VOL. NO. xttty
CLOUDBURST TAKES HEAVY
All of the McCarver Family Die in Flood That Swept House
Away Many Thrilling Rescues Made by
Citizens in Storm and Darkness.
CITY IS SCENE
Ai DESTRUCTION TODAY
Work of Rescue Carried on in Darkness by Aid of Lanterns
Telephone Girls Stick to Post Property Loss of
Thousands of Dollars Due to Flood.
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Death and destruction followed a cloudburst at 6 o'clock yes
terday afternoon a few miles south of Louisville and as the result
of the storm Louisville today is a city of mourning for the damage
that followed in the wake of the flood that swept through that city
a few moments after the cloudburst occurred.
Eleven known dead are reported and a number of Mexicans
residing on the bottoms near the Platte are also reported as missing,
but it will be some time before a check can be made to ascertain just
the exact status of the residents of that part of the town, owing to
the fact that many do not speak English and it difficult to find wheth
er or not there are members of the colonv missing.
The Btorm, gathering all after
noon, broke in its full fury late in
the day and soon the flood waters
filled Mill creek to the dimensions
of a river and the water sweeping
from the confines of the creek flowed
into the city of Louisville leaving a
terrible damage in its wake. The
flood swept between the city hall and
opera house building and the Drake
hotel to the depth of from six to eight
feet and in a few momenta the flood
had reached every building in the
town and filled the cellars and low
er floors of all the buildings. Side
walks were torn up by the flood and
tossed along on the crest of the flood
and lodged so that the water instead
of being able to flow back toward
the river was swept on to the bottoms
west of Louisville and in its pathway
left only wreckoge and death.
The residences that were located
in the vicinity of Mill creek were all
under water and many thrilling re3-
cues were mad-3 m tne miast 01 tne;nf damage from the waters that
dark and terror of the flood ana
storm as the electirc current was cut
off when the lines were swept away
in the early part of the flood and it
was with difficulty that the rescues
were made by the men of the com
munity. The residence of the McCarver
family near the creek was swept from
its foundation and borne on the crest
of the angry flood waters toward
the Platte river and the members of
the family who had gathered there
to attend "the funeral of the mother,
Mrs. John McCarver. who was burn
ed to death thera Thursday, are all
reported as being drowned. The
bodies recovered from the wreckage
and the flood are Robert McCarver,
Mrs. Alfred Laird and son, Herbert,
of Valley; Mrs. J. W. Morgan. Paul
and Pauline Brunkow, while the
members of the family missing are
Will McCarver and wife, the latter
mother of the two Brunkow children,
Willie Laird, a small boy of the Mor
gan family, aged 5 years, and a sis
ter of the late Mrs. McCarver, who
arrived yesterday from Illinois to at
tend the funeral services.
In the vicinity of the creek, by
the aid of lanterns and directed by
the cries of those caujht in their
homes by the flood, the rescuers la
bored la getting out many who in a
few moments more would have been
-drowned. At the home of George ;
Schoeman and wife the rescue party
had great difficulty in getting the oc
cupants of the house out to safety
and Mr. Schoeman was rescued only
by having a rope placed around his
reck and shoulders and being drawn
to the arms of the men of the party
Nebraska State Histori
cal Society
TOLL OF LIFE
OF DEATH
who were out aiding in the rescue
work.
The home of Mrs. C. G. Clifford
was also badly damaged by the flood
and the occupants of the house
brought to safety with the greatest
of difficulty as was also the case at
the home of Mrs. Margaret Ossenkop,
who, with her daughter, Mable, was
brought out of the house with the
water almost over her head and car
ried to a place of safety.
Mrs. Emmanline Hammant was
rescued from her home near the creek
after a battle with the waters for
some time before the drenched and
almost exhausted rescuers could
reach her and remove her to a place
out of the path of the flood.
The property damage will mount
into the thousands of dollars as there
is not a place in the main section of
the town that was not flooded and
ptocks of tronds in the first floors
jcf the buildings suffered a great deal :
flnwprf from hnth the hark and front
of the stores. In the Drake hotel the '
water on the first floor rose to the
depth of three and four feet and the
residents In the hotel sought refuge
in the seqond story of the building.
