Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1903-06-10
OVERWHELMED
BY FLOOD.
Disaster In VAL
lev of the PacOlet.
MILLS DESTROYED,
PEOPLE DROWNED.


Claim Scores of Precious Lives-Mos,
Prosperous Mill District In the South
strewn With tho corpses Of Indus.
trious Workers and the Wreck OF
MiIIiona of Dollars Worth Of Build.
inss and Machinery.
The popuious valley Of the Pacolet
river, which up to an early hour last
Saturday morning, was the scene OF
more busy factories and general pros
perity than could have been found In
any similar territory Of equal length
and breath in the south, is now only
a barren waste Of death and destruc-
ton. The terrible Transformation was
the work Of only a single brief half
hour. Almost without warning, there
came down from the mountains a
mighty flood that swept from their
foundations homes, churches, cotton
mills, and engulfed scores Of human
beings who had no previous intima-
ton Of their danger.
Although the terrible disaster occur
red at about 6 o'clock in the morning,
the first news Of it did not reach
Yorkville until late in the afternoon.
Passengers arriving by way Of the
Carolina and North Western railroad
from Gastonia brought the first init
nations Of the disaster; but the in
formation was principally in the shape
Of exaggerated rumors, and the first
really authentic summary Of the situa-
ton was contained in the following
telegram, received by THE ENQUIRER
at about $50 o'clock Saturday night
from the Charlotte Observer:
1.-TWO of Paeolet mills entirely de-
stroyed and three at Clifton practically
ruined. About twenty-five lives lost
Damage over a million dollars"
Further particulars gathered by the
newspapers in spite Of demolished rail-
road trestles and broken telegraph and
telephone lines show that terrible as
was the news contained in this brief
dispatch, it was really conservative
statement of what had occurred, with
out the semblance Of exaggeration in
any Of it's representations. 1t has not
yet been possible to make an accurate
census covering the loss Of life, but 1t
is safe to say that the mortality list
is not less than so or go, and it may be
swelled to something like 100 by the
time the count is completed.
Just where the flood came from has
not yet been definitely estimated.
Communication has been so demoral-
lied that it has not been practicable
to gather details. Common opinion at
tributes the disaster to cloudburst
somewhere; but the people in the i'm
mediate section say that 1t did not oc-
cur there. There had been a heavy
rain during the whole night previous,
and the river was high. People gen.
orally, however, had seen larger and
heavier rains, and the swollen waters
were in no wise an occasion Of alarm.
It Is thought that the cloud burst
must have occurred fifteen or twenty
miles up the river probably at the foot
Of the Blue Ridge mountains. During
the early part Of the night, the slow
steady rise in the river was notice
able; but not alarming. Nobody
dreamed of danger until the actual oc-
currence of the catastrophe. Then,
those who saw 1t say that the water
came rolling down in what seemed to
be a mighty wall. The river valley is
deep and narrow. Fifteen feet is high
water and twenty is close to the rec
ord. But on this occasion the flood
mounted to 40 or so feet, and it struck
the houses and mills like gigantic bat
tering ram. Nothing could withstand
the stupendous force. Cottages that
stood closest to the river bank were
crushed like egg shells, and those
that were further away were slowly
lifted from their foundations. The big
three and four story mills went down
like play houses of sand, and within a
very few minutes after the first dis
astrous shock, the Pacolet, ordinarily
an insignificant stream Of 80 or 100
feet, was swelled to a mighty torrent
Of more than mile in width, with its
surface dotted with store houses, cot
ton and cloth bales, giant trees and
scores of drowning men, women and
children.
So far as has been ascertained up to
this time, there was no loss Of life at
Clifton Mill No 3. The fatalities were
confined principally to Converse and
Clifton No. 2. Converse Is located in
narrow gorge at the point where the
Southern railroad crosses the river
and one Of the principal streets runs
parallel with the stream only about ten
feet above the ordinary level. The
residents of this street saw the water
coming. At least some of them did
Instead Of running up the hill, how
ever, to save their lives, they remained
until the flood was in behind them
Mr.. I. E. Avery. correspondent of the
Charlotte Observer who was on the
ground during Sunday, tells the story
Of what occurred as follows:
Standing on sharp knolls that dot
the banks Of the Pacolet river hun
dreds Of people saw the inhabitants OF
River street meet death. In one house
were Miss Fleta Gosa, Mrs. w. A. Kir-
by, Mr.. and Mrs. Sam Swanguare, Mr.
and Mrs. Garland Long, and Mr.. and
Mrs. John D. Owens and three chill
dren. When they discovered that they
were surrounded by water that rose
steadily in the house, they climbed
to the roof. The house gave way and
was hurled out in mid-stream with the
inhabitants still holding to the roof
The house was dashed against a float
ing pile Of timber and went asunder
Mrs. Owens and three children were
drowned at once. Owens held in his
arms the youngest child, a baby, and
f,ta 20 l. 11<l I. !