.N.EY.EJ,T
-ESTA'BLISHEiD iW-ii . N WERRY4 So C., TUESDAY, JUNE 2, TWC1AW EK03A''
TERRIBLE DISASTER
DEYASTATES TOPEKA,
T43 WORST FLOOD SINCE THE JOHNS
- TOWN HORROR.
90 Lives Lost, $6,000,000 Property
Burned And Swept By Flood,
8,000 Persons Homeless
opoka, Kan, May 30.-People
1 who did not leave North Topeka last
night when ty-v had a chance are
now in the greatest danger of losing
their livc.s. As far as can be esti
mated at this timo over 500 people
re beyond hope of rescue. The Kan.
ass River is rising at the rate of th ree
inches an hour. Thirty are known to
be dead and the list will be larger.
Hundreds are missing. People are
kdrowning and others are burning to
5 eath. If any portion of North To
.,)ka shall escape destruction by the
)1ood it seems tonight as though fire
would finish the work. The large
lumber yards of Jonathan Thomas
caught fire this afternoon and whole
blocks of houses were burned. Burn
ing houses are floating through the
streets and setting fire to others.
It is reported that the Union Pa
cific depot and hotel have been burned.
There is no possible way of quench
ing the flames. The los's of life will
be appalling, the property loss is in
the millions. Nobody can tell just
what has been destroyed. The water
extends around Shorey and other
suburt -.
Every foot of North Topeka, inhab
ited by ten thousand people, is under
water. The current is so swift that
no boat can live in it. Seven thous.
and people have escaped to the south
and ar - being cared for as well as
poBr' e. The remaining hundreds
have not yet been accounted for.
Thay have been forced to the top
floor, or to the roofs of buildings,
and are waiting for the water to sub
side or carry them down stream.
They are safe only so long as the
building remains standing. Below
town scores of men are in tree tops,
yelling for help. Thousands of re
volver shots and screams have been
heard on the north side, signals for
aid. Women and children in the
west part of Topeka are standing on
the highest points in reach and yet
in water up to their necks.
Business in Topeka was practically
at, a standntill because of Decoration
Day and business houHes closed the
greater part of the day. The flood
and the condition of the sniferers
took the attentioni of every one to the
exe!uwion, of all e.lse.
AN ARMY OF MEN
was eng~aged ini the relief works and
it wvond be idIle to attempt to place
an esti iat e i the inimense umber
of rescuied hv t heir efforts.
THiE NERD)o OFRAT-4
wva. f.nk. The Kansas Rive-r ordina
rily is a verb shallow stream and
there are nio boats of any size obtain.
able. 'VT smnall baats cannot be
rowed against thei swift current,
whichL sweep. the. si reet-. If a at, amn
launch w.re at handit many people
wofud tbe Cavedt who are now)~ facing
c"tini dwaheti. At. ihe Ch iengo Lum.
hor C~omipan y's y anbuI A. 1B. litts, ii
we'althby citi z'u andt a membeuhur of t.he
LegiH'altur4, had a gang of men~u en
gnged tnearly all day ii n making
scows that kept com)municat,ion opel
on the bridge that connects the t-wc
parts of town.
THlE CRIES FOR HKELPA
can be distinctly heard a mile away
The whole city is wildly excited be
cause because no aid can be extendet
to the sufferers. TIhe river at Norti
Topeka is five miles wide. No F05
sible estimate of the financial loss it
obtainable, but it can be stated tha'
it will reach into the millions.
North Topeka was the manufac
turing district of the city. Thret
large flour mills, three woollen milli
and other manufacturing enterprisei
are entirely destroyed. The wate
supply of the whole city has bee,
cut off. The water from the river ex
tends nearly a mile on the south sid<
The Rock Island depot has beet
abandoned and more than five hun
dred people on thbis side of the rive
are also homeless, but no loss of lif
has resulted in South Tropeka. Th
Kansas avenue bridge is the only
one across the river for miles, and
the approaches to that bridgt are
flooded by thirty feet of water. A
pontoon bridge is being erected in
an effort to reach the sufferers.