The large concrete bridges over
Mill creek are twisted and torn as
though by an earthquake and south
of Louisville all of the bridges lead
ing to the city are destroyed in the
flood that followed the cloudburst
and it Is necessary to make the way
into the city on foot in order to
reach the scene of the destruction,
wrought by the storm.
In the town and nearby localities
outbuildings, sheds, stock and autos
were swept away by the flood and the
loss will be hard to estimate at this
time until the full reports are in
from all sections of the vicinity of
Louisville.
The telephone girls at the Louis
ville exchange did wonderful work in
the midst of the storm as they stood
by their posts while the flood waters
were sweeping around them and Mrs.
L. J. Mayfield standing, in the tele
phone booth in four feet of water,
sent out the messages to the outside
papers and communities of the de
struction that had befallen their city.
All aid possible should be given to
the suffering city and its people and
it will require some time before the
damage that has been done to the
ousiness nouses ana residences can
be repaired and the city back in its
former normal life.
The storm was the most destruc
tive that has visited Cass county in
years, and in the loss of life exceeds
the tornado of 1913 that swept thru
LIST OF KNOWN DEAD
Robert McCarver
Alfred Laird and sons, Her
bert and Willie, Valley.
Mrs. J. W. Morgan
Paul and Pauline Bronkow.
Will McCarver and Wife.
Morgan, 5-yr. old boy.
Mrs. M. J. Smith, an aunt of
the McCarver boys.
the southern pottion of the county.
The details of the destruction are
hard to obtain as the wire service
to Louisville has been crippled in
the tearing down of poles and lines
and the residents of the city burden
ed by the all night battle with the
storm are exhausted and worn.
One of the heroic workers in the
flood was Mart Williams, formerly of
this city, who rescued two children
from the McCarver house and urged
the other members of the family
there to attempt to get to safety at
that time but before he could return
from carrying the two children to
safety on his shoulders, the house
was 6wept from its foundation and
away in the flood.
The store of W. F.
Diers will be
one of the heaviest losers in the flood :
as
inv np if iinnm nrar
the first floor of the store wasftlons wlt.n Ine Turlington at ureap-
swept by the waters and the base
ment of the building which was fill
ed with stocks of goods, is still full
of water, reports here at noon stated.
The office of the Louisville Courier
also suffered heavily from the flood
and the type cases are largely filled
with mud and debris that was 'wash
ed in by the flood waters.
The Sioux City freight over the',. ,M , ...i,
Burlington, which was being double-
headed through reached that local-
ny just at tne time tne storm oc-
curred and was held there and aj
number of cars derailed when the
tracks were washed out and made
further progress impossible.
Approaches to the Platte river
wagon bridge at Louisville as well as
lue anssouri racuic Driage was aam-
aged by the flood waters and ren
dered impassable through washouts.
Sheriff c D. Quinton and County '
Attorney A. G. Cole and County Com
missioner George Farley started for
the stricken city this morning and
"i,cllru jumeu mere oy wm-;Frnm
SSHenSP ? wrlS ?f Uw? aD.d I
Fred H. Gorder of Weeping Water to
moo. uver me aamage ana tne care or
the unfortunates who were drowned
in the storm waters.
BUSHNELL STRUCK
BY WIND STORM;
DAMAGE HEAVY
Twenty-Five Loaded Fruit Cars
Blown From Union Pacific
Tracks in the West
From Friday's Daily
A terrific windstorm, accompanied
by heavy rainfall, struck Bushnell,
Neb., and vicinity late yesterday af
ternoon, blowing 25 loaded fruit cars
off the Union Pacific tracks at Bush
nell, uprooting trees and causing
other damage, the extent of which
has not been determined, according
to telephone reports to The Omaha
Bee last night.
The storm struck suddenly and
continued unabated for more than 20
minutes. Street signs were blown
down, houses unroofed and debris
scattered about, the report stated.
PLATTSMOUTH, NEBRASKA, MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1923.
