FC
'? VOL.
X.
DROWNED i
TERRIBLE FLOODS
Hundreds of Lives Lost and
Thousands Made Homeless
?n the West Virginia
Goal Fields.
KANYTOWHSAREWIPEDOUT
The Victims Were Caught in a Mountain
Basin by a Cloudburst
Without Warning.
The F1ao?ls Swept Away Keystone, n
Town of SOOO Inhabitants ? A IJoxen
Towns In the Narrow, MountnlnI.tnnd
Valley of the Klkhorn Suffered
Severely ? Nearly a Score of Collieries
Were Wrecked ? Miles of llollrnnd
Tracks Were Destroyed ? Property
Toss Will Iteaeh Into the Millions?
A Cloudburst Caused the Floods ?
Acute SnfTeritm of the Survivors.
Blucllcld. W. Ya. ? Hundreds of
' lives wore lost and millions of dollars*
Worth of property destroyed as the
result of a tremendous cloudburst
wliieli swept nway whole towns in its
path of devastation through the eastern
part of McDowell County, the
southernmost part of West Virginia,
near the Virginia State line.
thousands have been rendered homeless.
One town. Keystone, of iiOOO inhabitants,
was completely wiped out.
only the remains of one building withstanding
th?' rush of the waters.
Thirty miles of track and between
fifteen and twenty bridges of the Norfolk
ami Western road were destroyed.
It was several days before
food supplies could he sent to aU
parts of the devastated region and
homeless survivors suffered
hardship.
Most of the sufferers are coal miners.
their wives and children, employed
in the I'oeahontas coal fields.
The tlood was caused by a cloudburst
ami thirty hours of rain.
A tremendous rainstorm followed by
a cloudburst set in early Saturday
morning, and after a lapse of a few
hours in the afternoon started again
with fresh violence and continued until
10 a. m. Sunday.
The valley, or basin, in which ti?o
Pocahontas ronl lield Is 1 oca tot* was
tin* worst sufferer, because of its peculiar
formation. On two sides it is
walled by high mountains. Through
the centre of the basin runs Klkhorn
Creek, fed by inuunternble streams
running down the sides of the mountains.
The basin is long and narrow. Its
width varies from a quarter of a mile
to a mile. From Knnis to Vivian
Yard. \V. Va.. a distance of ten miles,
milters' cabins, coal company commissaries
nnd coke plants line the basin.
Near the center of the long basin
nnd in the heart of the Pocahontas
coal tiehl was the town of Keystone.
Smaller villages and settlements are
scattered over the whole length of the
basin. Klkhorn. a railroad and telegraph
station, is at the eastern end
of the basin on comparatively high
around. Everything west of Klkhorn.
In the district Is submerged hi the
flood.
The cloudburst and many hours of
continuous rain turned each of the
many little streams flowing down the
mountain ranges into formidable torrents.
They poured great quantities
of water into Klkhorn Creek, and it
began to rise without almost incredible
rapidity, It flowed over its banks
and soon covered the entire floor of the
basin from mountain wall to mountain
wall.
Nothing like it had ever been seen
ar heard of before, and the inhabitants
of the basin were taken by surprise.
So quickly did the flood come
that scores of tlieni did not attempt
to seek safety by climbing tip the
sides of the mountains u? til it was too
late.
Hundreds of ml nova tv?m i?
Mono nml North Fork, a small place
nhont a mile from tlie latter, when the
Rood swept down upon the two places
Saturday night.
Saturday is pay day at the mines,
and the miners go to the little town
r>n Saturday night to purchase supplies-.
Many of them take their wives
anil children. Keystone was the only
town in the Pocahontas district where
liquor was sold, and It had lietween
twelve and fifteen saloons, besides a
great many supply stores.
When the Hood came sc ?res of mii:started
back for their cabins, miles
away, up and down the basin. A great
number of these and their wives and
children were caught in the torrent
and drowned.
A pnthetle story is told of n Hungarian
family at Keystone. The father
was at work in the mines, and when
the alarm was given did not reach
the drift mouth until the town was
partly inundated. He made his way
to the eahin where his wife and newborn
babe were lying helpless. lie
tried to rescue both, and after a battle
?the .waters, logs and debris
*
/
,
F
reached a place of safety with tliem,
ouly to discover that both were (lead.