Seven thousand or more peopl,e
are on this side of the river sheltered
!a the publie buildings. Topeka is
now able to take care of all the un
fortunates. The work of caring for
the refugees is being pushed with
the utmost rapidity.
AS MANY AS EIGHTY FIRES
can be counted in North Topeka.
The entire central portion of the city
had been burned out at 10 o'clock
tonight and it is safe to say that by
morning not a house in the main
part of North Topeka will be left
standing. When it is stated that
North Topeka has 10,000 inhabi
tants the extent of the disaster can
be realized. People are sticking to
the roofs of houses and to trees, and
many are giving up in despair and
dropping into the water below, to be
carried away by the swift current.
It is death by fire or drowning to
four hundred persons unless some
means can be found for their resone.
Great efforts are being made to con
struct a steam launch to go to the
aid of the sufferers, and whatever is
done must be done promptly, or the
loss of life will be appalling.
MANY THRILLING ESCAPES
are told. A company of militia has
taken charge of the work of rescue,
and owing to their efforts several
hundred people have been saved who
otherwise would have perished. The
situation of the beleaguered people
tonight is desperate in the extreme.
Not only are they threatened by fire
and water, but, through long expos
ure. in the cold, dismal atmosphere,
without sufficient clothing, they
would have died in any event. Deli.
cate women and children have been
without food or shelter since early
last evening.
At 8 o'clock a current began to
flow
WITH GREAT SWIFTNESS
through a break in the buildings lin
ing the block between Crane and 1st
streets. This widening of the cur
rent made it still harder to pull the
boats across to the pontoon by means
of the line.
In the Auditorium tonight
2,000 HOMELESS PEOPLE
are quartered. The society women
of the city are tbere attending to the
refugees' needs. Great wagon loads
of clothing and provisions have been
sent, and the immiediate neceds of the
unfortun ates have beeni provided for.
In thbis large number of refugePs are
Rus4siansLiP;.t iltpar d, many ofthe
poorerch sgeggofi,sty city's popula-i
tion. A nug bef$~ t hosei are nillicted
with con tagious diseases, but it is
imp'ossible t9eiorce ally qnarantine
regulations. The physicians of the
city hay that an epidemic of sickness
of all kinds may be looked for.
Q narant inc regulat'ons are lost sight
.'f by the~ rescuers.
FLoDS TH[ROUolioUIT KANsAs.
Kansas City, Mo., May 30.-Uni
precedlented floods are rakging ini (Cen
tral and Eastern Kaniuu, forthwest
ern MIisso'uri East. rn, INeb aska and
Sonthwestern Iowa, the result of ten
d1ays of almost continuous rainfall.
The general situation is coinsidered
most grave, with no immediate re
lief in sight. Many lives have beern
lost and it is estimated that no less
than 25,000 persons have been driven
from their homes, many of which
were washed away, and that the
property loss will run up into the
millions of dollars.
The greatest damage has beeun oc
casioned between Kansas City and
Ellsworth, Kansas, one hiundred miles
west. 'The chief sufferer is North
Topeka, which has been separated
from the main part of the city and
become an island.
Financial losses: Kansas, North
Topeka, $1,000,000; Lawrence, $100,.
000; Concordia, $100,000; A biline
3 and vicinity, $300,000; Salina and
vicinity, *150,000; Solomon, Chap.
man, Detroit and Woodbineand in
r tervening country, $400,000; Des.
3 Moines, $500,000.
& Railway traffic in Kansas is prac
tically at a stand still; dozens of big
bridges having been warhed out be
tween Kansas City and Ellsworth
and many miles of track being under
water. Every Western road enter
ing Kansas City is affected.
SITUATION sUNDAY NIGHT.
Topeka, Kay., Uay 31.-There is
ground for hope that the worst has
passed. Tonight City Engineer Mc
Cable issued a bulletin giving oat the
cheering intelligence that the waters
of the Kansas river had subsided 7 1.2
inches. With 175 or 200 lives lost,
$6,000,000 of property destroyed, with
hundreds of pistol shots as signals of
distress, blendedwith the agonizing
cries of unwilling inhabitants of tree
tops and roofs of houses and the wa.
ters creeping upward and then slowly
subsiding and alternately changing
hope to despair, the capital city has
passed the most memorable Sabbath
day of its existence. Through all
this discomfiting condition of affairs
was added the presence of a cold,
dismal rain.