C1
The storm at Lincoln and
vicinity was quite extensive,
reports from that city state,
and among other places that
were touched by the high
water was Harelock.
In the pumping station at
that place the water, stood at
a depth of five feet and in
the Burlington shops there,
it is reported four feet of
water was standing all over
the various departments with
damage to the equipment
that will probably run into
thousands of dollars, altho
it is impossible to estimate
the amount at this time.
CITY IS ISOLATED
THE TERR1F! G StOSMS
One Train from Omaha Today is the
Only Communication from Here
to the Korth and West.
Pnllowinc thp clnndtmrsta in -ouis-
J'ville and north through Sarpy county
ana umana, tu:s city, was a place
shut off from rail com municat ian
with Mie west and north save in the
connection made at Pacific Junction
with Xo. 6 over the Burlington.
The Burlington lines were paralyz
ed by the washouts that occurred at
Bellevue and also at Louisville and
Cedar Creek so that their lines were
completely ' closed 1.1 west-and'
north. ' The Missouri Pacific had bad
washouts on their lines , near the
. Pappio creek that completely shut ofT
all traffic with Omaha.
Along the line of the Burlington
west of the city there were large sec
tions dug outalon g the tracks be
tween Louisville and Cedar Creek
and many of these were from six to
fifteen feet deep and will require
much , work to repair tnem. The sec
tion men were out all night laboring
to repair what they could of the
trackage, but it was an almost hope
less task in the face of the damage
that hfld been done to the tracks.
It is hoped to have the Burlington
lines through to Omaha repaired by
'night so that the traffic can be re-
sumed tomorrow as usual.
The Missouri Pacific in
order to
reach Omaha, had to make connec-
oiis, switcning tneir nortnoouna
early morning train as well as the
St. Louis baseball special there and
sending them back over the Burling
ton lines to this city and thence to
Pacific Junction and the Bluffs trans
fer. A large number of Plattsmouth I
people who were in attendance at
d here thi, mornin at n 0.c,ock on
the Etub tfcat connected with the b-
jate(i
6 at Pacific Junction.
RAIN DISAPPOINTS
COUNTY FAIR GOEP.S
Delegation From This City Expect
ing to Drive to Weeping Water
Stopped by Heavy Ram.
VriAav's Dailv
After a week of reparation by the
Plattsmouth business men and citi-
zens to join in a general observance
of Plattsmouth day at the Cass coun
ty fair at Weeping Water, the plans
of the day were dashed to pieces
when this morning a very heavy rain
storm made the traveling by auto im
possible and compelled the boosters
to remain at home in this city.
This is a great disappointment to
all those who had planned to attend
the fair, but is one of the things
that occur to upset the best arrang
ed plans of men and which there is
no way of preventing.
The pledges of cars had been nu
merous and a crowd from 200 to 250
was promised for the day but in the
face of the continuing rain there was
nothing left to do but to pass up the
trip and remain at home. The dis
appointment was keen both to the
Plattsmout and Weeping Water peo
ple as it had been arranged to have a
real day of good fellowship and
pleasure at the fair.
GRANTED DIVORCE DECREE
From Thursday's Daily
In the case of Lena Dyke vs.
Charles F. Dyke in the district court,
Judge Begley has entered a decree
granting the prayer of the petition
er, Mrs. Dykes for an absolute divorce.
4
.r
EXPERIENCE IN A
REAL HAIL STORM
George J. Monk and Members of C.
Cook Family Have Car Riddled
by Large Hail Stones.
From Saturday's laily
Returning last evening from the
Cars county fair at Weeping Water,
George J. Monk and Mr. and Mrs.
C. K. Cook of this city had a most
thrilling experience in the rain and
hail storm that visited that section
of Cass county.
The party started for home about 5
o'clock and when about a mile and a
half north of Weeping Water they
had some car trouble which delayed
them until the rain storm started and
the driving rain came down in sheets,
turning the lowlands into a sea of
water and in the hollows at the foot
of the hills there were streams from
thirty to one hundred feet wide..
