The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-04-30
WIND AND WATER.
FEARFUL RAVAGES BY THESE
TWO ELEMENTS.

TWO ELEMENTS.
Guthrie and FL Reno, Oklahoma, Swept by
Tornado, Then Inundated From a
Cloudburst-A Wall of Water Rushes
Down the Valley From Hill to Hill
Sweeping Everything Before It-Many
Persons Drowned in Sight Of Wouid.be
Rescuers.
Guthrie, Oklahoma, April 2S.-For
miles tonight the Canadian valley is a
dreary waste. At sunrise this morn
Ing a mighty wall of water. from six
to eight feet high and a mile wide,
broke upon West Guthrie without
warning, crushing houses. sweeping
away property and drowning people by
the score. Every movable thing was
swept before the wave. which passed
on into the valley with resistless force,
wreaking terrible destruction to life
and property wherever 1t reached.
Dozens Of human lives are known to
have been sacrificed-hOw many may
not be ascertained for weeks. Hun
dreds Of houses were wrecked; for miles
were COInpleIely ruined, DTluSeS
and tracks were washed out and rail-
way traffic in every direction is at a
standstill The efforts Of rescuing par
ties have in many cases proved in vain.
Many people hoated down the stream
before they could be reached and their
fate is unknown. Others will pass the
night in trees in midstream or perched
On house tops. The property loss is
placed at something near $1,OOO,OOO.
Fully two-thirds of the victims were
colored people. Business has been sus
pended all day in Guthrie. AS thor
Ough an organization for relief as is
possible has been made. but all aid has
been necessarily retarded by the con-
fused condition of things. 1t will be
impossible to explore the houses until
the water subsidies. as many of them
are submerged. AS darkness gathered
many overturned houses could be seen
far out in the flood, but it could not be
learned whether their occupants es-
capped. The river is thirty feet above
it's ordinary level.
heavy rain began falling this after
noon. A threatening bank of clouds
came up from the northwest and many
persons fled to their tornado cellars,
fearing that another disaster was upon
them. Luckily, however. the damage
was slight.
The Cottonwood river, a small stream
that winds between steep banks in
West Guthrie was bank full from a
heavy rain yesterday and last night.
About o'clock. waters from cloud
burst above added to those already
nearly up to the level of the high
banks, and the flood was sweeping
through West Guthrie, a section popu-
lated mostly by 'cOlored people.
Persons who saw the first wall of wa
a i0h
feet high spreading entirely across the
valley There was no water in front OF
it save that in the rivers channel The
first wave was followed by others in
quick succession. until the whole set
tied into a bank of water from six tC
eight feet high. Many had alreay be-
gun carrying their household goods tC
places Of safety. but few had made
more than one trip when they were
forced to flee for their lives before g
raging, resistless torrent.
The main supply pipe Of the water
works system burst where it crossed
the Cottonwood, in the southern par
of the city and all the water in the
reservoirs poured into the river
In the southwestern part of the city
long arm of land is formed by the
winding of the river On this lanC
lived hundreds of negroes. During the
night the bridge leading across the
river to the main section was SWEEP
away. The people were absorbed ir
watching the rising waters this morn
ing when the floods from the reservoirs
came down in solid wall and cut acros:
the arm Of land near the main land
cutting off escape. The people flee
from their homes to the higher portion.
of the newly formed island. In half al
hour the mountain Of water had dOn'
its work and practically spent itself
ing of houses and the cries Of the un
fortunates. When the first shock wa.
over, the more fortunate on the islan(
began to help others. The houses
harms and other effects began to drift
dCfwn the stream. each freighted will
one or more human beings; boats O
rafts shot out here and there from tn
shore and desperate efforts were mad
to rescue the, people. Improvised raft
We're quickly thrown together ant
started out into the mad stream. Be
fore many Of them had been propelled
a couple of yards from shore, they wer
twisted and broken by the waters ant
the would-be rescuers thrown into tn
stream. Half q dozen reScuers .wer
drowned even before those they ha,
tried to save had been reached
Gus Platt, business manager of 'Th
Guthrie Leader, ane George Willis,
merchant tailor. swan the river ent
secured a boat by wSlich a number o
persons were saved.
A negro woman with a babe in hei
arms tried to Sd eady herself in a tre'
top, calling for help. sShe grew week
and the baby shipped into the waite,
and was drowned. She was finally res
= cued and said her family Of six hac
been lost.
a woman wading from her home witt
her baby on her head was seen to sc
under, and a man swimming the chan
mel to reach four women and a baby
in a tree was carried down stream
Two women and a child We're carried
away on a bridge further down stream
and one man and two women, in plain
sight of shore. were on q house roof
when it went to pieces. They all per-
iShed