The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-06-25
DEADLY CLOUDBURS1 And
FLOOD IN WEST VIRGINIA.
Sixty or More People Swept to Death in the
Rushing Waters.
SCENE, THE POCAHONTAS COAL RECIONS|

| or IeeI anu the LOWl Is SO narrow IN
places that one is obliged to go into the
middle of it to see the sky. These famil-
lar with the situation of the town know
| that it would be death trap if the
! food was as heavy as repo-Iel. Yet, they
| reason, that occurring in the day time,
| there was no reason why many people
| should have been caught in the on-rush
| of the maddened waters. All reports
| agree that between 200 and 800 houses
were swept away in the Elkhorn Valley
| but it does not follow necessarily that
| the occupants were drowned.
The railroad people are rushing material
and supplies to the Elkhorn. One hundred
| and fifty laborers came in over the Roa-
noke and Southern today on an extra
train and went west and nearly all the
| work trains on the road have been sent
| to the Elkhorn vicinity.
j. w. Crotty, fireman on the Norfolk
| and Western road, who resides in this
city, received a message yesterday from
Bluefield that his father, mother, one sis
| ter two brothers and sister-in-law, with
her two children were lost in the floods
Saturday at Keystone. Mr.. Crotty's peo-
pie lived in the center of the town. A
neighbor of the Crotty's who escaped the
flood informed Mr. Crotty at BlueIields
Saturday that he saw the Crotty house
move off in the waters. The Western
Union Telegraph officials in this city say
tonight that so far as getting news
from the territory west of Bluefield is
concerned, and they have nothing new
to give out.
RESCUE OF PASSENGERS
e. H. Stewart, well known furni
ture dealer in this city, was in the,
midst of all he storm and travelled on
foot nearly the whole of the route de-
wasted. Mr.. Stewart had been to
jamestown, on business and was re.
turning via Columbus. When his
train reached Vivian, w. Va, about 8
o'clock Saturday morning, water al
ready covered a large portion of the
yard and the trainmen knew that no
further progress could be made. The
train was placed at the highest point
on the yard. Rain was coming down
in torrents. and while in the train Mr..
Stewart saw about thirty cars washed
from the yards and carried away by
the torrent, trees uprOoted nearby,
while bridges, houses and furniture
went rushing by in the water. AS the
flood increased the water cut channel
on the other side of the train, leaving
it between two streams, then it was
decided to take out those passengers
who wished to leave the train and a
rope was attached to the platform of
one of the cars and to a tree on the
bank. Among the passengers was
lady, who, with the assistance of sew
eral men was gotten safely to the bank
A 1c ho6
from drowning in making the trip.
There was let uD in the rain, and
the flood subsded about noon and at l
o'clock Mr.. Stewart and another pas
senger left the train and started to the
next station, keystone, five miles dis
tant Much of the track, and several
bridges had been washed away and the
trip was made with great difficulty, a
portion on the track and the balance
on the bluffs along the routs. Mr..
Stewart said he saw a number of |
corpses along the route, but does not |
think more than forty people were |
drowned. When he reached keystone, |
about 3 o'clock, he found that number |
of buildings had been washed away ana |
it was estimated that along the whole |
route of the storm between 200 and 300 |
houses had been carried away, but the |
occupants of many of them escaped to
the hills. He saw one very large build |
ing go with the flood, but most of them |
were small affairs The companies lost /
heavily on supplies and bridges. At |
Enniss the bridge was washed away /
He walked from keystone to Enniss
yesterday and was taken from there to
Bluefield, arriving in Roanoke today
Mr. Stewards statement can be re- /
lied on as being truthful story of the
flood and the most complete statement
so far given out.
WATER CAME IN A WAVE.
An official telegram from Ennniss
says the water came in a wave and so
sudden that the people could not get
out of the way of it. The water rose
to a height of six feet in thirty minutes
The Associated Press was given the
following statement tonight by one of
the general officers of the Norfolk and
Western Railroad:
Restoration of telegraph lines devel-
ops that damage by flood through coal
fields was exaggerated. Loss of life
will not exceed so or 70 and damage to
including repairs to railroad
and coal operations, will not exceed five
hundred thousand dollars. 1t is ex-
pected railway will get line opened
tomorrow or next day"
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