It is certain that the total list of the
dead from one end of the Klkhoru Valley
to the other will exceed 200. Hundreds
are missing, having taken refuge
in the fountains to escape the
fury of tlie'ireod.
At least 300 mine mules were
drowned. But little permanent (lamage
is done to the mine proper, as the
drift mouths were high up the mountain
sides. Several mines, however,
are flooded.
On the North Fork branch of the
Norfolk and Western, which is Ave
and one-half miles long, hundreds
were rendered homeless, and are
camped in the mountains. The damage
to property on this branch is
heavy.
Only one of the t<>n collerles escaped,
the Ashland, at the head of the stream.
The McDowell Coal Company lost two
buildings. The Itoanoko Company
lost its boiler house, and big boP rs
were swept four miles down the
stream. 'The Louisville Company's
stnr<>lw*iKu? Io ?? *..?,??.i. * * 1
- .i-. u h H i H Ullll I III' STOOli
:i total *? s?\
In ltnl'c innny minors' houses were
swept away. Twenty-tlve houses were
I jammed together in one large mass of
broken timbers and debris.
At the (Jilliain Company's Colliery
tlie powder house and fourteen houses
are demolished. At Indian It Id go the
company store was considerably damaged
and the stock lost.
The North Fork track is nearly all
washed away, all the trestles being
gone except one. In the Klkhorn Valley
it is estimated that the loss to the
railroad and coal interests will exceed
Jjt'J.OOO.OOd.
Out of twelve miles of main line
double track only one tulle remain,
and all the bridges are gone. Some of
the bridges were of the heaviest masonry
and iron, but they could not resist
the force of the llood.
The Crozier Company, one of the
largest corporations, lost a thousand
iiiiin-iiimn fn'cinc plant niKI inaU.V
buildings and coke ovens. Its loss is
said to be $."<>,000.
Tho Houston Company is damaged
some $20,000. The Tierney interest,
consisting of four colhvies, will lose
$7o,000. There are over twenty colleries
whose damage is great. Many
miles of the tracks lending to coke
ovens and mines are gone.
In some Instances mine locomotives
and cars have been swept for miles
down the stream. Fifteen hundred
laborers were rushed to the scene to
work on repairs.
TOllXADO IN ILLINOIS.
Houses Wrerkcit, Stores Unroofe?l sml
Thousands of Trees Torn Up.
J III.?This city and vicinity
fro pi '.Sited 1 ?y a tornado which did
$100,000 damage. The storm came
from the southwest, and Its path was
a mile and a half wide by twelve
miles long. The Lincoln Mattress
Factory was destroyed, while severe
damage was done to the Illinois Asylum
for Feeble-Minded Children, Illinois
Odd Fellows' Orphan Home, Lincoln
College and tho County poor farm.
Houses were wrecked, stores unroofed,
and thousands of trees torn up.
An elevator in Middletown was destroyed
and several stores damaged.
In Elkhart freight ears were blown
from the track. Great damage was
done to wheat, corn and oats.
Two Heroic liny* Dnnvnril.
Suffolk. Vn.?While seeking to save
an eight-year-old brother who was
being swept away in a stream two
sons of John Ely. colored, of Exit, Vn.,
gave up their own lives. The older
heard from the bank of Scott's Creek
an appeal for help, and turning they
snw that their brother had got beyond
his depth, and was being borne down
by the current. With no thought of
their own peril the boys jumped to the
rescue. Tliev reached tin* drowning
boy and struggled to drag him from
the force of the current, but could not.
The three brothers, their arms locked
about each others' necks, went down
together.
\Vin<l mid ltnin In Ohio.
Columbus. < >hlo.?A terrific storm prevailed
in Columbus and vicinity. The
chief damage was from water, which
flooded the basements of many business
houses. Tiie losses amount to
many thousand dollars. Several buildings
were unroofed.
A tornado, the path of which was
about thirty yards wide and four or
five miles long, cut through the southern
part of Mount Sterling. Everything
in tiie path of the storm was leveled.
The damage will amount to several
thousand dollars.
Flood* Around I'lttntiurg.
