New-York tribune., 1903-06-08
SCORES DROWNED.
THE LOSS MILLIONS.
Great Devastation UrOught By the
Flood IN South Carolina.
rpr TELEGRAPH TO The rRlrrSE-l

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eighty lives were lost in the PacoIett River yes
terday. most of them in Clifton. A dozen men
who stood on the hiH at Clifton say that they
saw numbers Of people washed down the stream
in the first rush Of the flood They were on
pianks timbers and sections of houses. and u
is believed impossible that any escaped There
are more than a hundred persons missing out
many OF these are believed to he wandering
IN the country. having fed in fright from the
river.
The waters OF the food we're red with sand
from the hills. and this has settled over the
submerged country inches. and in ONE places
feet deep. There were six counties directly
affected by the food but spartanburg bore the
entire loss Of life and probably three-fourths OF
the property loss. The property damage IN
Spartanburg will aggregate S4.0000Oo. divided
about follows: Glendale mills. warehouses and
cotton, 100000: Clifton mills. $1sj0O0o; Paco-
lett mills and cotton. 100000; bridges. rail-
road and county S35OOO0; mill houses and other
structures at PacoIett Clifton and in the valley
Of the PacoIett River. 100000: ArCwright and
Whitney mills $4,000: roadbeds. telegraph
and telephone lines. $4,000. The Newry mills.
at Seneca. in Pickens County. are under water.
and have lost all their cotton and goods. but
seem TO be standing the food.
The railroads have sustained terrible blow.
AMI traffic is paralyzed IN upper Carolina Spar
tanburg with five railroads. is cut of from the
world. Four of these lines belong TO the South
ern system. The Southerns bridges over ths
Broad River at Shelton. and over the North
Tiger. the Middle Tiger. the Seneca and Paco-
lett rivers have gone. and their bridges
over the Congaree here and the Broad az Alston
are threatened. The Charleston and Western
Carolina Railway bridge over the Enoree River
is wreck The Carolina and Northern Sea
board systen) has lost two bridges over the
Broad and Pacoett rivers. All the southern's
interstate trains are running through here. the
bridge at this point being the sole dependence
Of the system.
The Congaree River here has reached its rec
ord mark tonight. and is expected to rise four
feet higher Because Of the heavy tfnbers and
debris coming down from wrecked bridges and
factories there is much apprehension for the
city's five bridges The upper bridge is large
closed affair and. should If be lifted off by
current running twelve miles hour. would
be a immense battering ram against the lower
steel bridges.
Thousands of people watched the rushing
waters here till afterdark tonight. Many bales ot
cotton and cotton goods were rescued from the
flood but 100000 worth of cotton has gone
TO the sea Communication is cut OF from
Pickens tonight and there are several mills in
the country that have not been heard from The
water from Sapphire Lake, whose dam broke
yesterday, has rushed through that country but
so far no reports Of loss Of life have come
Months ago the people living in the valley
through which the water from this lake would
flow made complaint Of the danger. The lake Is
held in by an immense dam built in the noun
tafns by Western hotel syndicate 1t was
nearly ten miles long. Fortunately, the dam did
not give way at once. the water being permitted
to escape gradually Had the dam collapsed
the destruction to life would have been sp-
palling-
All the State to-day contributed TO the relief
Of the stricken people OF Pacolett and Clifton
The condition OF the sufferers is pitifuI in the
extreme The leaders and the preachers are
working nobIy to reassure them. but # IS dtfn-
cult. Ignorant and dependent. they are utterly
unnerved by calamity that takes from them
their means OF making living There are sew
en- thousand destitute in Spartanburs County.
and to-day they uncontrolled IN their grief
and lamentations Their preachers held open
air services. The bodies recovered were buried
and God was asked 20 give the people the
strength to say Thy will be done
For Gods sake help US. and help Us now
was the message brought to Spartanburg from
Clifton The spartanburg people responded
promptly At public meeting $500 was
raised. Other towns are also contributing Of
fertngs we're made in the churches here to-day
and prayers were said. Representative Johnson.
in whose district spartanburg is. walked ten
miles to-day and crossed river to take a train
10 Washington where he will ask aid
There is no way OF sending supplies into
spartanburg. and IT is not known how long the
town can stand the drain its resources.
Money can be forwarded by telegraph. but every
railroad leading into the stricken district Is
washed out. and as important bridges have
been washed away on al OF them. II may be
week before supplies can reach that section
The loss TO railroads in the State viii probably
be 100000 The counties affected viii lose
equal amount on bridges and roads. While the
amount cannot De estimated accurately. thu
farmers have lost in the millions. Tremendous