The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1919-07-22
OF RAIN
DO GREAT DAMAGE
Columbia Main Street Building Gives
Way-Dams Break and County
Bridges Washed OFF.

Wav-DaMS SrSah dhA NOoASJ
Bridges Washed OFF.
The State, 21st.
Sporadic rains over the State and
an almost continuous downpour yes
terdav sent the rivers Of the Santee
10 10 a mark little short Of TIRE
hieh water marks OF the 1908 and
1915 foods. \ special warning, IS
suaa yesterday by Richard Il. Su!h-
var, naeceorologis5 at the United
States weather bureau, predicted
that the Wateree would reach 56 feet
as Camden today, record but four
feet short of that of July, 1915.
The Congaree at Columbia had
passed the 16 foot mark last night
and was still rising at rate OF about
seven inches an hour. The Catawoa
river was expected to reach mark
of about 81 feet this morning while
the Broad at Blairs will probably
crest near IT feet early today. The
santee is still rising at Rip1ini and is
expected to reach it's crest Thursday
with a record of 21 feet, the flood
crest reaching Ferguson two days
later.
The food unlike those of 1908 and
1915, which were fash foods, is what
: is known as a slow flood. .Contlnu-
Gus heavy rainfall distributed over
several days have caused the flood
to snread out for a considerable dis
tance so that the river is now 'prac-
tically at high flood stage from
CASTOR Shoals to considerable dis
tance below Columbia. The water,
slow in rising, will also take long
time to pass and if the rains above
Columbia continue the river will rise
still higher here as the water reach
ing Columbia comes from rains near
, Spartanburg and CASTOR Shoals last
Friday:
Detouring Trains.
Railroad service throughout the
Santee valley is generally demoraliz-
ed and Frank w. Shealy, chairman OF
the State railroad commission, issued
orders yesterday that all schedules
be slowed down and j case Of danger
or probable danger that the trains
are to be stopped. The dam Caugh-
man pond, nine miles below Colum-
bia, broke yesterday afternoon wash
ing out a portion of the Atlantic
Coast Line track between Columbia
and Childs and necessitating the
transfer Of passengers Of the after
noon trains from the Atlantic Coast
Line to the Southern. The Southern
trestle at Childs was carried off later
and ali late Southern trains were de-
toured to Charleston by way OF
Blackville. The Atlantic Coast Line
track was repaired by $3.50 o'clock
last night and with the trestle at
sChilds safe passenger trains were
sent over it last night.
No other trestles are in any i'm
mediate danger although the latest
report last night from Camden puts
the Wateree river at 80 feet, five feet
from one of the spans of the Sea-
board trestle there and only Is feet
from the steel span. The river is ex-
pected to reach near 36 feet by to.
night, but is in no danger as this
would still leave nine feet between
the food crest and the main span.
Up to late last night no trouble
had been reported in the telegraph
systems although. the Columbia Of
fees were accepting messages subject
to delay. The telephone system was
slightly impaired locally, due to the
puncturing of several cables by
lightning, but the long distance lines
had suffered no damage from the
storm.
Over SO inches of rain Saturday
night and yesterday flooded practi-
cally every stream in the county,
washing out roads in number OF
places, carrying off bridges and de-
stroying crops throughout the coun-
ty. Cotton and corn planted in the
creek bottoms have been under wa
ter and are almost total loss.
Building Collapses.
Early yesterday morning the old
r. B. Aughtry building located at
1607-0e Main street aud occupied by