The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1897-05-06
An AWFUL CALAMITY.
A GREAT BANK OF WATER RUsHEs
WITHOUT WARNING UPON
GUTHRIE OKLA.
PROBABLY FIFTY LIVES LOST
In GUTHRIE ALONE-MEAGRE DE-
TAILS OF DESTRUCTION COME
FROM OTHER PLACES.
THE DISASTER GAME At SUNRISE
The Huge Wave Covered Mile
Wide Valley with Eight Feet of
Water-PeOple Took Refuge In
Trees, and Many Were Res
cued ut Great Peril.

Guthrie, o. r., April 2S.--For miles to-
night the Canadian valley is dreary
waste and people are overcast WIN
gloom. At sunrise today mighty wall
of water from six to eight feet high ana
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 known for weeks; hundreds of houses
were wrecked, farms were completely
ruined bridges and tracks were washed
out and railway traffic in every direc-
ten is at a standstill. The most com
pIete chaos has prevailed all day. The
efforts of rescuing parties nave IN many
cases proven In vain. Many people
foated down stream before. they could
be reached and their fate Is unknown,
Others were drowned in midstream or
perished In housetops. II is impossible
10 estimate the dead. The property loss
is placed at near million dollars. 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 an organization OF
relief as is possible has been made, but
all aid has been necessarily retarded by
the confused condition Of things. 1t Will
be impossible to explore the houses until
the water shall subside, as many OF
them are submerged. AS darkness
gathered over the scene, many over
turned homes could be seen far in the
flood, but il could not be learned whether
their occupants escaped. The river is
thirty feet above its usual level.
Rain began falling this afternoon. 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 flood Is supposed to have been
caused by cloudburst supplemented by
heavy rains.
The Cottonwood river, ordinarily
small stream that winds between steep
banks in west Guthrie, was bankfull
from heavy rain yesterday and last
night, but no alarm has been felt, as
the river had been rising gradually dur
, nnou ~" otnsa frnn, cIondhurst above
had added to those already nearly up to
the level of the high banks, and the flood
was sweeping through west Guthrie, a
section populated mostly by colored pco-
pie. Persons who saw the first wall of
water said that il was about eighteen
feet high, spreading entirely across the
valley. There was no water in front of
na saw 'na' ~ ~" so,inra5 hn nthors in
MS ""o m"s ,'y,,;, ,ha y,hoio satt,ad
Iuieh su..Ies9 ~ nten snon, nv 20 aaht
, saot o"A an m" hod ''o oireoJv hoenn
aors ,ho;r horsaho,d Gods 70 nIocoa
~ s..fnt,, h,,t fau, had made mora than
VI ea.Is, Iu. NV nav 49, n" enran1 - 't ,,aa
ff GOV Nh. i;nos haroro roo;na ros;stinss
t ,or tbnt no rav,or IS nean ,o,,lJ stoH
M w 10 ~ 49,, af ,h" rator
, ne n ,s,on o'p hy ~ph oro !, crossod Tho
G TU,nS ~ sa i, tho s"nthorn nart OF tbe
c;tv nr m1 "i, Tho wotor IN Tho pc" reservo irs
n nny, an" NJ a' ,ho No. ~ 'A ''''
pyu,e ~ n so,, th e y, -, os tho o;tr
lora n nm 81 land 10 fnrmod NV Tho wind'
lug vi she river. oh ,n,s "nn IVY
u Nv. ;n oi neHroes. puriag inc nlsnt
~. nv Dri;use itauhs ae h sne river "
NJ n ,.,,, oeSuWn n'iu III ?;m'p. amns.
Inc Nopie Were hpsoroeu III watchihg
ane i,e ms "u ~ o nv, n,ns WIEN 'ue
oo;d wai, ' nnd svt onros va ne uown ~
u s9'u Mau anu tut u9ross tne urn Oh
,anu henr .ne n,uln'"nT cutting Oh .he
P oypm -, t'V Sbi; ehp rt lily Vu rom
homes 10 the higher portions OF the new
w,Urmtu isanu. III nan an hour tne
an na VI Ma.er nuu 9ong ns WORK
anu prhs.lealy spent itseii' me AR De-
Same Mucous Win the crashing OF
HOUSES e anu Tue cries Ior neip OF the un-
d?r.uhates, When the hrst shock OF the
Ilsaster was over the more fortunate on
the islanu lmmedlateiy began TO help
,nose nearest tnem, while across IN
nutnre proinpt steps were peihg taken
w carry ON tne WORK OF rescue. The
1ouses, oarns ana other eHects began to
uriit uoWn stream, each freighted with
one or more human beings. Boats or
rhi.s sho, OUT mere and there from the
tnore anu uesperate enorts were made
w rescue ,ne people. lmprovised RATS
mrrc iuickiy thrown together and start
W. our INTO the mad stream. Before
many Oh tnem mad been propelled a
t tU;l.e, Oh yafds from shore they were