Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1900-05-03
STORMS IN TEXAS.
Half the City of Waco Flooded, Do.
ing Great Damage.
SIX PERSONS LOSE THEIR LIVES


creeks moving through the CITY, hood
ing half OF the city and doing great
damage to property. The bodies Of
two known and one unknown dead
have been recovered and three othel
persons are known to have persisted
Relief committees are at work al.
ready and succor is being afforded tc
the sufferers. The business streets
were converted into rivers. Such q
flood was never before seen here
The rain resembled succession OF
cloudbursts. Easements were flooded
on Franklin and Washington streets
and on Austin avenue. Waco creek
on the south side of the city, and
Barron's branch, On the north side
poured their surplus water toward
the center of the city and formed a
sea in the business center. At pres
ent the exact number of persons
drowned cannot be ascertained. Mrs,
Nancy Caudle and her daughter, who
resided with Mrs. Norton at the cor
ner of jackson and Seventeenth
streets, are among the dead recovered
from the food The house was in
the Waco creek overflow and the two
ladies', in spite of efforts at rescue,
were swept away, and when caught
below were dead. Mr.. and Mrs. Nor
ton were saved. Their house was
swept away.
William Walker, negro, was
drowned in the Barron branch over
flow and his body was recovered.
At the corner of North Second and
Barron streets an a. ched brick bridge,
which had withstood floods for 80
years, gave way and three negroes dis
appeared with the bridge. Their
bodies have not yet been recovered.
The storm commenced at four
o'clock in the afternoon, and the
water fell from the clouds in vast
sheets, one cloudburst swallowing the
other, the water courses rising above
the divides and uniting into sea,
foaming and raging. The people in
the portion of the city suffering most
fled from their houses. The fremen
and police and hundreds of citizens
rushed to the rescue, but the water
was too swift for them and at least
six persons lost their lives by drown
ing in less than five minutes.
The main Bosque and its tributa-
ries are overlooking a large district
and running valuable crops. The
Brazos river is ten feet above the
danger mark and is still rising. The
property loss IN Waco will be fully
$4,000.
The undertakers are collecting the
dead As the city IS divided into sec
tions by the high water and commu-
nication cut off between the various
divisions, complete list of the dead
at this hour cannot be given.
At Columbus on the Colorado river,
the Southern Pacific bridge has again
been washed away and there will be
no trains run for several days. The
Houston g. Texas Central, the Mis-
souri,, Kansas 4 Texas and the San
Antonio & Arkansas Pass decided to
run no trains last night as a amtter
of precaution.
At Navasota there was cloud
burst yesterday, four inches of rain
falling in 40 minutes. Great dam
age was done to farm lands by wash
ing, All stock had been taken from
the bottoms and there was conse-
quently no loss in that direction
At Bolton dozen houses were
washed away by sudden rise in a
creek but their occupants managed
to escape, The lower part of the
town is flooded. The damage done
all over the state to crops is enor-
nous.
TnrnuIo nj