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The Atlanta Constitution. VOL. XXXVI. NO. .23. DEATH DEALIhXTORHADO SWEPT LAST MONDAY i Over One Hundred Dead and Large Number Seriousty In jured-Near Million Dollars of Property Destroyed. Call for Aid Met Prompt Response. $21,000 Sent In. [TORNADO DID AWFUL WORK AT GAINESVILLE. Two nf the greatest disasters in the history of the country oc- urred in t he south during the past week. Gainesville, Ga.. was on Monday visited by a terrific tornado, which left in its wake devastation and destruction almost beyond comprehension. Sweeping from one of the large mill districts through the edge of the city proper to the othe.r mill district, the Gainesville mill was practically destroyed by the. death-dealing tornado, about three -. hundred houses were absolutely wrecked In the little city and its environments, and upward of one hundred home? J were torn Into shreds at the Pacolet mill at New Holland, the northern edge of the city, carrying down to death and Injury several hundred men. women and children ( .The list of dead reaches the frightful total of 104 at this writing with the certainty that others must die. Prob ably 400 others were Injured, many of them desperately, others seriously, still others slightly In the improvised bos- ; Ipftals there ire nor. persons of all ages, most of them whites. Many others are being treated at their homes. Al- though organization has now followed the nec ssary chaos of the tirst three days, it has still been found Impracticable , to get at a complete list of the injured. ( The property loss will reach .000 and probably more. The two top floors of the new five-storied Gainesville / mill were swept off. the operatives were hurled out to the ground below ami piled on top of them was the machinery , on these floors and the debris of the building. The wind In its terrific force spilt this building almost to the ground. j . Just how groat s the property loss to the mill it is difficult to estimate. This properly represents an investment of , I about It is believed the loss to the mill owners here will reach $200,000 to $300,000. t At the Pacolet mill, which itself escaped as if by a miracle, more than 100 houses were destroyed, at least . ’• sixty of them being torn Into pieces like kindling wood These houses were the property of the mill company. In j the city and its suburbs 200 houses, churches and business buildings wore completely destroyed. It Is thought a con (sorv.itive estimate of losses of property of all kinds In the city proper is $600.(«A rhe. details of this great disaster a graphically told by The Constitution’s special corrcsixmdents, who were sent immediately to the scene. So, too.. Is told the inspiring story of the prompt response from the great heart of the. > people tn the appeals for aid and relief. J Immediate!? the terrible news reached Atlanta a dozen or more doctors were rushed to the s xene. tender the lead of The Constitution, a relief fund was started, which has now reached a total of over $20,000 In money, the response to The Constitution’s appeals being taken up by the press of the state and contributions pouring in from all sources. Atlanta led in the good work. The city council immediately made a contribution of SI,OOO. all of the newspapers lent tbe-ir influence In furthering the good work, money and clothing and supplies of all kinds have been pouring into the j outstretched hands of the relief committee of Gainesville, which, headed by Hon. P. M. Parker, the mayor, comprises ( all the leading citizens of the splendid little city. Doctors and trained nurses and many others from Atlanta and other parts of Georgia volunteered their services. The organization is now complete and the work of immediate relief well , i under way. but much more must be done. ) CLOUDBURST DEVASTATES VALLEYS OF UPPER CAROLINA. t'oilowi g immediately upon the heels of this terrlb'- ’j*' -’’a , -5> t ■*>.:? cf h.-- swrc- 1 -g away, a» tnc result of a clruuburst, of the m.'-gnlficont cotton mills of the Paooiet company at Pacolet and other ' ) properties located at Pacolet and ClFt.on, near Spartanburg. S. C. A terrible late seems to have followed the Paco- • ( ir; company, perhaps the largest milling corporation in the .southern states. This c-mpan? owned a large portion \ of the stock of the Gainesville m il, which was destroyed, and as well as the larger mill at the other side of the > cits, which was itself uninjured, hut where the homes of the operatives were swept, away. Hardly had President < Montgomery been able to make inventory of bls company’s loss in Georgia before he was called upon to face the 1 sport .