DIED
McCONE; BALL--Four Columbus people, Mr. and Mrs. S.A. McCone, and their daughter Lulu and Delia Ball, lost their lives in Tuesday night's flood. The family resided in the southwest part of the city on the Meridian line, just south of the Union Pacific tracks, and the husband found employment as a teamster.
All day Tuesday reports were received from stations west on the Loup indicating that a flood might be expected, but many of those on the bottoms did not take the reports seriously, and in fact a large number remained in their homes during the night.
It seems that the McCone family remained at their home until about eight o'clock in the evening, when the rising waters made them conclude to look for safety on higher ground. Their team was hitched up and the family got into the lumber wagon and started north across the tracks to higher ground. The supposition is that when west of the stockyards in the 'Y' the force of the current and ice caused the wagon to slide and overturn, throwing the occupants into the icy water. Their cries for help attracted the attention of some parties nearby who hurried up town and C.C. Jones took his boat down and began the search for the bodies. When they arrived one horse was found dead and partly out of the water, and the other one had its head out, but died soon after being pulled out. There was no trace of the occupants of the wagon and search was at once begun. While pulling the wagon around the body of Mrs. McCone was discovered but as it was lodged in the wire fence, was not recovered until about 10:30. The work of recovering the remaining bodies was continued until midnight, when it was discontinued until daylight. During Wednesday morning the remaining three bodies were recovered, the last one about ten o'clock. All four were found near the wagon, becoming lodged in the wire fence after being thrown out of the wagon.
The loss of many residents of the bottom will be quite heavy, as in nearly every case the water came into the houses ruining carpets and household furniture. When the flood reached the highest point was far north as the front part of the Grand Pacific hotel, all south of that being under water.
The Union Pacific suffered from the flood, but as they loosened the ice around the bridge with dynamite, it was not damaged. But the track from the coal chutes to the bridge was badly washed, and number three and five were held here until three o'clock Wednesday morning, when they were able to get through on the north track. This morning, however, two cars on a long stock train from the west were derailed by soft track, and the line again blocked. At Monroe the damage by ice and water was comparatively nothing, but one mile west of Oconee the water cut through and surrounded J.C. Dawson's house, and did considerable damage.

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