The arduous work of the heroic
rescuers was not abated in the least
by the conditions which confronted
them. F-3r long, dreary hours, knee
deep in water and sometimes in water
up to their necks, they worked with
might and main. Tonight they can
point to 300 or more rescued persons
who otherwise might have been swept
away in the current.
Leading men have made a careful
examination of the flood and all its
conditions and as a result of their in
vestigation they give 250 as the prob
able number of lives lost. A more
conservative estimate places the num.
ber of dead at 175.
The estimated number of dead
does not include the large number
classed as missing, who cannot other
wise be accounted for. Neither does
it include the number who are sup
posed to have lost their lives in the
fire
It will be at least three days before
the correct number of dead will be
known. The work of rescuing the
victims of the flood is being pushed
with vigor. Better results have
characterized the efforts of the or
ganized forces since 4 o'clock this
afternoon than during the preceding
24 hours. Two little steam launches
are now putting up and down the
river picking up survivors. A train
Load of small boats was in use today,
but they were useless in battling
against the mighty current. A wire
cable has besn stretched across the
Kansas avenue bridge. To this will
be attached a sand dip and refutgees
will be brought across in this. If the
flood shall not rise further and those
not yet. reached can keep their places
a few hours longer there nieml not
necesalrily be a much larger loss of
life.
Lairge conitributionis have already
been received for the benefit of the
snffer<-a.
The amount given by Topeka cit.
iz.ens alone will aggregate $100,000.
To this is to be added ani immense
quantity of clothing, provisions and
general supplies. Outside towns have
generously offered aid, notably among
which is Gialveston, Tex.
Tonight the portion of Topeka not
affe'cted by the floiod is crowded with
refugees.
T1here is great anxiet.y tonight asi
to what to morrow will bring forth.
If the river shall not receive any
moeflood water west of here the
improvement in the situation here
will be marked. If the water shall
rise at Manhattan and Wamego to
morrow will see a repetition of thi
worst flood scenes and the distresi
here will bo greatly intensified
Either contingency is entirely withii
the range of possibility.
AT KANsAs cITY.
Kansas City, Mo., May 31 --Witl
the waters of the Kaw and Missour
rivers nearly four feet above the dis
astrous level of 1881 anid their swol
len t.ides reaching over 12 squari
miles or the city and its suburbs
Kansas City toniight is in the worsi
flood of its history. In the valley o1
the Kaw or Kansas river, betweet
this city a,l(d Kansas City, Kans.,
report has in' that a number of livei
has been.lost. One report says l~
and another 50. Twelva bodies Weri
counted as they floated past during
the dlay.
STATE HOUSE A DEATH TRAP
Governor Is Urged To Take Steps For
New Sanitary Arrangements
Committee Report.
The State.
The State house indeed contains
a death trap. Its basement is pol
luted with foul and poisonous gases
which find their way into the offices
of certain officials, as reported in The
State recently, and the State will be
put to some expense to correct the
evils.
This condition of afTairs was
brought to the attention of the 1ee
retary of state recently and he re
ferred the matter to the governor.
The latter asked a special committee
to investigate the alleged dangerous
conditions, and this committee sub
mitted its report to the governor yes
terday.
It was chRrged in the outset that
only the plumbing and sewer pipes
in the basement were in a bad state
of repair, yet the committee foun
that the work recently finish'ed under
the direction of Architect Milburn is
also in bad shape. The members of
the commsttee were men who are
entirely disinterested: Dr. T. Grange
Simons of 0harleston, president of
the State board of health; Dr. James
Evans, secretary of that board; Dr.
J. W. Babcock and Mr. U. X. Gun.
ter, uttorney general and the legal
adviser of the State board of health.
This committee not only condemns
the sanitary arrangements, but calls
attention to the heating apparatus
which distibutes air through the
building in the winter. This air, it
is shown in the report, is not fit and
some changes are necessary. The
legislature refused to make an ap.
propriation for a heating apparatus,
but something must. be done next
winter.