■> of absolute ruin at Pacolet. The sudden rise of the Pacolet river, due to a cloudburst, swept away the J company's three mills there, entailing a loss roughly estimated at $2,000,000. It. can scarcely be less. I But this is by no means the whole story of the South Carolina, destruction. At Clifton, the Converse mill was / entirely destroyed by the sweep of waters. The Clifton mill is half washed away. The. Dexter mill—these two ' ' belonging to the Clifton company—is half destroyed. The property loss at Clifton is estimated at $2,5(».000. \ Hundreds of people are homeless. Thousands have had the opportunity of earning their daily bread suddenly taken ( away, and there is great suffering. The need for relief is great. The Southern railway bridges in the flooded district have been swept away. One of the mall trains is between \ Spartanburg and Greenville, unable to move either way. Through trains east are being sent from Atlanta byway f of Augusta and Columbia. ' ( ! Hundreds of homes have probably been undermined by the waters. It. is practically Impossible to reach the scenes of destruction owing to the railroad washouts so anything like a complete statement of loss of property and loss \ of life cannot be given at this time. It seems probable that the loss of life in the flooded district will reach 100. It ( nnv be much greater, as no reliable information has yet been received from the headwaters of the Pacolet river, 1 which rises near Flat Rock, N. C. MANY OF THE VICTIMS MANGLED BEYOND RECOGNITION Galneevllle, Ga., June I.—(Special.)—; A tornado of terrific force struck Gaines ville this afternoon out of a clear sky. causing fearful loss of life in this city and New Holland and White Sulphur. As near as can be calculated at this hour the results arc I°l men, women and children dead and pot haps forty more fatally injured, with a proper ty loss of something like J3flO,W. The death dealing storm appeared sud denly a little before 1 o'clock and within two minutes it had killed nearly a. Hun dred persons. torn two stories from the five floor bri k fact< ry of the Gainesville cotton mills, demolished almost 200 cot tages, razed two brick stores to the ground and blown down innumerable out buildings. By what appears to be n miracle the tornado's fury was confined to the out skirts of the city, the main business and residence portion not being touched. Tor rents of rain accompanied the wind, but within five minutes after its first on slaught the sun was shining upon a scene of fearful desolation. The list of the d ad Is confined mainly to operatives of the Gainesville cotton © .••©■•■e-» e « e-» e ••■© •- e« e » e-»-e « e-» e-« e ••■e-»-e'*-e-«'e-"-e-«-e-«-e.»-e-«-e-«-e-»-e'« e-» o •.•■©■•■e-«-e-«-e-«-e-*-e-*-e-*-e-«-e-«-e-«.e.«.e->-© » » • • I „ ...x. ; t ’ e ”> ■ .)’■ 1-s. • ? | ? ? ? • - .. . . v • • ** w* *A 8 -© i PACOLET MILL FROM THE WATER TOWER. Z ? This Gives an Idea of the Extent of the Wreckage at New Holland, * 1 mills and the Pacolet cotton mills and J two-thirds of them were women and chil dren. The tornado made a terrific noise, as if heavy cannonading were in full blast, and as it boro down upon the cit? Nothing was injured in the old part of the city. All tile damage was done in the now part, near the depot. Gaines ville is horror stricken. All business is suspended, and on the faces of nil is written blank wonder, fear and sorrow. Such a calamity as this one stuns the intellect, and the inhabitants cannot fully realize what has occurred But for the dead and the demolished buildings, tiie people of this place would consider the whole affair as a phantasm of the imag ination. a terrifying dream, from which thej- would soon awake. Rut the ap palling truth remains, and the new part of Gainesville lies upon the earth, a 1 wreck, while in countless homes the bit ter weeping of the Inmates proclaims that a loved one was a victim to the merciless winds. For a mile along the railway, as the city is approached from Atlanta. Iles doors, windows, chairs, pieces of ma chinery. planks, human