Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1901-07-05
The Flood Beyond BIuefieId As Told by
An Eye Witness.

The Flood Beyond Bluefield As Told BY
An Eye Witness.
The following well written letter
gives the most accurate and conserva-
tive account of the disastrous flood in
the coal mining district of Southwest
Virginia and West Virginia, that we
have seen. The letter was delayed by
the Washedout railroads:
Bramwell, W. Va, June 25.-NO
doubt you have read through the col
umns of the newspapers of the serious
| floods which visited us last Saturday
and wrought such great damage to
property throughout this section. All
| acrOunts l have seen in the eastern
papers are greatly exaggerated, and
for this reason it occurred to me that
you would like to have correct sum-
mary of the situation from one who
has visited the flooded district.
TO appreciate the flood it would be
necessary for me to give you an accu-
rate idea of the topography of this
particular region. Owing to the lack
of time l will not be able to give
very lengthy description, more than to
say that west of here the Ii tile EIkhOrn
river flows between two parallel
ranges of mountains, the base of one
line being separated from the base of
the other by scarcely 800 feet On the
sides are the coke ovens and collieries
stretching along for ten or fifteen miles,
the houses of the miners In many cases
being situated in the bottom lands.
1t began raining last Saturday
morning. the ed, about O'Clock and
it came down in torrents. Previous
rains had already brought the noun
tain streams above their normal height |
and by s o'clock the water had assum-
ed dangerous proportions, but still lit
tie more than passing attention was
paid the rapidly rising waters. But
about O'Clock the storm came in the
nature of a cloud burst and in very
few minutes the river leaped from
inches to feet and then tore down the
valley like tidal wave, sweeping
before it, Before a great
many of the unhappy miners and their
families could escape from their
shacks, the maddened waters spread
over the bottoms, lifting houses from
their foundations only to dash them
to pieces against the numerous iron
bridges crossing the stream. Soon !.
The tracks of the railroad companyt
were undermined and 80 pound STEEL
rails were bent and twisted like wire.
Then the bridges of iron and masonry
gave way before the great pressue of
water and debris. In many instances
cars loaded with coal and coke were
washed from the tracks upon which
hey stood and some of them buried in ,
he mud. Many coal tipples and coke
restles were greatly damaged and ,
rom zoo to 300 houses destroyed. 1t
vas at first reported that the loss of
life would reach several hundred, but
think the number will not exceed sol
IT 40. This is confined to the miners
nd their families. The devasted dis
riot is flooded with reporters from :
'ew York and Philadelphia, who
realty exaggerate the situation and
lake matters appear very much worse
han they really are. One paper re-
orted 1000 lives lost and made many
ther incorrect and misleading state
lents. Norfolk & Western Ry. officials
stlmate their loss at 100000, and u
is not too much, and the coal OPERA
)rs suffered to the extent of at least y
500,O00. None escaped and all are q
from So, 200 to $50, 900.
All communication by rail and wire
the west ends a few miles from
ere. The situation is being met in v
uslness like way and the railroad u
eople hope to have trains moving by
ne first OF the coming week. They
ow have 1900 men at work on the
portion of the road and they v
re using everything within reach to tt
ut the tracks in condition in order to b
'tablish communication along the line. =
The river got pretty high and dan il
arous here at Bramwell, but our loss "
comparatively small, and no lives n
ere lost. The two railroad bridges "
ere carried away, but the corpo- al
ition bridges stood the strain and are 81
it us l understand the New York tt
ournal has two car loads of provis- II
ms on the way to the stricken dis I
let, but the operators of the field are b
nply able and willing to care for all W
lffering. Had the flood not occurred Ii
the day time the death list would rt
ndoubtedly have been appalling as a
miles would certainly have been
tught and drowned in their houses
lring the night like rats in trap.
Fl. X. NJ. Jr. y
r. Robertson Announces mis- Candidacy Xxi
fnr the Spnatp Ill