The Philipsburg mail., 1901-06-28
FIFTY BODIES R0UNL
DEATH LIST OF THE WEST Viz
GINA FLOOD INCREAS.
ING HOURLY.
THOUSANDS ARE HOMELESS

in the Piles of Debris, Which in
Many Instances Are Thirty Feet
High and Cover Half an Acre.
Bluefield, w. Va, June 25.-Details
of the fearful flood in the Pocahontas
fiat top coal region are slowly drifting
into this town, which is situated 25
miles south of the scene OF the
wrecked homes, and fully bear out
the fears early entertained as to the
havoc wrought by the storm. Fifty
dead bodies have been found. Thou
sands of people are homeless and it is
feared are without food, or at the best
with only food enough to last at most
several days. The work of establish
ing railroad communication is being
pushed with vigor. There is little hope
of sending the sufferers succor until
railroad connection is again renewed.
Men are working clearing away the
debris and recovering the bodies of
the dead. The list of dead is being
augmented hourly. The relief trains
are running between this city and the
stricken district and everything pos
sible is being done to relieve the suf-
fering and destituton.
Over 100 miles of track belonging to
the various coal operations are prac-
tically total loss. The rails are bent
and twisted like wires. Even the
heavy girders of the collapsed rail-
road bridges were rendered useless
The force of the food is better known
when it is explained that by reason of
long fill and low iron bridge some
distance up the valley the flood was
damned and a
Monster Body of Water
accumulated, probably as large vol
unle as Was contained in the famous
dam at Johnstown. When this OBJ
struction gave way it let down a mon
ster volume of water on the villages
and mining camps below.
The recovery of bodies in the past
"a hours has not amounted to many.
The reason assigned is that the
corpses of the missing are hidden in
mammoth piles of debris. Some Of
these piles are 80 feet high and cover
in some instances as much as half
acre of ground, and it is the work of
days to search through them. It has
been suggested that the best plan
would be to burn these masses of de-
bris, but the friends of the dead are
loud in the denunciation of the idea.
So bitter is the feeling regarding this
matter that if it is attempted blood
shed will be the result. Up to night
some SO bodies have bean recovered,
yet the list Of missing and reported
drowned is 249. 1t will probably
never be known how many have per,
ished. Passengers from a train that
was oyertaken by the flood and com
PEELED to stop have reached this CITY,
They were rescued from the train by
means of ropes. Debris has washed
in the cars half way to the ceilings
and is piled about the outside,
Almost Covering Them Over
A messenger arrived who traversed
the full length Of the stricken district.
He reports that the destruction to
property is a great deal worse than
was apprehended, but that the loss of
life is not heavy.
At Algona number of miners
standing on high point in water
waist deep rescued 23 women and
children as they floated past A num-
Der whom they threw ropes to were
so excited that they made no effort to
save themselves. Thirty-four houses
iloated down and were dashed to
pieces against the sides of the iron
bridge at North Fork Junction before
that structure collapsed.
Further details from the Clinch val
ley are to the effect that three mem
bers of the Vandike family are now
dead from injuries received in the
flood.
At Pounding Mill four persons were
drowned, John P. Tate, Mrs. Clara
Hoops and two children.
The town Of Liberty Hill, in Taze-
we'll county, was swept away, only two