Richmond daily register. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1917-1978, 1921-06-15

! SOnaI trunks, bearing express
tags, were still loaded and piled
against the fences and all of the
Union station equipment scatter
ed here and there promiscuously.
! "a head Of white faced cattle
were piled in heap, while other
carloads of live cattle were wan
dering about on an island with
out being able to find shelter or
direction. More than 100 houses
could be seen in the water, over
turned, and trees and floating de
bris piled against them. The cur
rent was very swift and had been
up to the second floor of the de
pot. A woman was taken out of
the depot and her hair had turn
ed white during her experience.
Many people were marooned in
the building above the second
floor, and the depot records were
washed away.
Being unable to get through
Sunday night, | found shelter at
the home of a woman whom |
had known twenty years ago in
the south, whose son had an aW-
full experience the night before
in the flood, he and his wife hay
ing been separated in the office Of
his building by the waters and did
not know for 18 hours anything
about the whereabouts of each
other. Being unable to get out
Of the main entrance of his build
ing, he rushed up to the second
floor, lifted himself up by his
hands to the rafters of the build
ing and sat in the darkness until
/ the water came above his knees.
Cutting his way through the roof
with a knife, he craWled along
the edge OF The building to d
chimney and sat in the drenching
rain from II o'clock at night I'M
til 8 o'clock The next morning,
in the dark, and as the lightning
flashed saw his horses and stock
struggling in the stream below.
! He managed to rescue q small
kitten on the way tip and kept it
with him until he was able TO
come down. This was Hubert
IIerpsbergcr. IN old schcolmate
|of mine in Kentucky, who went
to Pueblo twenty years ago and
had worked very hard building
up this baggage and transfer bus
mess, and it was just in the last
year that he had gotten things
to the point where he had tried
/ for so long to bring them. His
loss will be very heavy, but his
wife and family were saved. His
mother, with whom | stopped
over night, stated that the ner-
vous strain upon him had been
very severe and she feared for
! his future health.
! Rising at five o'clock the fol
lowing morning | managed to get
across the Main street viaduct,
one end Of which had caved IL
land over which the traffic was
later forbidden. | found my way
through deep mud and water to
the north side through the bust
ness district, which was almost
impossible till | got to the home
Of the people about whom I was
concerned when | left Trinidad.
These bridges were guarded by
i soldiers who informed me that
the rest of the men with whom |
was trying to get by, that even
the Sheriff'S written orders would
not be recognized and that very
unusual excuses only would be
honored There happened to be
one man, however, who recog-
nized me and pointed me out in
crowd, called me to him and al
lowed me to pass and | do not
know yet who he was. | did not
, stop to ask because I was afraid
, | would compromise him and I
was anxious to proceed.
The Rood Candy Company's
building was still burning, and
the D. & r. @. and Missouri Pa
cihc passenger trains were over
turned in the river in the flood.
There were no windows left in
any of the buildings on Union
Avenue and as far up. as Fourth
street. and beside a great many
! small business houses, such no.
table places as Crews-Beggs,
Dean Creel. White & Davis and
the Pryor Furniture Company,
were total wrecks. A boxcar
from somewhere had knocked
, the end of the Pryor Furniture
CompanySs building out and a
gasoline engine was pumping a
stream of water out of the White
& Davis establishment into the
street. A combined residence
and business house evidently car