Omaha daily bee., 1908-08-30
TERRIBLE SCENES AT FOLSOM
Half the Town Wiped Away by Rag
ing Mountain Torrent.
NEARLY THIRTY PERSONS DEAD
Telephone Operator I'm Doomed
Building Loses Her Life While
warning All Whom she
Could Reach.

TRINIDAD, Colo, Aug 2s.-Between
twenty and thirty dead, nearly half the
town swept away, thousands of dollars
damage to town property and great loss
Of live stock tell briefly the story Of the
flood at Folsom early yesterday Twenty
four hours after the disaster the first
definite news from the stricken town
reached this city when refugees and pas
sengers of a stranded Colorado & Southern
train reached the city shortly after o'clock
this morning.
To the list Of ten known yesterday to
have been drowned are added seven more
victims. The list SO far is:
CHARLES WHEELER.
MRS. CHARLES WHEELER.
MRS. 8. ]. ROOKIE
ANTONIO SALAZER.
MISS SALAZER.
MR: AND Mrs. JOSEPH GuERIN.
r. b. WENGER
MRS. r. y. WENGER.
MISS DAISY WENGER.
MISS LUCY CREIGHTON.
r. w. WHEELER.
MRS. T. w. WHEELER.
THREE WHEELER CHILDREN.
T. W. WHEELER's sIsTER-IN-LAw,
whose name could not be learned
Many are still missing and several days
may elapse before complete list OF dead
is obtainable.
Entire Family Swept Away.
Residents or the town who lived on high
ground and beyond the reach OF the tor
rent saw houses containing families crying
for aid swept away before their eyes, pow
erless to render them any assistance. Eye
witnesses of the disaster tell of seeing
lights flickerng for a moment in doomed
buildings and hearing the structures crash
together as they drifted into the narrow
canyon and were crushed like bits OF paste
board Some lights could be seen a dis
tance OF nearly mile downstream before
the buildings were finally broken up and
the occupants drowned. An entire row OF
buildings was completely swept away and
others were jammed together in a shape
less mass hundreds of yards from their
foundations. Everywhere are seen bodies
OF drowned cattle and horses.
Only stone buildings and those on higher
ground were left standing.
Telephone Operator Heroine.
To Mrs. s. j. Rookie, telephone operator
who lost her life in the flood many resi-.
dents owe their escape. In the face of GER
tain death this brave woman stayed in a
doomed building until every method OF
escape was cut off by water. sending
! alarms TO every resident who had a tele.
phone.
| The flood was caused by an overflow OF
I the Cimarron river caused by a cloudburst
! Folsom is in the northeastern part OF
New Mexico. Its elevation is about 7,OOC
/ feet and constantly in danger of floods
which sweep down from the mountains
whenever there is a cloudburst or heavy
rain in the hills.
The property loss is estimated to exceed
$4,000.
Only the fact that C. A. Sweet, 4Os Bet
building. received a letter from w. E
Guthrie Of Bridgeport Neb.. Friday say
! ing that Truman w. Wheeler OF OmahJ
! was I'm that town Thursday and would b,
home Sunday prevented friends OF Mr.
/ Wheeler taking steps to learn whether Mr.
and Mrs Wheeler were drowned near Fol
som. n. NJ, In a cloudburst and thei
children from starting west.
/ number of people were drowned In
flood OF the Cimarron river following
eloudburst and telegram from TTinidad
Colo, gave among the dead Mr. and Mrs
r. w. Wheeler. three Wheeler children
anc a sister-ln-law of the Wheelers.
Mr.. and Mrs T. w. Wheeler of Omah;
left August 1s for a trip in the COLORADO
mountsins, with their sister-in-law ant
her children. They visited the Trinidad
district. The flood was about 100 mile
! south Of Trinidad. on the Colorado 4
Southern railroad.
When Omaha friends OF Mr. and Mrs
Wheeler OF this city read the dispatche
in The Bee they were much alarmed, an
Mr.. Sweet. who Is in business with Mr.
Wheeler. had large number of inquiries
But Mr.. Sweet produced letter from Mr
| Guthrie saying Mr.. and Mrs. Wheele
were in Bridgeport Thursday and anothe
from Mr.. Wheeler himself. dated In Ster
ling. Colo, wednesday The flood in south
ern Colorado and New Mexico occurre
Thursday night. Mr.. Wheeler OF Oman
was enroute TO Bridgeport, Neb. fror
Sterling, Colo. at the time and announce
that he would be home In Omaha sunda
morning. But his friends IN Omaha re
eeived a scare when they read the morn
ling paper and concluded there were
number OF T. w. wheslsEs travelling
Colorado.