About 5:30 the hail commenced to
fall and in a few moments the car
was under a heavy bornbardn:ent.
the hail stones falling the size of
large hen eggs end of all shapes that
could be imagined. The top of the
car received twenty holes from the ef
fects of the hail and in the hood of
the car there were many dents made
that still attest the force of the hail
btorm. The wind shield was broken
and the case of the motonneter brok
en by the force of the hail in the
few moments that the car struggled
through the storm.
The car was. finally driven to the
John Jtauth home where the autoists
souRhti .shelter. -and the Rauth family
beiflg"aTrslST!'t; tllGJ
STte'ttremset-resf
at home for a short time until Mrs
Rauta and one of the children re-
turnea nome ana a rew moments lat-
er Mr. Rauth arrived and proceeded
to snow me visitors tne most royal i
nospitamy ana Kept them at the
home until this morning when Mr. i
Monk and Mr. and Mrs. Cook return- .
the worst storm in his memory.
me eiienw: u udi m lhat the tlieck, signed by "Bobbie I track. Two day
be long remembered and Mr. Cook. White." was worthless as far as rep- one baggage and
1 . , . -. . i a. L
u ucru ''uCiiV U1 uils iuuu- resenting real money and that he had the rails, he a
attt lhat the trew 1around.hel o'clock the lad was "located by the
Hauth home were quite badly strip-! sheriff
ped by the hail, but does not think T ' w f4,
tht the crop of corn was badly dam-'
aged, as it was well along toward!
maturity.
TORNADO AT COUNCIL
Rl MCCQ Vl I Q CIlC
ULUrrO fVlLLO MIL
j
Storm There last Night Kills Five
and Injures Four Persons in
Southern Part of City.
From Saturday's Dailv
Five persons were killed and four
injured last night by a tornado in
Council Bluffs which swept an area
three blocks wide in the southern
part of the Iowa city, wrecking many
buildings. Flood water from Indian
creek added to suffering, handicap
ping rescuers.
The list of known dead include the
following:
Fred Roupple, 35, stockman, Wells
ville, Mo.; Mrs. Leta Kalftrup, 45,
and three children, Georga, 7, Rich
ard. 6, and Chester, 4.
The injured are Lars Kalftrup,
husband of the dead woman; Frank
Dow, 35, leg broken and Henry Mc
Devitt. both of Perry. Iowa; Ed Col
lier, 53, and daughter. Goldie, 12.
Killed in Home
Mrs. Kalftrup and children- were
killed in their home on Twentieth
avenue just off Tostevin street. Kalf
trup, who was in the house when the
tornado struck, returned to his de
molished heme immediately after his
injuries had been attended at Jennie
Edmundson Memorial hospital.
-Roupple and O. E. Gosharn, also
of Wellsville, Mo., were in the Wa
bash eating house, in the Wabash
railway yards when the wind crash
ed two windows. Roupple rushed
outside and was felled by debris hurl
ed about and was killed instantly.
Gosharn, remaining inside the cafe,
was unhurt. The men were enroute
to Omaha to buy sheep.
Dow and McDevitt were injured
when struck by missiles in the Mil
waukee railroad shops, where they
are employed. The injured were taken
to Jennie Edmundson Memorial hos
pital. Collier and his daughter" were pin
ned under wreckage in a Wabash
section house in which they lived.
They were removed to the hospital
in a serious condition. Collier's wife
and their other children v ere slight
ly hurt. They were tanen to the
home of friends.
High water which engulfed a wide
a i.
nn
area in Council BlufTt; made it diffi
cult for relief workers to reach the
victims. The injured were brought
to the Rock Island-Milwaukee pas
senger station on a one-coach train.
and from there taken to the hos
pital.
SAFE FROM THE EARTHQUAKE
From Saturday's l'aily
Rev. W. X. Ilalsey of Omaha, at
one time principal of the 1'lattsmouth
high school in the early nineties, has
received word from his sister, Miss
Lila Ilalsey, a missionary in Japan
announcing her safety at the time of
the great earthquake. The letter from
Miss Ilalsey stated that she was on
a train returning from Tokio at the
time the earthquake occurred and by
a few hours escaped the destruction
of the city of Tokio.
