The Oskaloosa herald., 1900-05-03
Cloudburst in Texas Sends Down
Great Sheets of Water.

Waco, Tex, April 28.--An electric
storm, accompanied by rain in tor.
rents fell here Friday, swelling the
two creeks flowing through the city
flooding half of the city and doing
great damage to property. The bodies
OF two known and one unknown dead
have been recovered, and three other
persons are known to have persisted.
The business streets were converted
into rivers. Such a flood was never
before seen here. The rain resembled
a succession of cloudbursts. Base
ments We're flooded on Franklin and
Washington streets and on Austin
avenue. Waco creek. on the south
side of the city, and Barrons branch.
on the north side, poured their sur.
plus water toward the center of the
city, and formed sea in the bust
ness center.
Number of Dead Unknown.
AT present the exact number of per-
sons drowned cannot be ascertained,
Mrs. Nancy Caudle and her daughter.
who resided with Mrs. Norton, at the
corner 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, a ne.
gro, was drowned in the Barron
branch overflow, and his body recov-
cred. At the corner of North Second
and Barron streets an arched brick
bridge, which had withstood floods for
30 years, gave way, and three negroes
disappeared with the bridge. Their
bodies have not yet been recovered.
Water Falls in sheets.
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 watercourses rising above
the divides and uniting into a sea,
foaming and raging. The people in
the portion of the city suffering most
fed from their houses. The firemen
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 undertakers are collecting the
dead and at a later hour the list will
be made out. As the city is divided
into sections by the high water and
communication cut off between the
various divisions, a complete list of
the dead at this hour cannot be given.
The main Bosque and it's tributaries
are overlooking a large district and
running valuable crops. The Brazos
river is ten feet above the danger
mark. and is still rising, The prop
erty loss in Waco will be fully $780,
600
Four Miners Drowned.
\ report from Rockdale to the
Times Herald states that the mines
at that place were flooded by the high
water, drowning four men.
Damage by a Tornado.
Blum, Tex, April 28.--A tornado
passed through the eastern part OF
this place at noon Friday, destroying
several residences and a two-story
school building. Fortunately but two
people were seriously hurt, one of
whom, Eunice Hanks, will die. She
was caught between two timbers and
received internal injuries. About Is
others were slightly hurt. Robert
McCluskey's business house and the
Baptist church are among the badly
wrecked buildings; L. L. Robertson's
residence was demolished, and Rob.
ertson probably fatally injured; Mrs
Robertson was hurt about the head
The storm started about three miles
south of town, and was nearly 200
yards wide. The grain crop in the
path of the storm is badly damaged
and fruit trees are broken and
stripped of fruit. Nothing has been
heard from the country.