Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1901-06-27
HUNDREDS o. LIVES LOST
Torrent Dashes Down the Elkhorn
Valley in West Virginia, Caus-
ing Death and Ruin.
FROM 300 TO 400 PERSONS DROWNED.
Property Loss Will Amount to Sew
erakMilliOn ID Ollars-Minins'F Towns
! Entirely Swept Away-The Great
! Mass of Water Swept Everything
Before 1t.

Entirely Swept Away-The Great
Mass of Water Swept Everything
Before 1t.
Roanoke, Va, June 24.-From 800
to 400 persons are thought to be
drowned in flood which swept
through the Elkhorn valley from En-
mis-, w. Va, to Vivian, in the Same
state, between the hours of nine
o'clock and II yesterday morning.
In the valley is located the celebrated
Pocahontas coal fields. Nearly all
the machinery and buildings are
wrecked.
Keystone Wiped Out.
The mining and railroad town of
keystone was practically swept
away and the little town of Vivian
nearly destroyed. North Fork juno
ton and other small towns suffered
in like manner. Thirty miles of the
Columbus division of the Norfolk &
Western railroad were washed away.
Millions in Property Loss.
The property loss will run into the
tens of millions, but it will be many
days before the real extent of the
loss to life and property can be
ascertained. The entire valley has
been devastated and the loss to the
Pocahontas coal region is enormous.
The railway loss is also heavy, for
the track and roadbed washed away
was probably the most expensive
piece of engineering work in the
country for its length. The roadbed
was almost carved out of solid rock,
and only last year $1,000,000 was
spent in betterments.
Rains Pile Up Torrent.
1t had been raining hard for sew
eral days in the Elkhorn region, and
the hundreds of small mountain
creeks were swollen to their full ca
pacity and pouring their waters into
the Elkhorn river. The storm in
creased in violence every minute and
finally eliminated in cloudburst
which precipitated a great volume of
water into the Elkhorn valley, al
ready flooded to the danger point by
the rains of the preceding 48 hours.
Sweeps All Before 1t.
The great mass of water started
down the valley with a roar that was
heard above the storm. 1t swept
everything before it-trees, tele-
graph poles, huge powders, whole
buildings, railroad ties, steel rails,
box cars and coal sheds. Into the
mass of tangled wreckage of the
flood were swept helpless men, wom-
en- and children, caught in it's path,
and as all were swept along in the
fury of the storm they went to their
death with none to hear their last
cries for help.
Buildings Float Away.
The valley was peopled almost en-
tirely with miners and their fam
lilies. Their frail cabins and cot
tages offered no resistance to the
impact of the flood and the buildings
were tossed upon the front of the
great wave which was rushing down
the valley. There was no chance for
escape for the unfortunate people,
caught without warning.
A Great Gorge.
HC 1lOOu DCSdu " lIcthC 1Co CCl~
rible force felt at Ennis, and it ex-
tended the entire length of the val
ley to Vivian. IS miles.
The Elkhorn valley at this point
is a great gorge, cutting it's way
through the mountain range. 1t is a
mile wide at one place and then it
narrows to a width of only 800 feet.
nnirt itc rnc1/v
walls rise to height of from 700 to
1000 feet 1t was through this gorge
that the storm tore it's way. The
great wave of water which swept
. everything before it wrought it's de-
struction in a few minutes. In 20
minutes it was all over but the Desc
lation.
Keystone Greatest Sufferer.
The little town Of Keystone, with
population of about 500, seems, the
greatest sufferer, practically the en-
tire town being washed away. This
town is the principal one in the Poca-
hontas coal fields and is located near
it's center
1t is not known how far back into
the mountains the storm extended,
and it will be days, and perhaps
weeks, before all the storm-stricken
country is heard from. The flood has
not only damaged the Elkhorn val
ley, but great damage is also report
ed to have resulted in the Clinch VAL
ley section, which extends south
from Graham, Va.
Killed by an Assassin.