The governor has no funds with
which to undertake this work and
may be foiced to borrow the money
with which to meet the expense of
tearing out the rotting piping and
the now useless and filth hiding false
walls in the basement.
NEW WORK CONDEMND.
The committee regretted to stat(
that they found much to condemn,
"The whole design is crude and thi
work is done imperfectly in man3
particulars." As to the new worl
just completed under the directiot
of Mr. Milburn the report says:
"The urinals under the new por
ticoes were choked npJ and the flush
ing apparatus defective; the ventilat
ing shaft is too small and its fre
quent change of direction should b<
made by gentle curves and not by
sharp angles; the ventilation of th<
toilet rooms is defective; the freal
air inlet at side of steps showed ni
current of air upon lighted candle
we could discover no back ventini
of the water closets oni account o
concealed plumbing; the reduciN
couplings of water pipes indicates
inferior plumbing."
OLD woIK A DRATlf TRIAl'.
In regard to the conditions in th
basement, work done shout 13 y ear
ago, theo comit ui tee says:
"All rooms in collars were foull
kept, ill smelling, and showed lac
of ventilation. TheI room used as
water closet and the former watt
closet now used as a store room ft
01(d records wvere dark, cdamp and fou
smelling and their air shafts vente
their gases into the rooms above.
"In these rooms nothing seems i
have been done excep)t to remove ti
bowls of the old closets, leavin
the soil pipe co nnect.ions as dead1 en<
imperfectly plugged.
"Concealed p1lumbing prevenlte
careful scrutiny of work undi
floors.
'"The private water closet on firl
floor above basement. was filled wil
foul air which dlischarged1 into t I
main corridors and no fresh air i
gress was p)rovided for. TPhe fi
to the closets was insuflicient.
"A deadl wall was behind the one
ern water clos3et in which iron grn
inmgs were placed for ventilatic
drawing air from the interior of t
building-. Open lead pipenapl).nn
to be back vents discharged] into the
same space."
HEA'IINO APPARATUs.
As to the heating apparatus the
committee reported:
"Air supply totally inidequate
and derived from the basement with
no direct outside fresh air intake,
the whole central cellar being do
pendent for air supply on two small
doors at east and west ends.
"The entire cellar was without
flooring and very dusty.
"Therefore, all air distributed to
the building was cellar air and con
taminated with dust. and groid
emanations."
HFCuMM EN DATIONS.
Upon the above findings the corn
mittee made the following recom.
mendations:
"That all water closets in the
main building with their plumbing,
pipes and fixtures be immediately
renewed and all connections leading
to these fixtures be cut off outside
the building.
"That the new water closets be
connected at, once with the new city
sewerage systom.
"That the now water closts under
the main steps north and south have
special ventilation secured by electric
or other appliance.
"That all cellars and passage ways
in the basement be thoroughly
cleansed and afterwards floored wit!i
asphalt or cement
"That, independent outside fresh
air intakes be provided for the fur
nace rooms and basements.
"We would urgently recommend
that an experienced sanitary engineer
be employed to devise a proper sys
temf of heating, ventilating and
plumbing the building."
The committee expressed their
obligation to Assistant Surgeon Oen
eral H. D. Geddings of the United
States public health and marine hos
pital service, who made the inspec.
tion with them, for valued sugges.
-tions made in the preparation of the
report.
HEwEB MAIN STOPPED U1P.
The report of the commission sub
stantiates tht-, reports made by sani
tary inspectors recently. Mr Stal.
lings, qn expert plumber and sani
tary inspector, and Mr. Edens, the
sanitary inspector for the city of
Columbia, praetically covered the
same ground in their reports. In
Laddition Mr. Edens calls attention tc
a matter upon which the committee
was not called upon to investigate:
"Your sewer from the building t<
the river is now completely stoppei
and diocharging its foul cont ents int<
3 the openf gutter of Gervaiis street
This is a dangerous conidit ion o
3 things and wants immediate remedy
iI respect fully recommend that th~
> plumbing in the State house be over
;hauled andU made to conform to th<
g plumbing laws of the city and tha
f the system be connected wit~h thi
f sanitary sewers in (Gervais street
I where it will be systematically fluehe<
and inspected."
