The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-04-14
THRILLING DESCRIPTION

w. J. BRYAN.
THRILLING DESCRIPTION
or the Drowning of Three Men Six Miles
From Greenv1lle.
GREENvILLE, April 6.-The Saluda
River is within its banks again, after
being on a 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 bs.
ing considerably bruised, and thou
sands of dollars worth OF bridges
we're 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 decide ! reputation for
turbulence and violence, and many
drownings and hair-breadth esespes
are related of its former sprees. It
was fifteen feet above normal at mid.
night hsfore the last and was out of its
banks hundreds of wards on both
sides, surging and sweeping by at q
terrific speed and frowning and threat.
ening with eddies everywhere. Ris.
ing as it does in the mountains, the
Saluda, above all other streams here.
abouts, is particularly violent after
heavy rains. The great incline of its
bed and the hilly character of its banks
gives it remarkable speed and volume.
It came within thres 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 Free.
man, a well-to do Pickens farmer and
a man OF family. He perished in the
presence of about fifty persons gath
cred on the Pickens and Greenville
banks. The bridge is a large covered
wooden structure and its floor is thir-
teen feet above the normal heighth of
the river. The two abutments are
substantially CONSTRUCTED of granite,
filed in to the banks with earth. The
men who perished wera driving from
Greenville. The water was rushing
over both earthen abutments, ahout
two feet deep 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 safe
ty. Jeff Davis, colored. in the two.
horse wagon with Mr.. Freeman, and
Bryan was in cart in front. Bryan
crossed the overhowed abdument with
ease, but as the wagon reached the
Pickens end of the brid dge, the mule,
the left-hand animal of the team,
doubted the propriety of going over
the abutment and backed. The lash
was applied and then the horse, which
was on the left, steppsd into a hole
about eight inches deep. The mule
SHE'D and carried the horse with him
a few feet down the embankment Of
the abutment on his side, which was
Downstream. The negro jumred out
and fled to the bank. Mr.. Freeman
got into water about waist deep and
went to his team and attempted to lead
them back on the embankment. But
the animals were excited and, rearing
up, struck Mr.. freeman in the face
and 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
a 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 thu last
time. In few minutes Jackson Byrd
and Babe Gillespie wers 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 Pelzer bridge. The new
$12, 900 iron bridge over the Saluda
River at Pelzer was swept from its
piers on Monday night. The loss is
$4,000. The bridge was to have been
accepted by the county supervisor on
Saturday. Ths logs. falls upon Con-
tractor J. 81. Whitner, of Tennessee.
The three white men named above,
who were trying to save the bridge,
were swept overheard by the fcci OF
water as the bridge went down and
narrowly escaped bsing crushed in
the wreckage. The fall of the bridge
was due to the undermining of the
masonry pier on the Anderson side,
within few hundred feat of the main
building of the Pelzsr Cotton Mills,
and about fifty feet below their dam.
This bridge has been the subjsct OF
much controversy as to whether Green
Vile should pay one-half the cost OF
its construction. It was claimed that
Greenyille was helping to divert trade
from her own machines toward these
in Pelzer. A new span and pier will
have to be built.
Want at the Doors of Thousand"
GREENv1LLE, Miss, April S.-The
c ondition of affairs 10 this section OF
the Mississippi river confines serious.
Want is today at the door or many
laborers. The Yazo, Miss, delta
embraces ten counties with a popula.
ton of nearly 400, 900, people, 70 per
cent, of which are farm laborers. The
secretary of war has kent himself in