The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1901-06-28
SWEPT BY q0UDBURSI.
A Flood In the Pocahontas Coal
Field in West Virginia Ri
valing Jamestown
HUNDREDS or HUMAN LIVES WIPED CUT.
Damage to Property Roughly Estimated
st Two Million Dollars Details. iiow-
over. Arc Meaeer. Owing 10 the De-
struction of Railways aud rrostration
OF the Wires.

OF the Wires.
Washington, June 2f.--The follow
Ing dispatches have been received by
the Washington % regarding The
reported loss of life 10y the flood in
West Virginia:
"Bluefeld. w. Va, June %.
"F1ood in P~ocahontas coal field
cqualling that of Johnstown. Two
hundred drowned. Impossible to es-
innate the loss of property"
Roanoke, Va, June %.
"Cloud- burst in ~Tocahontas division
of the Norfolk & Western this morn
ing. Keystone. EllShorn, Vivian aud
other towns wiped cut. Railroad dis
patches say 500 lives lost. One houss
left in Keystone. twenty-five to ihir-
~ miles of railroad tracks destroyed"
Bluefeld. w. Va, June 23.-Jhis en-
tire section has just been visited ly
n flood, the extent of which in all
probability will equal or exceed that
of Johnstown in 1859. SO far as Tho
loss of property is concerned.
Early yesterday morning, shortly
after midnight, a neavy downpour Of
rain began, accompanied by a severe
electric storm which violently in
creased in volume and continued for
several hours. This continued
throughout the entire day and night.
and at 10 a. m, while the storm lad
abated, lowering clouds would .ndi-
cate a terrible %dowDpour at any mo-
mcnt.
Many miles or the Norfolk & West
trn track, bridges and telegraph lines
are entirely destroyed and IN
cation is entirely cut of west of Elk
horn. so that it is impossible to learn
the full extent Of the loss Of life me
property. but officials of the coal op-
erations located in the stricken dis
trict. have sent out messengers TO
ElLhorn. the terminus of both ,cie-
graphic and railroad communications,
and have received A report that con-
servative estimates of the loss of life
will easily reach 200. Some of the
drowned are among the most promi
rent citizens Of the Goa fields.
Inc OtduOuldS tOdi Htlu Is TO-
Gated in a basin with high mountain
ranges on either side. Elkhorn creek
flowing through the center of the
bases, which range from one-fourtb
TO one mile wide.
From Ennis, w. Va, TO Vivian Yard,
w. Va, a distance of ten miles. MN
ners' cabins. coal company commits
saries and coke plants line this basin.
Elkhorn creek. being fed by numer.
Gus small streams coming from The
mountain side. rises very rapidly. and
this waterspout came so suddenly
that the entire basin between the two
mountain ranges was flooded. and be-
fore the terror-stricken people real
lied what was upon them. they were
carried down by the food. which
swept everything in its path. The it,
tie town of Key stone, with a popu.G-
ton of about two thousand. seems the
greatest sufferer, practically the or.
tire town being washed away. This
town was the principal one in the
Pocahontas coal fields, and is located
near its center. 1t was to a great ex-
tent headquarters from which the
mining population purchased supplies
and was also the only place in the
field where whisky could be pur-
chased. At this place there were soma
twelve TO fifteen saloons, all of which
were washed away. The report comes
that the mining population is now
occupying the banks of streams be-
low catching the merchandise AMI
barrels of whisky and beer as they
float down.
A great number Of the coal and
coke plants throughout the Pocahon-
tas railroad district was practically
destroyed and are in some instances
totally washed away. Owing to the
very high water which flooded tho
region and prevented communication,
anything like a correct estimate OF
the loss of property is impossible. bu.
from the best information obtaIns.-
bic at 2 p. m. Sunday. the loss TO prop
erty will easily reach $4,000, 900.
At Landgraaf, the beautiful homo
Of General Manager Ord is reported
gone. but his family is said to 10
safe.
A rough estimate places the mum
Der of bridges washed away between
Blueficld and Vivian Yard, a distance
of from fifteen to twenty miles. at IS.
and from present indications it will
be impossible to get trains through
Vivian and points west of here under
q week or ten days. This will render
II impossible to get relief in tho
sIricken district, and with all those
who escaped with their lives. home
less and without food, indescribable
suffering is inevitable.
Passenger tram No. 4 of the Nor
folk e. Western railway reached VI
srian about $3.50 a. m, met the Hood
uDd was unable to proceed further.
The waters reached such a depth that
the coaches had TO be abandoned, the
passengers being rescued by means OF
ropes strung from the windows OF
coaches to the tops of remaining
coke ovens, some distance away. Be-
tween Elihor nr.l N,xfa. N.-