The age-herald., 1901-06-25
Revised Estimates PIace Num- Der of the Dead at Less Than One Hunted
  PROPERTY DAMAGE IS HEAVY
Miles of Railroad Track and Cars Were Washed Away and Hundreds of Houses Destroyed-TeIegraph
 Communication Cut Of.

Roanoke, Va, June 24.-The follow Ing short statement by one of the gen. eral officers of the Norfolk and West ern Railroad, summarizing the flood situation In the light of the latest dis- patches, was given to the Associated Press tonight:
 Restoration of the telegraph lines develops that the damage by the flood the coal fields was exaeger- ated. The loss of life will not exceed sixty. or seventy-five and the lamage to property, including repairs to rail- road and coal operations, will not ex- ceed $5oo,ooo. It Is expected that the railroad will get line opened through tomorrow or next day"
 Roanoke. Va. June 2TThere was very little news received here today from the West Virginia flood. One train came in this afternoon but not much new infor- nation could be gained from the passen- gers. Trains are running from Bluefleids and Ennis. which places are just outside the territory visited by the cloudburst on last Saturday morning.
 All day long today Roanokers, who have friends and relatives in the coal fields. and the coal operators here who have large financial interests in the de- vastated strip, fingered around the rail- road station awaiting the arrival of the belated train. These people, making in-. quiries concerning relatives and prop erty, besieged the railroad and commer- cial telegraph offices from early morning until night. The wires all being down west of Bluefieid save ose wire which goes through to Ennis, but Is being used as train wire, prevented the public from gaining any additional particulars. How many are dead is not definitely known and it necessarily will be several days yet before the exact number can be learned. The various reports in circula persons have been drowned. It is proba- bly, safe to assume that the former fig ures are nearer correct than the latter.
 The damage to property will amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars Miles of railroad track are washed out and great gulches have been created The devastated section covers an area of about twenty miles west of Bluefeld. It is a narrow valley. not much wider than a broad street in some places. Coal mines are sea- tered all along the road Keystone, the town reported to have been so greatly damaged. and which was at first believed to be wiped out of exist ence. is village of between 2000 and 3000 people and Is built along the narrow val- ley and on the sides of the bluffs. There Is a creek which runs through the town, over which most of the houses are built on piles and rocks. This creek runs in a zig-zag way through the narrow vil- lage and has a gradual fall. The mount aims on either side loom up for hundreds of feet and the town is so narrow in places that one is obliged to go into the middle of 1t to see the sky. Persons fa- miliar with the situation of the town say that it would be a death trap if the flood was as heavy as reported. Yet they rea- son that the flood. occurring in the day time there was no reason why many people should have been caught in the on-rush of the waters. All reports agree that between 200 and 300 houses were swept away in the Elkhorn Valley The railroad people are rushing material and supplies to the Elkhorn Valley.
 Entire Family Lost.
 l. w. Crotty. a fireman on the Norfolk and Western Railrossl. who resides in this city, received message yesterday from Biuefield that his father. mother, one sister two brothers and sister-in-law, with the latter's two children, were lost in the flood Saturday at Keystone. A neighbor informed MT. Crotty at Blue fields Saturday that he saw the Crotty house move off in the waters.
 E. H. Stewart, a well-known furniture dealer of this city, was in the midst of all the storm and travelled on foot nearly the whole of the route devastated. When the train reached Vivian, W. Va. about o'clock Sunday morning, MT. Stewart saw about thirty cars washed from the yards and carried away by the rushing torrents. Large trees were uprooted near by, while houses, bridges and furniture went whirling by in the water. As the flood increased the water cut channel in the other side of the train, leaving 1t between two streams. Then it was de- cided to take out those passengers who wished to leave the train. and a rope was attached to the platform of one of the cars and to tree on the bank. Among the passengers was a lady. who, with the assistance of several men was taken safe- Iy to the bank. A number of men had narrow escaped from drowning.
 The flood subsided about noon and at 1 o'clock MT. Stewart and another pas- senger left the train and started to the next station, Keystone, five miles dis tant Much of the track and several bridges had been washed away. MT. Stew art saw number of corpses lying along the route, but does not think more than forty people were drowned. When he reached Keystone about o'clock he found that a number of buildings had been washed away. and 1t was estimated that along the whole route of the storm be- tween 200 and 300 houses had been carried away. but the occupants of many of them had escaped to the hills.
 MT. Stewart walked from Keystone to Ennis and was taken from there to Blue field, arriving in Roanoke today,
 An official telegram from Ennis says the water came in wave and so suddenly that people could not get out of the way of 1t. The water rose to a height of six feet in thirty minutes.
 Destruction Appalling.
 rJuntfnpton. w Va, June 24-The tre-