The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1908-09-03
HEAVY LOSSES BY FLOOD
UNPRECEDENTED RAINFALL IN
SOUTH CAROLINA.
Railroad and Public Bridges Swept
Away-Crops on Bottoms To-
tai Loss.

South Carolina has suffered the
loss of millions of dollars worth of
property by the present unprecedent-
ed foods, the burden of the loss fall
ing upon the farmers. The heavy
rains of the past three days, with the
resultant swollen streams, have
blasted the hopes of the cotton and
corn planters of the State. Ten days
ago prospects were for banner crop
year and the people felt the approach
of returning prosperity-now many
of them face financial disaster. The
cotton crop has been damaged at
least so per cent. and the corn crop
e-en more because of the fact that
the bulk of the corn produced in
South Carolina is grown along the
waterways.
The railroads have suffered great
loss in wrecked bridges and trestles
and inundated roadbeds The Sea-
board Air Line was placed practi-
cally out Of commission in this State
by the loss Of their bridges at Able
Vile an6 Camden and no through
passenger trains are being operated.
Freight trains have generally been
discontinued and at least one-half
of the passenger trains IN the state
on all lines have been abandoned.
Except south of Columbia no at
tempt is being made to maintain
schedules and many towns in the
State are without any train service
at all.
telegraph and telephone service is
badly crippled and some of til cities
and towns where the food was most
serious are cut off entirely from the
outside world. No trains arrived or
left Camden yesterday over either
the Seaboard Air Line, the Southern
or Atlantic Coast Line and the peo-
Die of that city are deprived of their
daily newspapers, and this was true
of a number of other towns and
cities in the State Probably more
! than 100 towns in the State, of from
1000 to 10000 population, knew alb
solutely nothing of the election re-
suits except what they obtained Dy
wire.
Many of the large water-power
electric plants in the State were put
out of commission by the food. Two
such plants in Columbia were under
IA feet of water last night, those OF
the Columbia Electric Street Rail-
way, Light & Power company and
the Columbia Mills company. The
Broad river plant near Gaffney and
the plant at Meals. Shoals were re-
ported under water and abandoned
yesterday.
The reports received at Columbia
weather bureau indicates the heavi-
est rainfall ever recorded in South
Carolina within any 4S hours. AT
Greenville up to 8 o'clock yesterday
morning, the precipitation recorded
was 13 inches, IL inches having
fallen during the proceeding "a
hours. The rainfall at other points
from 8 a. m! Tuesday to a. m.
Wednesday was as follows: Spar
tanburg, 4.50: Greensboro. N. c.,
4.34; Catawba, $50; Columbia, g.
80; Charlotte, 2:37; Raleigh, 2.04;
Blairs, 200; Athens, Ca. 1.74; Ma
con, Ca, $50; Monticello, Ca, 2.9O;
Quitman, Ca, 1.5S.
The Congaree river at Columbia
registered 81 feet last nlgnt, SO
feet higher than recorded during the
great food of 1908. This is the
highest recorded since the weather
bureau placed a gauge on this river,
20 years ago. At Catawba the river
yesterday registered 20 feet, the
highest before recorded being ~
feet. The Wateree reached 80 feet
at Camden yesterday evening, 5.2
feet higher than the previous high
water mark. At Blairs the Broad
river rose from 241z feet to 2S feet
from 8 a. m. yesterday to 5 p. m.
yesterday. No reports were receiv-
ed giving the gauge readings on the
Saluda river-The State, Thursday,
August 27.
nov SuOCKEn TO DEATH