The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1904-11-10
nine LIVES LOST BY
BURSTING Of RES
ERVOIR,
Thousands Of Gallons Ct Water Ell
gclfed Victims who were Drown
ed in the Mad and An
CRY Rushing Waters.

CRY Rushing Waters.
NiIcinian-f Pilot
Charlotte, n. c., Nov. "A reser
voir O: the municipal water works To-
Gated near the centre of Winston Sa-
len, n. C broke at five O'Clock thi.
morning, causing the loss of nine lives
and the injury of four or five persons
The dead are:
Airs. Martin Peples, Mrs. Vogler
Mrs John Poe and twelve-year-old
daughter, Mrs. Southern. John South.
.sn. Miss Octavia Bailey, aged 20, Lu-
ellie Malone, Carolina Martin. The
two last named are colored. The in
jursd:
Martin v. Peoples, both legs broker,
Walter Peoples, injured in back, Gilley
Jordan. slightly bruised. These are
III the hospital. D. L. Payne, travel
ins man, OF Greensboro, may recover,
though his condition prevents bis re-
mnv:sl to the hospital.
WASHED HOUSES AWAY.
The north side CT the reservoir,
which is thirty feet high, tumbled over
Calling upon the home and barn of
Martin V. Peples. There were about
100000 gallons of water in the reser-
voir, aud the mad stream rushed north
east to the Southern railway cut, and
thence to Belos Pond, distance OF a
half mite Four tenement houses
were washed several hundred yards.
D. L. Payne, injured, said he was
awakened by the crash and thought be
Was being swallowed by an earthquake.
II cannot describe my experience
while l was floating on the mad, rush
ing stream of WATER" said Mr.. PAYNE
after his removal to house near the
place he was found.
There were several miraculous es.
capes. A cOlored man and his wife
named Davis, after their house was
turned over, hoated upoa the stream
Of water on their bed to the railroad
junction, a distance of 500 yards. The
man lodged upon a heap of rubbish
and walked out without a scratch.
The Winston alderman met this
morning and made arrangements to
bury the dead and care for the injured
The Winston reservoir was built in
1881 by company composed OF sixty
citizens Ten years ago it and the en-
tire water plant were sold to the city
Soon thereafter ten feet were added to
the height Of the reservoir, which was
full OF water when the collapse came
The city has just had a large staEdpipe
completed. It is fall of water and the
town is prepared to supply every de-
mand,
CITY WAS EXCITED.
Despite tie early hour, the news oil
tie disaster spread oyer the city in an
Incredibly short space of time, and
within thirty minutes between 500 and
1000 people surrounded the spot. An
hour later the entire city was aroused
aud excited. Before the extent of the
damage was known, and while it was
thought that perhaps the members o.
the Peoples family were the only ones
who lad lost their lives, cries of dis
tress were heard farther down the
stream.
The thousands of gallons OF water
that flowed from the reservoir formed
a pond in the vicinity and it wal
thought that several people might have
been drowned In this. The city council
met aud decided to drain the pond In
order to recover any bodies that might
lie beneath the water.
The reservoir was situated about five
blocks from the center OF the business
district of the city and surrounded By
number Of residences and several
small stores. 1t is understood that the
structure had been condemned, but TIT
city authorities bad failed to remove
it.