The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1916-07-19

FIVE LIVES LOST AND MILLIONS
'OFPR0PERTY DAMAGE DONE
- BY ANGRY WATERS.

"'ilore Drowned In SwananilOs
RIVER, Despite Efforts to Rcscu.
Them-Property Loss is Estimates
at $i0.000,OOO as Result of Heav,
Rainfall and Flooded Rivers.
Asheville. N. c., July 16.-Taking 9
toll Of five human lives with a prop.
erty loss estimated from Sc. 1000 Oot
to $1o,OOO.OOO and with hundreds q,
people rendered homeless by the de.
strpction OF more than LOO houses. ,the
WORST mood in the history of the State
swept the river section of Asheyille
and the French Broad valley early
ohis morning. and at O'Clock tonight
the waters of the sSwanannoa and
french Broad rivers were Is fee,
aoovetheir banks. although believed to
Epe receding.4 Reports from towns in
the French Broad valley. covering a
territory from the Lake Toxawav Sec
tion TO Hot Springs, near: the Tennes-
ee line put the property losses at near
~ $to'ooo,oO0. Reports from these Sec
lions are difficult to obtain owing to
the interruption of telegraph and
telephone communication; lines being
down everywhere. Atr1 o'clock today
the Western" Union Telegraph COM
pany succeeded In looping up a ,tele-
phone wire to Atlanta, thus getting
the only line of communication to the
outside world at that time.
The dead. SO far known, are CAPT!
J1C. Lipe. Miss Nellie Lipe, an ui,mar-
ried daughter, Mrs. Leo Mulholland. O.
married daughter. all of whom were
drowned In the Swanannoa river at
Biltmore while efforts were being
made to rescue them from their flood
ed nome near the river bank. Two
Others, Lonnie Trexler, a white labor
er and Luther Frazer, a negro. were
drowned this evening while attempt
ing to carry food to marooned guests
at the Glen Rock Hotel. At noon to-
DAY the water had reached the second
floor of this hotel, driving all guests
to the third and fourth floors. The
Southern passenger railway station
opposite the Glen Rock hotel has
eight feet OF water in it. All train
service in and out of the city has been
suspended. - ~.
An estimated rainfall of from six
to eight inches throughout the French
Broad valley during the last week
was the primary cause ot the floods
which reached their h,ghest paint
shortly after daybrea'; this morning.
These conditions were further aggra-
waited when the dams holding back the
waters orLake Osceloa at Henderson
vile and Kanuga lake at Kanuga- were
carried away, the tides thus liberated
sweeping down through the French
Broad valley. through Henderson
county past Asheville and into the ad-
joining county Of Madison. Commu-
nication with the latter section by
either telephone or telegraph has not
yet been established. but it is feared
that the entire town Of Marshall has
been wiped off the map. =or
At O'Clock this afternoon fears
were entertained for the big dam at
Lake Toxaway, the bursting Of which,
it is said, would send the waters
sweeping through South Carolina and
would create conditions worse than
those Of the Johnstown flood.
Hundreds of children from the cot
ton mill section Of the city. whose
homes were swept away early this
morning, crowded the city hall this
afternoon. Hastily formed relief COM
mittees are making every arrange
ment for the sheltering and feeding
of the city's homeless.
The town Of Biltmore, laid out 25
JSo'S r6O w tuc ldtC 6cOI6c w
derbilt, Is almost entirely under wa
ter, ranging in depth from three to
five feet, and is completely cut off
from the city Of Asheville by a rag
ing torrent Of water, the Swanannoa,
which at some points Is mile wide.
1t was here the first loss of life so
far reported was recorded when Capt.
I.ipe and two daughters were drowned
in an ieffort to escape by boat from
their home. which was swept from its
foundation by the rapidly rising wa
ters Three women who reached the
tree tops from the second floor of their
house across the road from the Lipe
home were rescued this afternoon by
boatmen.t .t
The property losses of lumber and