Damage will Run Into The Thousands, Further Rise is Feared – Five Persons Missing.

Special to The State.

Camden, Aug. 25 – The Wateree river is remaining at the same height, but a further rise is expected, Section Director Bauer having reported three and a half inches of rain at Camden Junction last night. Several dams have broken and the loss will amount to many thousands. The water is now several feet over the Southern railroad trestle a mile below Camden. The road roadway at the wrecked bridge is now two feet under water, the river having, risen from a level of four feet below the road a level to its present height since yesterday. The water is backing up the creek that flows through the eastern section of the city in an alarming manner. The occupants of several buildings in this vicinity were fourced to move out this afternoon.

About 200 feet of the Seaboard Air Line Embankment has given way, where part of the long Wateree trestle was filled in.

The roads to the Hermitage and Pine Creek cotton mills are blocked by the high water.

So far nothing has been heard of Mr. Rabon and the boy who was with him when the Wateree bridge went down yesterday. Three negro women are also missing. It is the opinion of most people that the number of people on the bridge when it went down was less than at first reported. Messrs. Henry Savage and John Mickle and eight negroes have been rescued. Two of the negroes were saved today.

Messrs. Bob McCreight and Bobby Deloach report having seen a house floating down the river. This is supposed to be the bridgekeeper’s house, as no other building could have passed the S. A. L. trestle.

Mr. Savage’s dam below the Seaboard Air Line railway has broken and water is overflowing what is left standing. It is reported that Baum’s Springs & Shannon’s State farm and Jordan’s damn are also broken. The rebuilding of these dams will cost thousands and thousands of dollars to the owner and neighbors. It will ruin all.

The rapid rise of the water caused the loss of 35 horses belonging to Mr. William DePass and two belonging to Messrs. C. H. Yates and D. G. Richardson. Mr. DePass had the horses on a knoll in the pasture some distance above the high water mark at that time, the river then registering 31 feet. When the sudden rise to 28 feet came Mr. DePass could save only nine of the animals, the others being drowned.

Messrs. Sam Hammond and Jim Williams have just returned from the river. They went about 10 miles down the river in search of the persons in trees. They had a number of narrow escapes. Their boat turned over in the swift current three times and once Mr. Williams was pinned under the boat and was there over a minute before being released. They deserve credit for their good work. They got three negroes out of trees yesterday.