OLDb MEMORIES.
Major Crosson, Now of Texas, Relates In
"' cldents of Newberry People the Days
Gone By An Interesting Letter.
y
k Old mnemories
a "TIhey arc the jewels of the wind,
r They are tend(rils of the heart,
That with our being are entwined,
Of ourselves a part."
d \Ve are ait Head1( Spring chuircl
Hark! the music of 01(1 Mear 1pom1
out~ of the doors and1( windowvs of th~
eold meeting house and voices face,
scenes and( days that are "no more,
gall blenid inu the familiar music and
Sabbath benediction rests on or
listeninig souls. Their church mui
rwas less ambitious than now, b)1
more highly charged with the sient
merit of wvorship) ando devotion, an
familiar as honusehiold words to th
people. Of the new fangled chure
me
music, soldos, d uetts, qunartet ts, &c.,
hsay withI an old mian:
"But when the choir got up to sing,
I could'nt catch a word;
t- They sang the most dlog-gondest thiin
a.. A body ever heard."
n, I feel like never entering a chuirc
bie until the show is over.
3d Entering the meeting house, v
hear the Ro,' J. Galloway, expound.
ing a Psalm. and preaching a long,
logical sermoni after the manner of
the old Scotch Covenantor divines.
On the left. of the pulpit sit those
good men, Dr. A. W. and Capt. Joe.
Chalmers and others-long Jimmie
Sloan by i Window. Oi the left of
the aisle, the McDills, Reide, But
lers and otheri--the negroes in the
rear.
Of their first preacher, Rev. S. P.
Pressly, it may be truly said:
"Whatever he did was done with so
much ease,
In him alone it was natural to please;
His motions all accompanied with grace,
And Paradise was opened in his face."
Mr. Galloway, who was teacher
and preacher, succeeded him. As a
preacher lie was strong, earnest--no
haziness in his sermons. They were
clear out, and back of the strong
faith in his soul, he had a great
loving heart. Ie had line natural
abilities, a 801111d mental and moral
nature, an earnest purpose to ad.
vance the spiritual welfare of his
fellow men. He had supreme good
sense and sound judgie. '. aR a
teacher:
"There was I birched, there was I bred,
There like a little Adam fed,
From learnings' woeful tree."
As I have heretofcre said, for my
funeral oration over a dead bird he
gave me lashes forty, savA one.
This reminds ime of an incident
which that good main, (my classmate
at Erskine) Rev. D. F. Haddon, so
lovingly remembered in Newberry,
told on himself. His father's name
was A braham, D. F. and others were
moving corn niear a vacant house, a
shower coning on, they entered. D.
F. preached and wound up wit,h a
prayer especially for said Abraham,
when Abralian entered with a few
peach switches, and administered a
gentle remiinder to him as Mr. Gal
loway had to me and informed him
that he had not yet. been ordained.
That great, good, and glorious
man, Judge O'Neall, who did so
much for Newberry, and whose mom
ory should be held in reverence by
South Carolina., was long President
of H1 S. Temperance Society, one of
the earliest and longest lived of such
societies and which accomplished
much good.
My recolleetion of the good old
Scotch Irish Seceders, in the "long
ago" is that they loveod a drain and
when excited would indulge in "cuss
words" a lit-tfl.
Close by the church is "God's Acre."
"'I like that ancient Saxon phrase
which calls
The burial ground "'God's Acre: it ii
just,
1t consecrates each grave within iti
walls,
And breathes a benizon o'er the sleep
ing dust,
All the paths of life, lead but to thi
tomb."
H-ow few, how very few, are left o:
those with whomi I trod the early
steps of life. The last wordhs of Scot
to Lockhart come to mind: "'I mia3
have but a minute to speak to you
My dlear, he a good man, he virtunous
be religious, be a good man. Noth
ing else( will g vyou YoU ~mfort who:
you comto to lie here.'"
( )in of the saddes0t scen:es I eve
witniesd here, wats the burial of
handsome young girl, Miss Grac
Olary:
'Rest in peace, thou gentle spirit.
TIhronled above;
Souls like thine, with (God inherit,
Life and love.''
.(Concluded next issue.)
