The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1903-06-08

y
mains Some eight or ten houses are
gone and several are ruined. At mill No.
l. next in order following the course OF
waters down stream, one-third of the
mill is gone.
The lower floors that remain are flood
cd ard piled with debris. The scene here
is indescribahl bile. The upper end of the
mill is gone and the section thus exposed
showc the crooked and bent machinery
the broken timbers the wreckage and the
debris piled up to the second and thlrd
floors. Out of lower windows long dirty
! streams of cloth are hung. the ends IN
Ile mills still being attached to the looms
| which were wrecked by the floods. The
! power put where the water turned the
/ huge wheel is all gore, and only part
| of the wrecked machinery remains.
Across the river that part of the mill
| village located within $50 feet of the
hanks Of the river is gone. The long
[ covered bridge and the gangway for the
hands are gone and also nVery
stable, 4 store and other structures.
At mill No >, which is the last down
stream this once handsome four-story
structure is now half demolished, the two
lower stories are piled with DEBRIS and
rubbish and flooded throuhout When the
waters struck the mill about o'clock
Saturday morning all Of the operatives
living across the river were warned in
time TO escape with their lives A num-
Der of houses were washed away. At
this mill the occupants saved nothing
whatever. The ware house OF the mill
and 1000 bales Of cotton were also car
ri b,rt l1a "a ter H.
pany's store at this mill was also de-
stroyed
Woman and Man in Tree.
Hickman Stribblng. Who slept in the
store, was awakened by tae water in his
room. He jumped to save his life, and
after a short time caught hold of d
tree, where he remained holding half
of the day with no clothing to protect
MIN. a woman also found refuge in the
same tree, and the two were rescued
after long delay and herp.e work CT the
Part Of the rescuers.
The grea test loss OF life vaseat Santuc,
4 section Of the mill SETTLEMENT a Few
hundred yards down the river from mill
No. .. Here il is estimated That from
Twenty-Five to thirtHfiVe people We're
drowned. The settlement is a rather fiat
place and received the fun fury of wa
away. Bud Johnson ana two of lis
sons drfted . miles down the river to
Pacolet, where the rather was reported
to have been rescued in an unconscious
condition Johnson is a merchant at
Santuc. He lost his wife and TWO chill
dren and all of his property. The story
OF his rescue IS marvellous
The work of recovering bodies is nee
| essarly slow. Most of the bodies OF the
drowned have ocen washed down stream
ana in all probability will never be re-
covered
The rescuers continued work last night.
but accomplished little. one Of MI.
Johnstons little boys who drifted 9
miles down stream with his father, was
seen at Pacoet just before he went over
the dam. 1t is said that the little fellow
called out last goodby to the crowd on
shore before he went over the dam.
4 report from Clifton No. this after
noon stated that forty-one persons were
missing. This would make total dead
fifty-five The number of houses destroy
ed will be between fifty and sixty The
money loss cannot be estimated for some
days, but will reach between two and
three millions along Pacolet river alone.
The news from Pacolet today indicates
that the first reports were not in the
/ -
are gone and No partly wrecked. The
company is busy today taking goods ont
of one of their ware houses. which it is
feared viii collapse.
Relief Work.
At mass meeting held in the opera
house here today $500 was subscribed
by citizens within fifteen minutes for
the relief of the sufferers. A resolution
was also adopted ut this meeting extend
ing sympathy to the presidents of the
two mill companies and the directors
upon their enormous loss and wishing
| them unlimited success in their efforts
to rebuild their destroyed properties. a
relief committee also spent Sunday at
the Clifton mills Investigating the stua-
ton with a view to presenting to the
people the exact status of affairs. From
10 coo TO Is. 900 people are deprived of d
living by the disaster at Clifton and
Pacolct These people live largely from
! hand to mouth, while many are indebted
TO the mills for supplies. Consequently
| if relief fails to reach them quickly they
will be in dire want, especially of food.
! 1t is believed, however, that on account of
the scarcity of mill labor over the south
/ these people will have many chances to
| secure work at other mills. \ mill in
this section recently closed for the sum
mer and a half dozen agents of other
mills were on the scene at once to offer
! work to the operatives The call for food
| win be the most urgent a present as
most of the survivors have a sufficency
of clothing.
An interesting fact in connection with
the question of the loss of life is why did
the people not leave their homes before
the houses washed away. Instances are
mentioned which occurred during Satur ;
days flood in which people were warned,
but refused to come out of their houses
1t is thought that the inmates of the
! houses understood the power and de-
structiveness of the flood. but before they
realized their danger it was too late.
Again the sudden rising of the water
was something unheard of. One man
says he saw wave 10 feet high rushing
down stream. This is probably exag
gerated. but all accounts agree in the
| statement that the water rose so rapids.
as ia take everybody entirely unawares.
| Strange to say the force of the cur
| rent along the banks a Clifton as re-
! that huge rocks IN cliffs along the
stree m were in mauy cases battered and
| broken by the water 10 an almost incou
ceivable extent. They were torn from
the cliffs and hurled from mother rocks
as Il dynamite an not water were the
power in operation.