garments, and numberless other evidences of the power of the Storm. To look at these relics, it would not be possible to decide from 1 what direction the wind i-ame. The dam- I ages financially are estimated at $500,000, ' with no storm insurance. The scene as one approaches the city lis appalling. Roofs of houses are scat ! tered thick as leaves that strew th-- i brooks in Vallambrosa, and standing in j disconsol-ate groups, surveying the wreck ’■ an 1 ruins of the once proud little city, i are those who escaped the rush of the - winds. Almost all arc saddened by the i loss of relative or friend, and in silence, ' and with averted face tljey gaze across the desolate hills thgt yesterdaj’ blossom ’ cd as th,- rose. Just twenty years ago the I’th of last April Gainesville was visited b? Its first ! tornado. On that occasion the storm swept across the northern limits of the ’ city, killing one old colored woman and destroying some half dozen houses. Among these was the dormitory of what Is now Brenau college, then under direc tion of Professor XV. Wilkes, its first president. The damage was Inconsequen tial as compared with the havoc wrought today. The tornado of today formed just - southwest of the new part of Gainesville, ’ near the railroad tracks, and swept across the manufacturing district ?vltli resistless ; force. Its course was in the same gen -1 eral direction as that of 18S3 and about 2 1 miles from the path of the latter. Within ■ this space, escaping belli attacks of the 1 raging winds, lies Gainesville proper, ti.j ATLANTA, GA., MONDAY, JUNE 8, 1903. h— . cl’ . • ® 9 I 4 ’ ? • I > ' • * : I I ; r I ; H i- "M i !<. I i t v. >•« ■<■>«>w l7 ~ • • foSv ■ ’ j • • - 111 \ T . -A...’.- ■■« - C. 4 ? • ® ' VIEW OF THE G.tIXESVILLE COTTON MILL, fhowlna the extent of the damage done and the place where the greatest number met death. This was a five-story liui.d n-. , • The t;rna<lo<.utcff the two top stories and. by a remarkable freak, dropped the roof of the building over the ceiling of the. third story, as showr in the photograph. The • tourth and fifth stories were crowded with mill workers, many of whom were killed and some of whom miraculously escaped. o • •■. ©•••©..■o©-••©••.©•.■••••©•.•••«• ••«•©••• ©••■©•••©•••• •••©•••©■••©•••©•« ©•••©•.•e-. ©.. ©■• ©■• o • ©-• « old town. In this s -ciioji little or no] damage was sm-tri - : ;>r.d jione of the more prominent -■ ■ s d the place loot ' either horn • 5 Ai.'i EZEWIa..' 2isii li.jjJiS OF THE GREAT DISASTER This is the story of how Death played } the leading part In the terrible tragedy I at Gainesville, as told by Rufus Cooper, j colored, a tailor who was an eye witness ■ and narrowly escaped serious injury. At the time of the interview it was very evident that he had not ye?/ recovered from the terrible fright and shock. He arrived in Atlanta late yesterday after noon. “I was in a little settlement of the town in which I suppose there were some fifty houses and when the terrible tornado passed over the house which I occupied was one- of the only th> » left ) standing. 1 start'd to go into a church I and had opened t . - door to step outside ! when it. was slammed back on me with such force as to almost fell me to the floor. Immediate ■ afterwards I looked out of the window and the street was black with the darkness of midnight. "The storm came with terrific force and so suddenly that there was no pre paring for it. So fir as I am concerned. I feel sure that ’.lie only thing that saved my life was the slamming of the door that pushed i o inside, for it was impossible to keep m’s feet in the street after the storm str -k. "The house in wl -h I was shook like a thing of paper a o; every minute threat ened to be entirel? destroyed. There was a terrible roaring c is-- that. I remember made be think in ; me way of engines starting out of th ear shod in Atlanta. 1 This may seem st a-age. but I remember perfectly that it came to my mind. "Thon most awfc »f all was the noise of the wild cries human beings and , animals in their < ith agony that rose even above the ro.-.r if the storm. Even in those flashes of ightn’ng It was pos- 1 sible to see some e the- victims thrown < high in the n a >d I know there were very many i:. i■■ ■ -va’m who believed t that the day of odgment had arrived < and that tlm a.ng 1 of death was pass ing not. only over .he town, but the en tire world. "And when roof ; --.nd the whole sides • of nearby houses e.