BOY WANDERER FROM
ST. JOSEPH IN BAD
Passes Worthless Check For $2 at
Mauzy Drug Stoie and Gets In
Hands of the Law.
From Friday's Daily
Yesterday afternoon the police
force and Sheriff Quinton were given
o. j. .j. mitu a. juutu f
thirteen to fourteen years of age was
reported aB having passed a check
for $2 at the Mauzy Drug store and
a search was made of the city in an
effort to locate the boy with the re
sult that he was found sometime lat
er at the Missouri Pacific station by
Sheriff C. D. Quinton.
it seems that ihe b-iy had 'come
into the store during, the time Mr
Mauzy was out and had made a small I
purchase and tendered a check for
2 drawn on the Farmers' State bank
of this city -which wa3 cashed by.'ming all day yesterday.
Mr3- jiauzy wno was in the store at I
tne time and the boy departed she 1
decided to call and learn if the check
made
the boy
about'
teen years of age and had come here
! from St. Joseph, Missouri, in his
wandering around looking for work
or a place to live. He stated to the
autorities that he had no parents or
relatives living and was a homeless
'wanderer. The linv was takpn tn the
county jail where he will be cared
for until his case is disposed of.
It is probable that owing to the
without relatives or friends' that it
may be deemed best to send him to
the state reform school for boys 1
where he can be educated and cared
for.
I.
A I
JM2
r-. J!
w n r r.K v
" W EaJJCKSU IU.
Chocks Arc Safer!
Coins or greenbacks can be used by any
one who gets possession of them. When you
write a check, it's useless until the person to
whom it is made out endorses it and thereby
acknowledges its receint.
Then too, around thi3 time oi the month,
when you're paying bills, a checking account
provides you with the means of making exact
change.
Protect yourself with a First National
Bank Checking Account.
The First national Bank
THE BANK WHERE YOU FEEL. AT HOMS
PLATTSMOUTH
'"if
La
NO. 23
BURLINGTON
HAS WRECK ON
BILLINGS LINE
LIST Or DEAD MAY REACH 100.
ACCORDING TO REPORTS
FROM CASPER, WYO.
TRAIN PLUNGES INTO RIVER
Caught in Coaches, Passengers Are
Drowned in the River When
Bridge Collapses.
From Friday's Daily
One of the worst wrecks on the
Burlington lines in recent years oc
curred about 10 o clock last night
when cast bound passenger train So.
SO on the Denver-Billings line trash
ed through the bridge over the Big
Muddy river at Lockett, Wyoming,
eighteen miles east of Casper. At
the last reports the dead on the train
wa3 estimated at from 37 to 100 and
the task of recovering the bodies
j froai the coaches was being conriucl-
e(1 jjy a rener force hurried by spe
r-iai train rrom t astier.
The story told by Dan McLain of
Denver, a passenger on one of the
sleeping cars, was that he was the
sole Eurvivor of the coach In which
he was riding and that at least 100
jkOtjs perished tn the surging flood
waters of the river.
As far as could be learned two day
coaches, one sleeper, one baggage
and one mall car crashed Into the
river when the bridge was swept
away by the force of the flood waters
caused by the heavy rains in Wyo-
The trainmen who notified the
Casper dispatchers office of the
wreck said that only two of the
coaches, one sleeper,
one express car left
id.
ere completely ub-
merged, and one car was standing
on end, McLain said, and he did
not believe any of the trapped pas
sengers escaped from the wreckage.
McLain made his way to the Mid
west camp in the Big Muddy oil
fields and telephoned news of the ac
cident to Douglas, eight miles away.
Word received at the local telegraph
office of the Burlington railroad
from Superintendent Grissinger was
to the effect the Big Muddy was a
raging torrent and rescue work was
out of the question.
When told that a passenger esti
mated the Ioes of life at 100 persons,
the dispatcher said, "It would Je
easy at that." He was unable to say
how many people there were on the
train, however. ,
nt SttDGcSiston
- c
"NEBRASKA