Pittsburg. Penn. ? The Turtle
Creek district was visited by a
heavy rainstorm. The town and
valley have suffered thousands of dollars'
worth of damage. At Kast Pittsburg
tiie Westingliouse plant, which
extends for nearly a mile parallel with
the hill, was submerged with six feet
of water on the lower floor, which left
three feet of mud when it receded.
The loss to Westingliouse it is believed
will reach $500,000.
f
Tfi unci orator tn In (Kwrijo, X. \ .
Oswego, X. Y.? A terrific thunderstorm
prevailed in Oswego and the
surrounding country. The West Hap11st
Church here was struck l?y lightning
and slightly damaged, and barns
and farm buildings suffered, ltuln and
hail caused damage to the crops.
T.lghttiins Kill* Man, Horse ami Hoc.
Whitticr. Pla.?Tile bodies of All
nor Thompson, son of a well-to-do
stockman, his liorsc ami liis ?l??jr vero
fnnml in the woods on the Thrvipson
Ranch near hero, the yonns nicJt and
liis horse having heon killed instantly
hy lightning.
Trnnm?re Itnrn Woman Lawftri,
Tile Supreme Court of Tennessee
has decided that a woman cannot I
practice law in Tenueaaee. .
i
MIL
OUT MILL, S. C., WEI
SUltOR'S ARDENT WOOING
Supplants Authorilv of Prospective
Father-in-Law in His Own Heme,
SAVED FROM FURY OF A MOB
Voting Man Thn-nlfnod to KUt the Girl'*
Fntlier ?. Chaaeil Front the Hott?c, Indignant
Citizen*<10111 In the Fiiranit ?
ICeartteil hy Ilia Flnttrre?Mob Wanted
to Tar ami Feather llim?I'ndcr Arreat<
Mnnnt TT,01~ X' T m ? -
. luuiii nun,), 4>. ti.-~ i wcniy-iivo
masked men assembled in the vicinity
of former Judge It. I*. Willis's house
bent on treating llarrv Allen Baxter,
the fiance of Miss Willis, to a coat of
tar and feathers. Entering the large
yard they made an effort to enter the
rear door. Then something happened.
The Judge's ten-year-old son asked
them very pointedly to retire, at the
same time he leveled a shotgun at the
gang, which heat a hasty retreat.
"I'll shoot the first one to enter." he
said, and immediately there was a
slump in tar and a reaction in the
feather market, which had been decidedly
bullish.
All the time young Allen was In an
un-stnirs room armed with a revolver
and a large amount of that discretion
which at times outdoes any sort of
valor.
Allen is not the "star hoarder" of
the Willis household by any manner
of means. The Judge doesn't like him
at all. but Mrs. Willis favors Ids suit,
and so docs the young woman. lie
came here from New York City some
time ago, and. although the Judge opposes
tlie marriage lie permitted the
youth, up to Wednesday morning, to
live in the house.
On that morning, hard unon the heel
of the exciting events of the previous
night, the Judge and his prospective
son-in-law had a row. Baxter drew a
revolver and threatened to slinot. The
Judge ran at lihn. and. seizing the
weapon, thrashed hhu. Baxter rushed
out of the house eoafless and lintless.
ana run flown Mniu street to Grant,
oloscl.v pursued by tlw? Judge and a
largo and excited crowd.
Arriving at Grnnt street station lie
attempted to board a passing trolley
car for Burlington. He was caught
and again chastised by the Judge.
Baxter once more pulled his revolver.
William Jennett and Mleajah Matlock.
who were In the crowd that had
assembled, seized Baxter, and taking
bis revolver away, ordered him to get
out as-soon as possible. Baxter ran
nlong the trolley track toward Burlington.
Judge Willis then went before Squire
Krayer and swore out a warrant for
the arrest of Baxter. Giving this to
Detective Bills 11. Parker, lie stopped
a passing team and drove rapidly off
In pursuit. Miss Willis bad learned
of the row. and she immediately drove
to the rescue, overtaking Baxter in
his flight toward Burlington. She hurried
off with him in the carriage.
Later Baxter was found in the home
of Mrs. M. It. Sooy, in Mount Holly,
and arrested.