-une crashing against the house where I was it seemed as though nothing c< 'T-l P 1 -siblj- save any of us. The all outside seemed t fairly alive with flying masses which wc af terwards found to bo rafters and beams and trees and even great, stones. "So great was the terror to us all that even after the storm had passed over we seemed hardly able to move, and J am sure most of us expected a second visitation. But it was impossible to re main Inside long with the agonizing cries of those outside calling for help. I am sure I can never forget tiie gevn© that confronted me when 1 finally stepped out side. It Is beyond me at this time to even talk about It. I only remember that the church which 1 was about starting for had been swept entirely away and that where but a few minutes before there had been many houses' only three were standing. I won’t try to describe the condition of some of the dead or the awful suffering of some of the injured, . but I remember the most awful sight | was the body of a white boy about four- ■ teen yeans old whose head was com- j pletely severed from the trunk and cjuld I not be found anywhere." All Escape from Mill. Engineer E. H. Graj. of the Gainesville | mills, where the storm first struck, was at his post and escaped uninjured. He states that he had jusl. blown the whistle as a signal for the operatives to go to work when he heard a distant roaring sound, and the next he knew the immense building was crumbling about him like a house of sand and the shrieks of tile dy ing were being borne through the rush ing air. It'was so dark that he had only a moment before turned on the elec- | trie lights in the plant. He did not have an opportunity to see the approaching I terror and did not know what the trouble wu until he crowded out of the debrla, 1 and in the receding distance, beheld the • furious cloud pursujpg its onward course I of death. Augusta Byers, of the Southern express | r :i,. . stor.d in bis way P.nd observed . the tornado, front its inception until It ' disappeared in the direction of New Hol- I land Springs. The seething. Inky-black : mass measured, as nearly as he could ' estimate, about 1.10 yards in diameter, and appeared to extend upward a half mile i into the sky. Its direction was from j southwest to northeast, and it swayed . and gyrated in Its movements. His at tention was first attracted on account j of the- fact that it became so dark In , his office he could not see to write, and. i f\t’ter turning on the lights, he stepped to the door to investigate the cause of the unusual occurrence. Instantly he recog nized the awful truth. A tornado was al most upon the unsuspecting inhabitants, it was top late to warn any one, and. in helpless suspense, he was compelled to stand and see his friends hurled to a fearful fate. After wrecking its fury on the mills and houses nearest to the railroad, the storm swept on toward New Holland Springs, and Mr, Byers could see quilts, chairs, cattle, and houses tossed into the air by the maddened elem< tits, at; ■> jug gler \yould perform with his cards. The spectacle was a horrible one and those | who witnessed it .speak in awed accents of the mighty besom of destruction that so narrowly missel tossing themselves into eternity. COFFINS AKh SHIPPED FROM NEIGHBORING TOWNS Gainesville, Ga., Juno 2. (Special Staff Correspondence.)—Grief holds the Gem City in thrall today, and the people are weary with their weeping. In sympathy, the somber gray clouds hang in leaden dullness above the mountain tops, a dreary rain falls gently through the darkened air and all nature seems sad dened by the great calamitv. In long rows the dead lie coffined and ' shrouded at the Pacolet mills. No field ■ of bloody battle ever presented a more I harrowing sight than does this impro- , vised morgue. Only the strongest nerves ■ can stand to look upon the horribly torn : and disfigured bodies, and although thou- i sands have visited’’ the building today, | they moved with noiseless step and spoke I only in whispers in the presence of this I grewsome testimonial to the power of the , untamed winds Side by side, sleeping the last sleep, : t».in icqi s.ittei Jo)3ld mil mu Sutpaaq falling like rain upon their upturned faces, lie the bodies of thirty-three men. women and children. A little to one side rests a casket containing an Infant, its little lily-white face showing trace of ; MAYOR PARKER’S TRIBUTE TO THE PRESS. T • By P. M. PARKER, Mayor of Gainesville. 