The weekly pioneer and Democrat., 1862-02-07

The late flood in California was the most
terrible food, or series of floods, ever suf~
tered on the Pacific slope. The damage is
estimated at $lO,O0O00O. The range of
the food was from Sacramento northward
to the Columbia river, and Nevada and
Oregon suffered in common with the Golden
State. All the streams rose, inundating
towns, sweeping away mills, dams, fumes,
houses, &C., and causing great loss of life.
Nearly one thousand Chinese are said to
have been drowned in different localities.
All of Sacramento, save parts of single
street; parts OF Marysville, Auburn, Napa,
Sonora, Santa Rosa and many smaller
towns, were overfowed. On the 9th of
November the rainy season opened, and for
nearly four weeks the rain fell almost in
cessantly. A Grass Valley paper states the
fall of rain there at the incredible amount
of nine inches in thirty. six hours! The
north fork of the American river rose fifty
five feet, while other streams nearly equalled
this figure. Sacramento was the heaviest
sufferer, as was the case ia several previous
foods. This city stands at the junction of
the American and Sacramento rivers, in a
wide, fiat valley. The loss here is $4,000.
600. The city has been nearly ruined, its
debt previous to the food being enormous,
and the people being terribly depressed.
Subscriptions for the relief of the destitute
have been made-San Francisco leading off
with 100000. Near Auburn thirty miles
of fences have been foated of. At Grass
Valley five hundred quartz miners have
been tbIown out of work by the flooding
of the mines. On Feather river millions
of feet of lumber were lost. On Trinity RI
yer the loss is estimated at $3.50, 900; clean
sweep of all the improvements along that
stream was made. The accounts from Wa
soc, from Oregon, &C., are equally disas-
trous. The papers also have many reports
of hair breadth escapes, among which we
observe that the wife of State Senator
was rescued by her husband carrying her
some distance on his back, he wading waist
deep in torrent. Among other character
istic anecdotes of the disaster are the fol-
lowing amusing stories:
At one of our hotels, yesterday morning, q
boarder called for mackerel for breakfast with
the remark, " am darned sure they were not
drowned by the food, but don't feel SO sure
about beef and pork" He had been around
drowned cattle and hogs lying around, that he
concluded to be on the safe side.
"HOw high did the water get on your foor?"
we inquired of a resident of one of the more
favored localities of the city. 'Just high
enough to take the starch out of my shirt COL
lar" said he. But, as if anxious to maintain
the good standing of real estate in the neigh.
borhood, he added, 'But then you know l am
a very short man"
Some one was bantering citizen Caulield
about the magnificent waterscape which his
rancho presented, to which he promptly re.
sponded, g! wouldn't give copper for man
that couldn't have lake of his own.'
We do not anticipate that the Califor>
mans will be much discouraged by this Ca
lamity. They are accustomed to all kinds
of troubles, fires, floods, criminals, Indians
and reckless politicians, and they will,
doubtless, push through the present disaster
as they have encountered and vanished SIM
liar tribulations.