The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1903-06-12
THE CATASTROPHE
AT The CLlFT0NS.

The story of the great flood, still the
absorbing topic of interest in Spartan
burg. does not grow better or brighter
as the minute details point, the most in
terestiDg fact connected with the great
disaster is the completeness and &C.
curacy of the story gathered at the
beginning. 1t was complete and yet
communication was entirely cut off with
the stricken territory and reporters had
to depend largely on the uncertain moo g
of shouting across the turbulent waters
of Lawson's Fork for the facts.
Mr.. G.. Q. Rodgers, one of the line
type operators of The Herald was the
second newspaper representative who
landed on the other side and notwith-
stan ding the fact that it was almost his
| first experience, that he had to get over
the roaring stream in small boat, walk
ten miles, ride a horse part of the way
in binding rain, there is little to be
added to the story he got Saturday night
in regard to the conditions at the Cliftons
Today two reporters went over the
ground and investigated conditions more
thoroughly. 1t is still impossible to
reach Clifton except by boat and travel
from one mill to another is difficult, but
until you have viewed the ruins, and
talked with the people you cannot form
an adequate idea of the situation.
On horseback we made the trip to
Glendale and started to cross when the
horses mired almost to the brides in the
quicksand. We had to resort to the
boat; and, leaving the horses hitched on
this side the river, we made the Journey
afoot, distaIc, of about five miles to
No. 3.
In the valley between No. and No. 8.
lately filled with two long 70 VS. of cot
tages out from which bright faces and
scores of happy children would greet the
passer-by, there was veritable desert of
sand. Not a tree left standing, not a
| house.
In the midst of the desert of white
, saud stretching out like prairie, a doz
en- men were clustered Oae was dig
ging and we imagined that perhaps some
loved one was being unearthed. The
men were silent and disconsolate. They
did not seem to notice our approach, but
kept on watching the man who was dig
ging. Investigation showed that thi 3
old man was delving into the foundation n
of his former home. Two feet under
the sand he found wire bed spring
and he was carefully pulling the mud
out of the springs. He could have found
a dozen springs on the hlllsides, bit it
was the last remnant of his home, aud
, he tugged away to reclaim it. He said
he had found a monkey wrench ard a
, bat pin, and he prized h,m highly.
AN EYE WITNESS TALKS
Night Watchman w. H. Rhinehart
on duty at No 3, had made his rounds
at a m. AT that time the river was
~ feet high He was standing near a
corner of the mill at 4:30 when large
tree fioated over the dam and plunged
through the boiler room roof into the
room below. This flooded the machine
shop and boiler room and this part Of the
building began to crumble. At this
point the dam gave way and the power
house was swept away. Next a corner
of the old mill gave way.
Mr.. Rhinehart run up the bank to get
a safer and better view of the scene and
upon turning he saw the smoke stack go
down with a crash. In ten seconds
after this and about 10 or u minutes
from the time the dam broke, the mag
nificently. equipped $4,000 spindle mill
was washed from its foundation crum-
bled and the wreckage carried down
PacOlet river.
Nothing was left but about one fifth
of the two mills, the cloth room and
picker room.
At this mill 1G houses were washed
away and eleven lives were lost.
The street railway track between Nos.
| and 3, Is as complete wreck as cJuld
te possible. The iron Is turned and