Letter from Belle George in Tellico Plains, Tennessee, to her friends and family (the "home folks") in 1898. In the letter, Belle describes the events that took place during a great rain storm and subsequent river flooding in Tellico Plains, near the Tellico Lumber mill. While trying to secure her belongings and escape the home of Mr. Heyser, the general manager of Tellico Lumber, Belle fell into the water beneath a rearing horse ("Joe the horse"). She was saved by John Ballon, a black preacher, whom she called her "hero." Belle mentions that she plans to join Ballon's church and send him a poem entitled "John Ballon and the Flood of '98." Many of the belongings of all involved families were destroyed, but everyone made it out of the flooded area alive.