Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1916-07-19
MUST FOLLOW AS THE NIGHT THE DAY: THOU GA
NALHAIIA, SOUTH CARoIINA, WEDNESDAY, july 1O 1916.
EIGHTEEN MEN MAY RE LOST.
Floods Worst Ever Known OH ca
ttlwba ana Broad Rivers.


-------..
charlotte, July 16.-Eighteen men
Ia construction officials and em-
ployees Of the Southern railway, and
four linemen of the Western Union
Telegraph Company--are missing to-
night and are either drowned or ma
rooned In trees on the Catawba river,
about IL miles from Charlotte. The
river is rising rapidly. The men were
swept into the river late to-day when
the Southern railways main line
bridge was washed away. The known
missing are: Fl. p. Griffin, road su-
pervisor; JOS A. Killian. resident en-
gineer; .. S. Barbee, section fore
man. Charlotte; r. o. Thompson,
section foreman, Belmont; w. l..
Fortune, section foreman Kings
Mountain; G. c. Kale, II. c. Gully,
G. w. Kluttz, derrick men, and J. N.
Gorson, car inspector, Charlotte; A.
B. Blackwell, Western Union line
crew boss, and three linemen; five
negro laborers.
What are said to be the worst
foods ever known in the Catawba
and Broad rivers to-day had done
damage that will run into the hun
dreds of thousands Of dollars in the
territory within radius of SO miles
north and west Of Charlotte. The
bridge workers under Jos. A. Killian
went down with the Southern's main
line bridge at Belmont, just out of
Charlotte, late to-day. Five or six
OF the men are reported to have been
caught in the tops of trees and res
cued.
Just above the Southern bridge,
the Piedmont and Northern interur-
ban bridge was washed away. Far
ther up the river, near Mooresville
and Statesville, two highway bridges
went out, while at Catawba the
Southern's bridge on the Salisbury
| Asheville line was washed away.
At Monde, below Catawba, the
West Monde cotton mill of 5000
| spindles Is under water, and the East
Monde mill, across the river, is al
most submerged, while cotton ware
house with 400 bales Of cotton has
been washed away. Still farther uD
the Catawba, the Lilladaun and Ais
haugh mills are under water
The damage to the mills is laid to
| @aterspot in Alexander county,
which caWsed a section of the earth,
embankment OF the Lookout Shoals
Power Company to give away to-day,
adding Is feet of water to the al
ready more than 20-foot tide in the
Catawba. That volume of water also
caused the last two or three of the
bridges to go.
Near Winston-Salem, the town of
Rondo was cut Off from the outside
world for several hours until a tele-
graph operator, driven out Of his Of
flee, carried his instruments to high
hill and cut In on a telegraph wire.
Trains cannot be gotten to North
Wilkesboro and will not be operated
west Of DOnnagha tomorrow, be-
cause OF the tide on the Yadkin
river, which is SA feet higher than
known in 43 years. A Southern rail
way train, supposed to have left
North Wilkesboro yesterday after
noon, has not been heard from, while
one that started from Winston Salem
to that town has had to stop at Elkin.
Residents Of louisville and adjacent
towns are moving to high lands.
-Four Saved, Hopes for Others.
Charlotte, N. c., July 17.--Rescu-
ers to-day brought in Engineer Jos.
Killian and three other employees of
the Southern railway who had been
lodged in trees in the Catawba river
| mile below where the railroad
| bridges went down with them.
Searching parties are seeking the
other men who were on the bridges
when 1t went down.
1t was hoped the other eleven rail
way employees swept away yesterday
with a bridge would be saved later in
! the day. A tree holding some Of the
men was swept down early to-day
and the men carried away. Four
al Il 80
esraph Company are also reported
lost. The river Is falling slowly.
Reports from every section con-
tinued to add to the property dam
| age. The Southern railway bridge
| near Rock Hill was swept away. De-
struction Of this cuts off all traffic
southwark over tho Southern lines,
! Trains are being detoured over the
Seaboard Air Line by way of Monroe.
| put reports state that a bridge on
that line Is in danger and probably
will be condemned.
Worst in History--Receding.
Raleigh. N. c., July 17.-Flood
waters which swept parts Of North
Carolina. South Carolina, Virginia,
Tennessee and West Virginia yester-
| day, taking toll Of at least nine
lives, rendered hundreds of persons
homeless and doing property damage
| variously' estimated at from ten to
fifteen millions, were receding to-day.
Tho worst conditions obtained in
Western North Carolina, where the
flood was described as the most dis
astrous in the history Of that section.
In South Carolina.
The rivers doing the greatest flood
damage are In the eastern part of the
State. In York, Union, Spartanburg