The Worthington advance., 1901-06-28
Heavy Downpour Of Rain for
Hours mandates Entire
Coal Regions.
Scores Are Known to Have Been
Drowned and Estimates Vary
from 100 to 1000.
Disaster Second Only to Those at Johns
town, Pa and Galveston, Tex.
keystone Wiped Ou:.
Wind md Rain Cause Much Damage
at Lincoln. ln.-PittsburEh
Swept by Storm.

Swept by Storm.
Hluefield. w. Va, June 25.-Thls en-
fir. section has Just been visited by
| flood. the extent Of which IN all proo-
ability will equal or exceed that OF
Juhn>town in 1889, so far as the loss
of property is concerned. Early sum
day morning, shortly after midnight
heavy t!ownponr Of rain began ac-
companied by a severe electro Storm
which violently increased in volume
and continuing for several hours
These continued throughout the en-
tire day and night, and While 'he
storm has abated the lowering CLOUDS
would Indicate another terrific down.
pour at any moment.
Estimated Loss of Life 200.
Many miles Of he Norfolk q Vest
ern railroad track. bridges and tele-
graph lines are entirely destroyed and
Communication is entirely cut on west
| Of Elkhorn. so that it is Impossible 10
| learn :he full extent Of the loss OF lie
and property, but officials OF the coal
operations, located in the stricken dls-
trict, have sent out messengers 10 ELK
horn, the terminus Of both telegraph'c
and railroad communications, ana
have received a report that conSer-
yative estimate as TO the loss OF lie
will easily reach 200. Some of the
drowned are among the most proml-
nent citizens Of the coal fields.
Town Washed Away.
The pocahontas coal field is located
in basin. with high mountain ranges
on either side. Elkhorn creek flowing
through the center Of the basin. which
ranges from one-fourth to. one mile
in width. From Ennis, w. Va, to
Vivian ward, W. Va, a distance OF ten
miles, miners cabins. coal COM
pany's commissaries and coke plants
! line this basin. Elkhorn creek be-
| ing fed by numerous small streams
| coming from the mountain side rises
very rapidly, and this waterspoIt
| came so suddenly that the entire basin
| between the two mountain ranges was
! flooded, and before the terror-strlck-
en- people realized what was upon
them they were carried down by the
flood, which swept everything III It's
path. The little town Of Keystone,
| with population of about 1000. seems
the greatest sufferer, practically the
entire town being washed away. This
town is the principal one in the poca-
hontas coal fields and is located near
it's center. 1t was to a great extent
headuuarters from which the mining
population purchased supplies and was
also the only place in the field where
whisky could be purchased. At TINS
place there were some IL to 10 saloons
| all of which were washed away. The
report comes that the mining popula-
ton are now occupying the banks OF
the streams below. catching the mer-
chandiSe and barrels of whisky and
beer as they float down.
4 rough estimate places the number
of bridges washed away between n Blue
field and Vivian yard. distance OF rs
miles. at from Is to 20. and from pres
ent indications it will be impossible
to get trains through to Vivian and
noints west Of there under week or
ten DAYS. This will render it imPossi-
bic to get relief into the stricken dis
trict. and with those who escaped with
their lives. homeless and without food,
indesrriba BILE suffering is inevitable.
Rivals .JOhnstown.
| From the meager reports describing
the force of the storm at keystone 1t
would appear that the damage rivals
that of Johnstown and is equal to the
Galveston horror in its intensity. SO
far as the percentage Of population
lost and property destroyed.
1t is stated that every building in
the town of keystone was demolished Il
or carried away by the water. save one,
and that a barroom which stands on
n high hill. The normal population OF
! keystone is about 1000 souls, and as it
was Saturday night there is no telling
how many miners had gone into the
town to swell its population. 1t is es-
timated that 200 lives alone were lost
at keystone.
| New. from Seat Of Storm.
Roanoke, Va. June 25.-The pas
senger train from the west over the
Norfolk & Western railroad, which is
due here at 1855 p. m., did not reach
Roanoke until half-paSt five o'clock
| Monday morning. When the train
came in there were many people at
the station who had waiteS anxiously
all night for the belated news carrier
| from the devastated coal fields of
| West Virginia. Among those who
| came in on this train, and VINO had
| hecn in the storm, was n prominent
business man of Roanoke, several
railroad men and woman and two
children. They came direct to Roam
oke from Vivian. and were compelled
to walk distance of II miles from