Twenty-two persons were suffocated to death when a great mass of alkali muck swept through the village of Saltville, Va., when the muck dam of the Matheison alkali works gave way under pressure of flood waters.

The muck covered the village like a stream of lava as may be seen in the photograph. A score of houses were demolished and many who were able to escape death were seriously burned by the alkali.

Submitted by: Kim Torp