The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1901-06-27
MANY LIVES LOST IN A CLOUDBURST.
Several Towns Swept Away BY Floods at Night in
the Pocahontas Valley and Elk Horn
Mining Region in West Virginia.
PROPERTY LOSS WILL REACH MILLIONS OF DOLLARS.
Widespread Destruction Valleys
Cause Mighty Rush waers..A Caught
and the Passengers Rescued by Ropes..Many
Miles up

and Western Railway reached Vivian
about $50 a. m, met the food and was
unable TO proceed farther. The waters
reached such depth that the coaches
had TO be abandoned. Between Elkhorn
and Vivian Yard. a distance of 10 miles,
loo cars are said to be washed from the
tracks and many of them were carried
down the streams. A rough estimate
places the number of bridges washed
away between Bluefeld and Vivian yard
a distance of 20 miles, at from IS to 20,
and from present indications it will lie
! impossible to get trains through to Wv
| ian and points west OF there in less than
a week or ten days. This will render
/ it impossible TO get relief into the strick-
en- district. and with those who escaped
with their lives. homeless and without
food indescrbabe suffering is inevita-
bic
On the Clinch Valley branch of the
! Norfolk and Western railway. between
this city and Norton. Va. communica-
ton is entirely severed west OF Taze
well, Va. Reports come from that point
of great loss of life and property
throughout that entire section In Sha-
kerag, negro settlement on the out
skirts of Tazewell, the water stands to
depth of six or eight feet in the street
and houses, all Of the occupants having
been removed to points OF safety by
means of a boat Three miles west of
Tazewell, on the Higginbotham farm,
the home of Paris Vandyke, farm
hand, was swept away. carrying with it
Mrs Nandyke and four children. two
of the Nandyke children-John, aged II,
and Charles, aged s--being drowned
Mrs Nandyke. with the two remaining
children-Edgar and Laura-were found
at Q O'Clock a. m in a dying condition
one mile from where the home stood by
MIR. Nandyke. who was absent from
home at the time OF the cloudburst.
While the rescuing party was search
ing for the Nandyke family they found
the body of white woman. well clad.
floating down Plum creek No one thus
far has been able to identity her and
it is supposed the body had washed
down from some distance.
A report comes from Witten's Mill.
small station between Bluehed and
Tazewell that three children (Christian
names unknown) belonging to Raleigh
Brush, were drowned There is no tele-
graph station at Wittens Mill and il is
impossible to ascertain particulars. The
railroad and telegraph companies are
working between 1000 and 1900 men
day and night Officials are on the
ground pushing the work of construct
ing the telegraph lines and rebailding
the road and hope to be able to com
municate with both the stormswept dis
tricts. Nothing whatever has been heard
from the section of country between
Vivian and Williamson other than that
the Tug river is reported as being en-
I trely over its banks and higher than
ever known by the Oldest inhabitant
The town OF Welch, county seat of
Mcdowell county, necessarily must have
suffered seriously, and a number of the
large lumber plants situated along the
banks of Tug river no doubt are entirely
destroyed
AT Keystone the water began to rise
at 9 o'clock and by II o'clock the food
had spent its fury and at least two
thirds Of the little city had been washed
away or demolished 1t is known that
10 residents of the north side of the
stream lost their lives and at least so
of those who lived on the south or town
side were drowned.
AT Burke suburb of Keystone, a
number are missing and eight are report
ed dead
1t is now almost certain that the total
list of the dead from one end OF Elk
horn Valley TO the other will reach 200.
A full list OF the names of the victims
cannot be ascertained at this time. Hun
dreds are missing, having taken refuge
IN the mountains to escape the fury of
the food