direction PaTalYZed.

GUTHRIE 20. To, April 2S-For
miles tonight the Canadian Valley IS
drearv waste. and her people are over
cast with gloom. At sunrise TINS morn
ing a mighty wall from six TO elghl
feet high and mile wide broke upon
West Guthrie without warning, crush
ing houses, sweeping away property
and drowning people by the score
Every movable thing was swept before
the wave which passed into the valley
with relentless force, wreaking terrible
destruction to life and property where
ever it reached. Dozens of human
lives are known to have been sacrif1ced,
how many may not be known for
weeks: hundreds of houses We're wreck
ed in the twinkling of an eye; for miles
farms were completely ruined, bridges
and tracks were washed out and rail-
way traffic in every direction &c left
at standstill.
The most complete chaos has prevail
er all day. The efforts of rescuing
parties have in many cases proved in
vain. Many people floated down stream
fate is unknown; others will pass the
night in trees in midstream or perched
on house tops. 1t is impossible to esti-
mate the dead. The property loss is
placed at something near Sl,Oo0,OoO,
Fully two-thirds of the victims were
colored people.
Business has been suspended all day
in Guthrie, the stores and banks being
closed. AS thorough organization for
the relief as is possible has been made,
but all aid has been necessarily re-
tarded by the confused condition of
things 1t will be impossible to ex-
plore the houses until the water shall
subside, as many of them are sub
merged. AS darkness gathered over the
scene many overturned houses could be
seen far out in the flood, but it could
not be learned whether their occupants
escaped. The river is thirty feet above
its ordinary level.
A heavy rain begain falling this af-
ternoon. A threatening bank of clouds
came up from the northwest, and many
persons fled to their tornado cellars,
fearing another wind disaster was up
on them. Luckily. however, the dam
age was slight.
The flood is supposed to have been
caused by a cloudburst, supplemented
by heavy rains.
The Cottonwood River, ordinarily a
small stream that winds between steep
banks in West Guthrie, was bank full
from heavy rain yesterday and last
night, but no alarm had been felt, as
the river had been rising gradually
during the night. About O'Clock.
however, waters from a cloudburst
above had added to those already near
~ up to the level of the high bank and
the flood was sweeping through West
Guthrie a section populated mostly by
coIored people.
Persons who saw the first wall ~
water said that il was about eight
inches high. spreading entirely across
the valley. There was no water in front
of 1t, save that in the rivers channel
The first wave was followed by Others
In quick succession, until the whole
swelled into a bank of water from six
to eight feet high. Many had already
begun carrying their household goods
TO places Of safety, but few had made
more than one trip when they Were
forced to flee for their lives before a
raging. resistless torrent that no power
OF man could hope to see.
The main supply pipe of the water
works system burst where II crossed
the Cottonwood, in the southern part
OF the city, and all the water in the
reservoirs poured into the river
In the southwestern part of the cit,
long arm of land is formed by tn,
winding of the river. on this land LIVED
hundreas OF negroes. During the nigh
the bridge leading across the river I,
the main section had been swept away
The people were absorbed in watchins
the rising waters, when the flood from
the reservoirs came down in a solid wal
and cut across the arm of land near the