4 It Is absolutely Impossible for the people of Gainesville to find words to 4 • ailgqnatel.v express the deep gratitude they feel for the prompt and generous • a response to their appeals for aid which have come from tiie outside world. t If there ever was a time when the hearts of a people were too full for 4 4 adequate • has contributed or who has been, even in the smallest degree. Instrumental © in fathering the plains for relief of the suffering and affiict_ed, has our sincere, t 4 our hearty, our heartfelt gratitude. * 4 The value which The Constitution has been to us is slm.ply beyond measure 0 • and beyond estimate. The people of Gainesville feel that the, prompt Indorse- t ment which Tfie Constitution, with Its wide circulation and its great in- 4 4 fluence, gave at once to our situation here and tii our needs was of the highest ? • possible value to us. There is jio community in tiie state where The Constl- I • tutlon’s great power for good lias been more thoroughly appreciated than here • ? In Gainesville: and the splendid way in which it came to our aid in tills. ? 4 our greatest need, by starting the first popular sibscription and by giving © • us the full benefit of its ajiluable indorsement and influential .support has. ? J literally, won our hearts. * • The entire press of the state has done noble work, each individual news- i • paper to the full limit of its caisaei ty for good. We appreciate to the fullest © that this assistance has been invaluable to us. Never was the power of the 4 • press better exemplified. Just as it. was never jnanitested in a cause more • 4 deserving. To The Constitution and the other newspapers which have so no- • hl.y led the \v>i.v, and to the people who have so promptl,?’ ami unselfishly re- • J sponded to the call voiced through and indorsed by the papers, we feel the * • sincerest, the deepest gratitude. • neither fear nor of harm. The storm together with bandages. An old man near them presents a face that is crushed so completely that not the slightest rc se.mblar.ee to a l-'tman being remains. A small boy near the end of one row of caskets bad his face cut in two, in line was kinder to it than to others and bore it. gently across the dark stream. In an other place lie the bodies of four young girls, their heads literally split open from the crown to the chin, and held w’ith his mouth, ami a ban lage keeps the severed parts together. The morning trains iuto the citv brought hundreds of sight seers, and along with these came other physicians, who were at once put to work. Many of these people eagerly placed their names with, nice contributions to the subscrip tion lists, and cooperated with citizens in relief work. From Buford and other neighboring towns coffins were shipped, accompanied by undertakers, the local undertakers not having sufficient stock on hand to supply the demand. Most of those who were recovered from the debris yesterday were last night prepar’d for burial, though no interments have as yet taken place. The ministers of the eit.v wore ap pointed a committee to look after the burial of the dead ami to assist in the matter tn a systematic manner. They have established headquarters and will direct the funerals at an hour to be selected later. Most of those who were kilb-'l at New Holland and nt the Gnims •. ille cotton mills will bo buried in the cemeteries at those places, but some of them will be taken to their late country homes, a majority of the operatives hav ing come from the country adjacent to Gainesville. No more business lias \been done in Gainesville today than was done since tiie storm swept down upon the town. Such places as are open are onen only to furnish supplies to the relief commit tees that are at work. WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS NOT DAMAGED BY STORM No damage was done at White Sulphur Springs or the station by the storm, al though it was reported last night that. tw< Iv ■ people were killed there and many more wounded. M. <’. Buffington, post master at White Sulphur, was here this afternoon and reports a heavy wind storm at the station at White Sulphur, but only one house, that of J. B. Alli son. was unroofed. Several trees were blown down and fences were scattered, but no other damage was done. There is a scarcity of ready food, and all who come as merely onlookers are taking just so much away from the ac tual sufferers. There will be two daily PRICE: FINE CENTS. , meetings of the citizens of in' eh'- I the court house a*t lu a. m. an-. 