Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1921-06-09
SE COND FLOOD
SWEEPS OVER
PUEBLO VALLEY
Hundreds Drown as Wall of Wa
tiers Hits City.
800 BODIES NOW IN MORGUES
Thousands Made Homeless by DeIuqe
Caused by Cioudburst and Ereak-
ing Of Great Dams-Property
Loss Placed at $10,0oo,O0o.

mess district is mass of wrecked
buildings. Its streets are deep in mud
from the Arkansas river, which over
flowed its banks, bringing the worst
flood in the history of the city.
The death list probably will mount
into the hundreds when toll is taken
of the wrecked residences and room
ing houses in the river bottoms. The
| full death list may never be known.
Reports say 500 killed is a conserva-
tive estimate. 1t may reach 1000.
Property loss is estimated at $1O,-
100000.
Second Flood Hits City.
new flood hit the city Sunday. ex-
tending to Fourth and Main streets.
Heaviest loss was in Grove district
and the Peppersauce Creek buttons.
Foreigners were caught after they
refused to leave. At noon 81 bodies
had been recovered.
Flood warnings were sounded again
at $3.50 o'clock, and the Arkansas
river rose rapidly to Main and Sec
ond streets and Main and Court
streets. With the water about two feet
deep in the streets, the flood continued
to swell. Meanwhile the Fountain
river rose II inches in six hours
A total of 25 men have been arrest
ed for lOoting. One Mexican was shot
by guards.
After a second night of horror
Pueblo aWoke to take up the gruesome
task Of collecting and identifying her
dead flood victims, of trying to carry
SuccOr to thousands of stranded
refugees and establishing lines of COM
munication over which to send her
! call for help from outside.
Three hundred bodies lie stretched
out in the morgues. The toll is mount
| ing hourly.
| Warnings Are Unheeded.
II was in this section warning the
inhabitants" he said. "They took the
warnings lightly. The waters came
down so suddenly then that | had
difficulty in escaping myself"
S. w. Presley, chairman of the
safety committee, says no progress
can be made in search for bodies I'M
til the waters have gone down further.
| Although Pueblo is under martial
what. 1t is now possible to traverse
| the city, except to cross the deadline
| at the waters edge, without military
pass.
! One thousand destitute flood victims
are lined up at relief stations They
| coffee.
One hundred persons are in the re-
! lief station established in the court
house. Every physician has been work
ing constantly since Friday night.
| Score; Of little children in the court
| from exposure.
At the converted hospital in the
| Congress hotel several cases of small
| pox and scarlet fever have developed
among Mexican refugees.
Tales of Witnesses.
| Colorado Springs, June Cray
mond P. Chapman Of this city returned
~frOm Pueblo with vivid story Of the
| flood. He raced the flood waters
through the Arkansas valley in an au-
tomobile, arriving in Pueblo just as
the water in the river had reached the
| bridges.
After passing the night in the city
| he got ten gallons of gasoline and
made his way to Colorado Springs,
| travelling through fields, over railroad
trestles and, with several other motor
lists who followed in his wake, con-
structed temporary bridges.
| Chapman said when he reached
| Pueblo the sirens were shrieking warn
ings to the people and the waters in
| the business section Of town had
| reached the level of second stories.
He saw a two-story house floating
down the street at Third and Main
| streets.
Sees Thrilling Rescues.
Chapman said many thrilling res
cues were effected by means of boats
brought from the park and that in
one instance which came to his no.
tice a boy had rescued three women
He tried to pick up an old man also
when one of the women, becoming
hysterical, clasped the boy The boy
even then tried to save the life Of one
of the women by swimming, but lost
his hold on her and all the occupants
of the boat but the boy were washed
away in the stream.
The deep water raced through the
streets with the fierceness Of a noun
tain stream. He said that, terrible
as were the fires, the rescuers were
greatly aided by the flames, which il
Illuminated the sky. Burning piles of
lumber, said Chapman, flowed down
the river, setting fire to things they
passed.
Men Gave Up Shelter.
81 had room In the Congress no
tel, but gave it up, as did all the other
men, to women and children" said
Chapman. "All night l was on the