Miss Willis met Baxter last season
at Bay View. L. I., while she was visiting
a former schoolmate. He made
rapid progress in his suit for Mabel's
band and in the good graces of her
mother, but the Judge made investigations
and refused bis consent to the
wedding. A few weeks later Baxter
came to the house ns a guest of Mrs.
Willis.
bUMUUL CHILDREN TORTURED.
Torrrtl to Kut Soup For ('IipwIiir Gum In
Study Hour*.
Chicago.?Charges have been placed
before Superintendent I.ano by Hugh
Brady that children in the summer
school have been punished repeatedly
for chewing gum during school hours
by having soap forced Into their
mouths, being compelled to let it remain
until it dissolved and ran down
their throats.
Children subjected to the soap treatment
returned home with burning
throats and raw mouths. Lester Brady,
one of the sufferers, was unable
to eat his supper, and after repeated
questionings the story came out. Three
other hoys also assert that they were
compelled to undergo the saute treatment.
UMBRELLA LAW IN INDIANA.
Ilruvy I'unlfthmcnt For Young Mini Who
"ISorroired" Without l*erinl?ni?ii.
"Bloomiugton, Iud.?Ohe Frye, a
well known young man. borrowed I>r.
-Rogers's umbrella during a severe
thunderstorm without asking permission.
He was arraigned in court and
admitted tlie "borrowing." Judge
Martin assessed his punishment at
from one to three years in the Southern
Reformatory, lined him .SI. and
disfranchised him for live years.
This is the first time in the history
of Indiana courts that a person has
I i? -? TI lt'C'lllv 1 ill 11 i < )i i >i 1 f/?r l*.i iiTfitV i 11 it
sin umbrella. The sentence is considcrad
by many to be excessive. and an
effort will be made to have Fry? pardoned.
TWO LYNCHED AT SHRLVEPORT.
Trophft" Smith and Another Xfgro
Victims of Mol> l.oiv in L.oiil*innii.
Sbreveport, La.?Two negroes, "Propliet"
Smith and F. D. McGnud, have
been lynched.
"Prophet" Smith was held accountable
tor the race feeling which led
to the killing over a week ago of John
Gray Foster, brother-lu-law of Governor
McMilhu, ot Tennessee.
/
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VfY
JNESDAY, .J L\-\H 26, 1!
iitkiis.
Tho St. Elisabeth dnvornment A^.
lum for Insane, near Washington. will
bo extended at a cost of $1,000,000.
Tho President's yacht. the Sylnh,
was ordered into ?lock at Norfolk, Ya.
to undergo repairs.
A Hod Hook, reviewing foreign rolafions
in tho war with Spain, was isRtiod
by tho Stato Department.
In furthor retaliation for Amorioan
Imposition of duties Russia raisod hor
tariff rate1- on Amorioan products of
rosin and nloyolos.
Tho TTiitcd Statos Civil Service Commission
will hold an examination
July '2.1 for farmers in tho Indian service.
President MeKInley disapproved a
resolution of the Cherokee Tndian
Council for a new agreement with tho
Dawes Commission. j
A petition bigger than an unabridged |
ciirrumnry wns sent President McKinle.v.
asking 1 li?' appointment of
Tolin Allms as postmaster of St. Joseph.
Mo.
Jul Ian Phelps. T'nltcd States Consul
at Crefeld. ("Jerinany. resigned.
Secretary Root raised the standards
of admission to the West Point Military
Academy.
The Industrial Commission adjourned
until September, after hearing
over 700 witnesses. '
OT'l: ADOPTED IST ANDS.
A series of special revenue stamps
will he made for Porto Ilico.
The Philippines Commission will
permit proceedings in tiie courts to lie
conducted in English and native dialects.
I Washington was asked for S10.000
I to defray the expenses of fifty Filipino
! tp.lr'llnl'i! n-lin " '? - -
...... itiit ii. mii<i\ mi" a year
Iti normal schools of America.
The election of at least eight mayors
will lie reversed, as ninny frauds in
the recent munleinal elections in Cuba
were brought to light.
Surveys made of the Cuban roast,
tinder direction of the Navy Department.
developed many desirable sites
for naval stations.
(Honor.nl failles, head of the insurgents
in Luzon. P. I., signed terms of
surrender by proxy.
The l'nlt< <1 States Philippine Commission
appointed seven Supreme
Court Judges, Arellano being named
Chief Justice. <
nOMKRTIC.