3 p. m. ■ tor several days until ail work is under ! good hea.lw.’i.v. All new subscriptions i ;t’<- repi'rtod to t>e meeting, ami tha ■ citizens are acting in conjunction in fo’- j warding the rebel work. The t ita’l list of i ( ■ :to 200. The list of those fatally injur-' ; I is given elsewhere. Bosworth Tcok Out First Victim j Conductor Ed Bosworth and Motorina i • E. 'A. Keer, whose car w.' ?.t '’ 1 I ei n depot when the cyclone struck, ;an I Into the Sou’lv i”i waiting ro-nu ■ ■ • - j caped unhurt. Had they remained in ‘ • ! car they would have been ki’i.e-l. A-t-T the tornado passed both men ran to tl'.-> j Gainesville cotton mill. Bosworth's ■ I pockets were filled with sil <?r, fares ■ lec-ted, and getting overheated he s 1 1 off the coat ami handed it to a .< s’ ■ to hold. In his excitement h- forgit - 1 about his coat and the person to whom 'he gave it has not returned it I-’.osw- ■ i was the first man to recover a victim I from the debris at the cotton mill •' ‘ Ihe picked the body up and ,-ari:ed , 1 ' I yards and put it in a counts; man's i j gy. Bosworth was also the first : -a |to summon outside help t r- ■ ■ es : from the mid debris. Bak-r Gun I who is furnishing bread to sufferers. cut off all outside orders to be enab a jto supply the demand. He h: :-n extra force at work to b ik- - no'.a i- • - to supply rhe relief commits e. The electric railway compan? h ! d. free of charge, all provisions a’id 1 plies from the city to sufferers -th mills. Fath of Tornado Well Marked. The path of the great tornado 1. as distin illy marked as t'miugii 1 ..ii.-- 01-,. ' army of fiends had passed that ■ stroying every animate atyl inanima'o thing tn their line of march. T « trio is blazed with fallen trees, shatter-"'. homes, dead cattle and fragments I tim-ber of all Kinds. At Logan’s "e, 1 (across the ifdlr-oad from w.l.- re it' - storm started, the wreck was perf’et. Where a large brick building had S’ ■ there is now only a pile of crumbed brick, from under which men are busily > taking sacks of flour and other articles j that were in it. Not a part of the pile I is G leet lugti. 1-fom that place, at tna j cornet of Main and Myrtle streets, t! • I is a clean sweep across to the n-’-rtti west. on beyond New Holland and ths I’ucolel mills. Nothing wititistood i ‘ fury, and only a mass of lathlike splin ters strewn far and wide over the land -1 scape shows that ft wa ever the location of hundreds of happy homes and thriving industries. I lad the tornado come when the opera tives of the two mills were it their homes the mortality at the Pacolet would ha? a .-hocked the world as notiiir-g lias done in t decades. With the exception of a few houses near the mill building there Is not 1 one left standing. Not that they are merely torn up. Their fragments are I strewn across a mile or more of the c-.iun ■ tryside and not a piece larger than a I walking stick can be found. As it was', ' the death list is appalling in its magni -1 tude, but it does not approach what it | might have been had the storm struck | -’it any other hour. The list of the dead i at.d the description sent out by correspon . dents do not begin to give an impression . of the utter desolation that really exists 1 in tliis charming little city of the hiil ' tops. No business of an? kind Is be’rg ; transacted, and on the faces of all is.the , blank look of helplessness and despair. : Toe Pacolet mills are uninjured, aiih i tiie exception of a email part of the I southwest wing roof, which whs torn off. Work b- re can be resumed as so<tn as th» I operatives can regain their composure I sufficiently to attend to their duties and I tiie employees of this mill wlii not suffer I as much as those of tin- other plant. ; SYSTEM OUT oFcHHAOS. I Gainesville, Ga.. June I.—(Special.)- Al j though their temple of justice has been | turned into a hospital, and while instead lof the pleading of the lawyer and the charge of the judge to the Jury their ear* are greeted with eouxute of the