Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1903-06-17

mill building. At this point the stream
is about fifty or sixty feet wide.
There is a level strip Of sand on either
side of it, and the outer edge of each
sand bank is backed by perpendicular
cliffs of slaty looking rock that run up
to a height of perhaps sixty or seven
ty-five feet. Mill No. l, three stories
high and several> hundred feet long,
stands on the east side Of the stream
in the bottom Of this ravine, and the
tall smokestack that shoots up from
the boiler room hardly reaches above
the level Of the adjacent bluff.
while the river bed was strewn
with great trees that had been torn
from their roots, heavy pieces of iron
and steel machinery, beams full Of
yarn, and streamers Of tangled muddy
cloth, the mill building itself seemed
to be intact. We were at. the rear end
at this time. I afterward learned that
a quarter section had been torn from
the front end next to the river; bit 1t
was not noticeable from the rear. Jhe
marks left by the settings Of mud.
showed where the water had been
nearly half way up in the second sto-
ry: but the third story had escaped
without any injury at all. We crawled
through a window into the first floor
of the mill. 1t was weave room,
with rows of looms extending the en-
tire length Of the building some three
or four hundred feet. Over next to
the river, the room had been filled
with mud and sand up to the tops Of
the looms. This mud and sand pre-
sented level surface from one end Of
the building to the other, except for
collection of grass and weeds, clinging
to projecting tops Of the looms. The
work could not have been done more
evenly had 1t been done on purpose.
From about the centre Of the weave
room, toward the wall further from the
river, the deposits were not 80 deep.
From a level with the tops Of the
looms they sloped down to thick
ness Of ten or twelve inches. All the
looms in the room appeared to be in
tact, as did most Of the other machin-
cry.
Having in mind the awful sudden
ness with which the food was repre-
sented to have struck the unsuspecting
people. and being under the impress
sion that the place was full Of opera
tives at the time and having been told
that while thirty or forty people are
missing only eight bodies have been
recovered, it occurred to me that this
mud filled weave room must have been
a veritable death trap. I made the
suggestion to my companion. He
agreed with me. He had no other idea
than that the horrible stencil that filled
the room came from decomposing bod
les. He felt sure that when the mud
and sand were removed, there would
be numerous horrible finds, and so did
/. Later I had talk with. weave
room employe who told me that he
knew Of his own knowledge that there
was not a single corpse In the build
ing. He was there when the waters
began to rise, and that while the rise
was rapid, 1t was not sudden. There
was nothing in the nature of an avail
anche about it, and there had been no.
body about the mill except watch
man or two since quitting time the
night before.
,ort, M off nrf
made to do anything with the first
floor of the mill, great deal Of clean
ing had been done on the second floor.
Men had gone in with shovels and
thrown the mud and sand out Of the
windows. Commencing two days be-
fore, workmen had succeeded in un-
covering the boiler Of the big engine
which furnished supplementary power,
and they got the pump to working
shortly after I reached the spot.
was informed that 1t was their pur-
pose to use the pump to wash the Sec
ond floor clean Of dirt and sand, and
that afterward they would probably
see what they could do by way Of re-
moving the mud and sand that half
filled the first floor in the same man
ner.
went with me down to mill No. 2.
Several piles Of brick along the river
bank. on the way were all that re-
manned to mark the sites of cottages
that had stood there. The track Of
the dummy line had been overturned,
and in one or two instances the iron
rils had been broken. We came
across a ragged old man who was
punching in a. hole of water with a
stick. He said that the hole was for
merly a mound; that his house had
stood on the mound and he was look
ing to see If he could not find some
little things that he had about the
house. Among other things he
said, I lost two mighty good rifle
guns that I would like to have
Here my guide stopped to have a
little talk with the old man. went
up to Spartanburg Yesterday to see
that ar committee. I couldn't find no
body to give me no satisfaction at
fust: but I went right on to Mr.. Ten
nant. I told him that they was dissat-
isfied down here with the way that re-
lief committee is actin. Some Of the
people round here say they amt git
ten nothin', an they seed in the pa
pers how the people are sendin' us
things and We want to know what Is
goin' with 'em, cause they amt gittin'
'em. Mr.. Tenant axed me If I know
ed anybody that didn't have no cloth
es and didn't have nothin' to eat and
told him 1 didn't. Then he said that
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