5
e |Harry D. Elkes, the p)rumier mn
4 . tor paSce follower of the UnitedState
was killed in an accident on ti
a Charles River track, Cambridg
r Mass , Saturday afternoon. Tv
c other persons following in the ra'
t were seriously injured. A tire <
Elko's wheel bursting caused LI
0 -~- -
b His health undermined by bui
I neshi worries and his mind unba lance
F~ran,k Emmett, a prominent cott<
broker of New Orleans, ondeod 1
life with a pen knife.
Benjamin Gorman, colored, w
hn lynched in Webster county, Ala.,
Friday for the murder of Shell
SOUTH CAROLINA NEWS.
Items of More or Less Interest Condensed
In the State.
Minnie MMorris, a negro girl of
about sixteen years of age, living
near Laurens, was struck and in
stantly killed by lightning last Tues
day afternoon. She had been in the
yard and was returning to the house.
During a storm in Spartanburg
county on Wednesdaylightniiig struck
and ran down the stove flue in tho
dwelling of a ttegro,JohnEdwarde,liv
ing near Baumont. The bolt struck
Edwardu, who w1s inside, knoekinvg
him down an(! burning a portion of his
foot and leg, but not fatally iijuring
bium).
There were two violent deaths at
Whito Rock recentl). The boiler at
S. J. Riddle's mill exploded, killing
an aged colored man standing near,
and Henry Richardson, colored, who
had been blind for thirteen years,
fell from a window of his house and
broke his neck.
Mr. C. FitzSimons, of Columbia,
wan elected vice president of the
Inter-State Cotton Seed Crushers'
Astsociation which met in Memphis
last week.
The timber men of Georgetown
have been kept busy to supply the
large dewnds for the output of their
mills.
Hon. J. E. Peurifoy, State Senator
from Colleton county, has purchased
the Walterboro Press and Standard.
The eight-year old son 'of Mlr. P.
B. Bryant, Saluda, (lied with hydro.
phobia last week. He was hii.
several months ago and had the
Georgia mad stone applied. After
this no uneasiness was felt., but hy
drophobia developed last week andaf
ter 36 hours of terrible suffering the
little fellow (lied.
City council of Anderson has
appropriated $500 of the $2,000
wanted for the purpose of helping
to defray the expenses of the gal a
week at Anderson this summer. It
is not thought there will be any
trouble to raise the other $00.
Under its new managenment, Mr.
McGee, formor traveling correspon
dent of the News and Courier, has
been made editor of the Spartan
burg Herald, and Mr. J. (3. Garling
tol), whomt he succeeds, has pMIrchased
the Carolina Spartan and the job
bing departinent connected there
wit h.
Tihe body of Art hur Gatillard, who
fell off ani exeursion train returning
from Atlnta to Anderson, was found
on the Seneca river biridge Friday
morning. It Seemfs that lhe had been
drinking and fell from the steps of
the train jnst as it was passing over
the bridlge.
The Williami MeKeit han Lumber
Co,, or Darlington count.y, has been
chartered with a capitilzation of
$300,000.
Th'le board of trade of Georgetown
will send a committee to Columbia
-to push Georgetown's advant ages as
a natural terminal port for southern
end( of theii proposed st earn boat line
r to be p)ut ini oiperat.ioni betwoeen Co
IL lumbtia and( somie point. oni the
Y coast.
National D)ecorat.ion Damy was
observed on Sat urday. Th'ere were
he usual celebrations in Washing
tori and other places andi( appropriate
ceremoies at Arlington cemetery,
where the graves of both Federals
arid Con federates were decorated.
T'he UJnitedl Staten grandi jury at
eMhontgomery, Ala., on Saturday re
e,turnedl thirty-six indoictments against
ewhite citizens or Coosa~ and( Tala
mn p0oa counties, charging peom..e
eor holding negroes ii servitude.
Sixteen negroes were drowned in
.in' the Mississippi near Memphis.
SThey were two families of planta
'tion handis who left the plantation
.n after (lark in two skiffs. Waves
sfrom a passing vessel capsized the
boats.
as Former Speaker H-enderson has
3" announced that he will move to New
sy York City in the fall to engage in
the practice of law.