The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1897-05-01
PERISH BY SCORES.
A Wall OF Water Overwhelms
West Guthrie, 0. T.
Residents of the Town Fly for safety
"A Great Many Lives Are
Lo~st-PnrtiaI List of the
Victims.

water six feet high sweeping with ter
rife force toward Guthrie. The great
wave came down the valley like n cat
aract and broke upon the sleeping city
without a moments warning. 1t came
with n mighty roar, crushing houses in
its path, and swept across the lowlands
of West Guthrie, leaving death and de-
VISITATION. IL is believed that over GOO
homes are i'm ruins, hundreds Of houses
having been foated away on the crest
Of the food. Large numbers of people,
possibly 200, have been drowned.
Bridges between Guthrie and Seward
have gone out and the railroad tracks
are gone. The estimated loss is between
$4,000 and 100000.
The dead, so far as known AT this time,
numbering 10, are as follows:
nj Kaiser. n school-teacher; Frank
Mayors. George Owens. j. III. Calhoun. wife
and hid Charlie Rufner and wife: Eras-
tus McGill. wife and three children; Lena
Burk. Mrs. Wesley McGill and Ave chill
dren; John Metz, Mrs. James Montgomery,
Mrs. Dummills. James Lilly. Mrs. Fila Du-
mas, III. H.. Beckfnger. six members OF
the Clemmons family. George Westers,
Mrs. Jan Watt, league Ray. Levi Den
ny. wife and three children; Mrs. Kit Wat
I son Anu lAt NIllWINlts Mis- JOAln ' uNkAliN
and son, Jack Thornton. Mrs. George
Drammons. n. r.. Houghton, five children
OF Mrs. Iittmann, John Gordon, George
Thornton, William Smith, Jacob Castrol
and family OF six, Mrs. Frances Moore.
John Beard, Mrs. Sue Wilson, Jennie Tay-
Tor. Sammie Jackson. George Smithers.
business has been suspended in
Guthrie, the stores and banks being
closed. AS thorough an organization
for relief rs is possible has been made,
but all aid has been necessarily retarded
by the confused continuation OF things.
II will be impossible TO explore the
houses until the water shall subside, as
many Of them are submerged. The flood
is supposed to have been caused by n
cloudburst, supplemented by heavy
rains.
The Cottonwood river is n small
stream scarcely more than 40 feet wide.
that winds in many curves between the
banks i'm West Guthrie, which lies in
the level valley of the river. A ter
rife rain fell the day before, and n
greater part Of the night. The river
was already full from q heavy rain sew
eral days ago. No great alarm was felt
at night, as the river rose gradually and
the people felt that it was impossible
for the waters TO rise high enough to
overflow the steep banks.
About six o'clock in the morning the
river began to rise as il by magic.
Higher and higher il came, jumping
four feet in 80 minutes at seven o'clock.
Persons who saw the first wall OF
water said that il was about eight feet
high, spreading entirely across the val
ley. There was no water in front OF il
save that i'm the rivers channels. 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 n
raging, resistless torrent that no power
OF man could hope TO stay.
To add TO the horror of the situation,
the main supply pipe of the water
works system burst where il crossed
the Cottonwood, in the southern part
Of the city, and all the water in the res
crvoir burst into the river.
In the southern part OF the city n long
arm Of land is formed by the widening
Of the river. On this land lived hun-
dreds Of negroes. During the night
the bridge leading across the river TO
the city had been swept away. The
| people were absorbed in watching the
rising waters. when the food from the
reservoir came down i'm n solid wall
and cut across the arm Of land near the
mainland, cutting of the people from
escape.
They fed from their homes TO the
higher portions Of the newly-formed
island. In half an hour the mountain
of water had done its work and prac-
~tically spent itself. The air became
hideous with the crashing Of houses
and the cries for help Of the unfortu-
mates.
When the first shock of the disaster
was over the more fortunate on the
island Immediately began TO help those
nearest them, while across in Guthrie
proper prompt steps were taken az
rescue. The houses, barns and other
effects began 10 drift down stream,
each freighted with one or more human
beings; boats or RATS shot out here and
there from the shore and desperate ef-
forts were made 10 rescue the people.
Improvised RATS were quickly thrown
together and started out into the mad
stream. Before many OF them had been
propelled n couple OF yards from shore
they were twisted and broken by the
waters and the would-bc rescuers
thrown into the stream. Half a dozen
rescuers were drowned even before
those they had tried TO save had been
reached.
Wednesday night 40 or 30 people
could be seen clinging to trees and
roofs Of buildings, but could not be
reached. and spent the night there.
ARROW POINTS.