The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-09-02
TWENTY DROWNED
Series of Storms Sweep Penn
syIvania and West Virginia.
Great Damage to Railroads and
Other Property.

Pittsburg, Sept. 2.-Twenty persons
are known to have been drowned ana
many others are missing following q
series of storms which swept over
western Pennsylvania, and the Fan
/ Handle of West Virginia early today
1 The B. & o. and Pan Handle railroads
We're badly washed and it is state1
that days will pass before traffic can
! be resumed.
I Through trains were marooned dur
J ing the night in the flooded district
/ Many manufacturing plants are un lC.i
water and the property damage VIII
/ be heavy. Reports from Golfers, III
the Pan Handle of West Virginia, are
that nine persons have been droWnel
there and many more are missing, put
the exact loss of life can not yet be as
certaineG.
Cherry Valley "a mining town on
! the creek, was flooded within halt an
hour after the rain began to faJl.
Foundations of houses were under
mined and they toppled over into the
flooded streets.
{ George Gillespie. his wife and four
children were drowned in the house and
the bodies of the children were found
OH a mattress floating IN 1our or HNe
feet of water.
Cannonsburg. Pa, also suffered from
the storm, hardly having recovered
fl ON a like experience last week.
Houses Filled With Water.
Charters CT eek overlooked its banks
and swept through the town, flooding
the railroad and trolley tracks, and
many of the streets. A number of
houses were filed with water. but the
residents had received ample waning
and FASTENED to places of safety but
one man who went back to recover
some valuable papers was crushed in
the collapse of his house and boy fell
irto the flood when a porch on which
he had taken refuge went down.
number of children in the commu-
nifty are among the missing and several
men, women and children who had
taken refuge on the roof OF a house on
tho stream on the edge of Cannonsburg
slipped on the shingles and disappeared
i'll the flood.
At Avella, Washington county,
Henry Crows house was undermined
by an ordinary little stream. Mrs.
Crow was badly injured and Crow
carried her out, but before he could
return for the three children they
were swept away. After spending it's
force south and west of Pittsburg, the
storm swung north to Butler county,
where great damage was done, but so
far as known, no lives were lost.
Oil derricks were blown down,
small streams flooded and scores of
persons spent the night in railroad
cars, held prisoners between wash
outs.
The known dead:
COO KWHITE, Burgettstown, Pa.
GEORGT GILLESPIE, his wife and
four children, Cherry Valley, Pa.
MRS. THORLEY AND DAUGH-
TER, G lliers, w Va.
Unidentified family, of man, Wo-
man and three children, Golfers, w.
Va.
ELI HANCOCK, Cannonsburg, Pa.
Unidentified foreigner.
Ten year old boy, unidentified.
Three children of John Crow,
Avella, Pa.
The storm came after a day of I'M
usual heat and burst with little warn
inS.
The Pittsburg baseball team tram
from Cincinnati was delayed by the
Golfers flood compelling postpone
ment of the morning game with Chi
cago at Forbes field.
Damage to railroads is very heavy. The
Washington branch of the Panhandle was
so badly washed that all the trains were
annuelled and in spite of the five hundred
men rushed from Pittsburg to make re-
pairs, it. is said that several days will
elapse before communication will be open
with Washington, Pa. The .PittSburg and
Columbus division of the Panhandle also
suffered severely IA miles of track be-
tween Burgettstown and Cumberland
Junction having been heavily damaged
Through trains are being detoured to
Pittsburg over the Ohio river division of
the Cleveland and Pittsburg.
The Baltimore and Ohio tracks were
flooded in Washington county but repairs
are being made rapidly.