All hut $11 of the $.10,000 stolen
from ih<> First National Rank of Mineral
Point. Wis., was recovered.
A plot to kill game out of season in
Colorado was unearthed at Denver,
and many valuable skins seized.
Kentucky oil producers are considering
tlie formation of a protective cornbine.
The $2,000,000 endowment fund being
raised for Brown University,
Providence, 1*. I., was completed.
The explanation of the double lyncb-i
ing of negroes at Shrevcport, La., is
that a conspiracy against whites had
been discovered.
The Massachusetts House sustained
the Governor's veto of the Boston subway
by a vote of 98 to 13f?.
During a performance of Berwick's
circus at Staples, Minn., the brother
of the proprietor, who was acting as a
clown, dropped dead. Heart failure
was the cause.
Free street gas lights are now furnlclwxl
I'l.i I-- - ? *
. - viik-?ku iu lu-ji oi inroe mm a |
half per cent. of the company's gros*
earnings.
All trace of Dr. Edward It. Evans,
of Fargo, X. D., was lost since three
weeks ago when lie went to visit a patient.
D. TT. Fletcher was elected Mayor of
Jacksonville, Fla., l?v a large major
it.v.
The postodlce at Chickamauga.
Tenii., was rohlied.
John I). Rockefeller made his first
address to faculty and students of
University of Chicago.
Ilorses are again being bought at
New Orleans, La., by the British.
Steps were taken at Kansas City,
Mo,, to form a new party by Populists
and Silver Republicans, who hope to
make \V. J. I'.rynn its candidate.
Joe Harris, a negro, was hanged by
a 1110b at Athens. Ala., 011 suspicion
:>f burning a barn.
A tornado passed'over Beadle County,
S. I>., injuring ten people and destroying
property.
Lightning killed three men at Scott
Lake, .Micli.
The City Council of Omaha, Neb.,
ousted Fife Chief John Ucdcll, charged
with brutality toward his men.
lOKKKi.V.
A Tiolciit storm btirsi over n large
area ot Southern Kiissia, Hooding several
towns aiul greatly damaging
crops.
A monument to Frederick William
I. was unveiled at Kiel, Germany.
Two Czechs named Orsuvle and Zuroa
were arrested at Prague, Bolimyii,
on a charge of being Implicated tn a
plot against Emperor Frauds Joseph
of Austria.
Yellow fever appeared at San Salvador.
Four men were killed by soldiers
who quelled a riot at ltio Janeiro.
A torp. do engine, in the torpedo
works at Frieurichport, near Kiel.
Germany, exploded, Killing an engineer
and wouudiug u number of other
I persons.
I Sentenced to' banishment, a Paris
thiel stabbed In a Judge's room the I
' woman whom lie uceused of tempting '
him to u career of crime.
< ,
/ 4 ^
)0U
|ARP~~ON SUICIDES
I
Bartow Philosopher Finds Unhealthy
Condition of Minds.
Cr
CHOPPING WOOD IS A SURE CURE'
Relations Between Physical and Men- J
tal Labor Are Discussed By the
Well Known Writer.
The increasing prevalence) of sulfides
indicates an unhealthy condition
of mind and bodv nn<) i
that if the man would quit thinking
about his troubles and go to chopping
wood or digging in the garden, or even
go hunting and get up a good erieu ation
he would feel better and con ludo
to live on a while longer. The houyj
affects the min.l and when the blood in)
the veins gets thick and sluggish and1,
the secretions become stagnant, the j
mind gets diseased and morbid, the
emotions are out of tune and the man
actually believes he would tind res: and
peace In death. It is strange that any
:u,an of education or refinement would
entertain such an ttnreas .liable hope.
What did the schoolteacher of Do than
accomplish by killing Dr. McN 'il and
himself? Where is the schoolteacher
now? When two enemies fight a duel
and both are kilted, how do their spirits
meet in the other world? Do they
shake hands or renew the fight, for. of j
course, they are not in heaven? What i
does the young man accomplish by I
killing his sweetheart and then himself?
Are they not then forever separated?
What does anybody gain by sui[
tide? As Hamlet says: "Is It not better
to bear the ills we have than fly to
others that we know net of?" Why n:?t|
run away from yourself? Hun to the
woods?keep on running?jump the
brances. swim the rivers, get wet, get
tired?work in the garden, dig, hoe,
j c hop wood, mount a horse and ride fa-!
riously?anything to divert the ills-.
j eased mind from its train of thought, j
| My good old father was afflicted with
i rheumatism and whfcn he felt the acute,
agonizing pains coming on lie would
rouse up and limp away and mike
for the farm, and would walk faster
and faster as the pains increased, and
would actually make them ashamed
I and they would leave him for a day or
two. To keep the mind in a good, normal
condition the body must bo "fexeri
cised. Sedentary occupations are not1
healthy for men, and even vyomer,
should fly around the house with i?|
broom or wash the windows otefnilon-1
ally, or Jig among the flowers. It will |
not do for them to sit and sow all the
time. I am sorry for these unmarried
I girls who have to run the machine all
the day long and Ret no healthy exercise
except for the ankle bones. When
they get married and the babies come
along they are pretty safe, for little
children give a mother division
enough. A mother with a bibe in bet
arms never thinks of suicide. Even i!
her husband is cruel to her or is a
drunkard, she will I've on and on for
the sake of the child. We note that
most of the suicides occur among the
young men and are caused from intemperance
or disappointed love or failure
to make money fast, or being caught in
embezzlement (alias stealing). Othello
killed himself because he found out
that be had wrongfully killed his wife
and Shakespeare says "lie was great ol
heart." I reckon lie was. considering
that he was a Moor and did not believe
in a heareafter. It was the best thing
and the most heroic thing that he
could do. It was tiio ve:y Intensity of
grief and repentance and has no parallel
in modern suicides, for most all of
them are selfish or revengeful. It was
like the Hariklrl of Raul, or of the ani
lent generals when defeated In battle.
The most alarming feature about
these suicides of our young men is the
indication that they are not believer*
in the Christian religion. No s ine man
will take his own life if he b?lieve.s In
heaven and hell and a future, state of
rewards and punishments. He will he
afraid to. The influence of mode-* fiction
on the youthful mind lias much to
do with it. for a great d<al of it U
tainted with atheism and inldelity.
Kven some of the standard writers
such as Hume and Disra'li had left
tiieir had impression. The latter threw
a dark shallow over life and gays thai
"youth is a blunder, manhood a struggle
and old age a regret.
Is it not far better to take a more
hopeful view of life and say like th
poet, Horace Smith:
"The world is very lovely! Oh, my Qo:l,
1 thank thee that I live."
Or to say like Ixmgfeliow?
"Life is real?life is earnest,
And the grave is not its goal."
It is easy to diagnose a poet's temperament
of a philosopher's by bis i
writings?some are gloomy and s;nu'
are bright and cheerfful. I was rfcm'.natlng
about thpse young men who
have just graduated at rny alma mater
end the other home collegos. and wondering
how many of them would pr.Wg
a success in life and twenty year*
hence exclaim with the poet, "Oh, my*
V
thank
years ago
and
living there are
them
made no
trouble some
and
bo repels.
the
the
my
trees
th
along n BBMBBB^nj^^H
and the trees
China, the Celr
were called the
dark night the
and girdled tli
went to heave?
rarne from. For
Lu ^ am onilngo
who was cros;
he was an oh
ashes. He wo;
Howard play
hours at nigh
Dick Farmer
annoyed hin>
(not I) got 8
the armory {
of night, wh
a man or a
pounder ah
right by M
midway,
another
b?vk
lin
h
h
t
1
bo.
anoth
due t'
sent
stopp
he F
^oo
it with h
dropped
that wa
his rot
tit?d up
was a
much
ed .,to
ru '
va
;oy
3xp.
anyl
Wies
en<l
to *
scat
my Ik
And h
that w.
when wi
So we pla.
aware oLit
flute out of his ,
nlong behind me
lege sweetheart
for a Bird (lev
him off to Bab
yet. But we r
lt.it l
to recall tb
'47, tand I a
lonely in A
It is a pro;
changes b
veterans
cession v
method?
colles'
naw ;
from
their
nnome
tions. i
in cbll'
hu*'
Joh
mjfr'ei
e
A
t'
I