Cedar Falls gazette. [volume] (Cedar Falls, Iowa) 1860-1895, 1862-01-31
CORRESPONDENTS OF THE GAZETTE.
Letter from Dan De Guile.
SILVER CRY, N. T., Dec, 90.

ORR. II SILVER CITY, N. T., Dec 20, 1861.
DEAR GAZETTE Did you hear something
"drap" out this way a week or ten days ago !
Whether you did or not, about that time
there was thitherward fal--of rain here
and, 20, what a fall my countrymen y No,
in this Washoe region alone, but throughou,
California. Here it had been raining softly
for two or three days, when on Sunday
night it set in " on the pour. BY ten o.
clock the roaring of the swollen canon, run.
ing through town, was terrific. 1t is very
steep and the bed solid rock, and down this
huge boulders chased each other like the
balls on bowling alley. These grinding
and crashing together gave out rumbling
that heard was above the howl of the storm. A
number Of houses wcre..s~ebt avay in town
and all the mills damaged more or less The
mill Of Brook & Co. was undermined and
the engine room fell into the flood and broke
up. At..other mills the water rushed through
(they being built in the narrow canon, which
all the "old settlers" stoutly maintained was
never known to exceed twenty inches in vol
ume), and tearing out the matchmaking pans
scattered the precious ORC promiscuously
down the channel --much to the delight OF
certain homJres, of the genus minc+, owning
surface claims in the bed of the creek. These
claims were further enriched by the washing
away Of great banks of valuable tailings,
which had accumulated at all the mills, and
which constituted part Of the spoils of the
mill owners. 1t is estimated that not less
than 500 600 was by these means set adrlt
The toll road from Gold Hill To sorte dis.
tance below this city, was torn in holes, and
filled with great blocks Of granite, and it will
cost the company owning it an immense sun,
to repair it.
Several houses in town being built too
near the brink of the canon. were undermined
and washed down; others were swept clear
from their foundations. The large ware
house of Steiner & Koneman came near being
undermined; however, it was saved with the
loss Of the wall next the canon. A miner
who had made the earthen floor Of his cabin
bank Of deposit for purse of $500, found
to his cost that even such 5ank could cace
under certain circumstances. Taking a walk
down the canon the morning after the food,
| saw number Of stranded houses moored
against its banks; the shores strewn with
bedding and furniture, wood, lumber, and
every imaginable species Of wreck. A num-
Der of wagon-yards on the canon well cleaned
out, and wagons and parts of wagons were
stlcwn from one end of the ravine to the
other. The mills on Carson river were con-
siderably damaged and several dams washed
out. At Gold Hill, several houses were de-
moished and one large stone mill, costing
some $4,000 washed down. Several mines
on the celebrated Gold Hill lead have caved
in, one, place space of ground forty feet in
width by seventy in length, dropped toward
the lower regions; the timbers in other
claims have been cracking and giving awavv
and it is feared that the cave may become
general. .Als ..iis is owing to insufficient
timbering and the amount Of water absorbed
from the late rains. .."...
AT Virginia City but few buildings fell, the
town being situated on the summit of hill.
At the town of Flowcry, situated on six-milc
canon, some damage was sustained by mil.
owners, and two or three houses were washed
away. On the canon below F'owery large
mill was destroyed, and above the town to-
ward Virginia City, just below the Sugar
Loaf moui'tain, mill owned by a company
OF Spanards, went down with rusE from
a breaking dam: Many mills and buildings
were saved in this place (Silvcr City,, by
constructing wing-dans above them, and the
amount of "rot-gut' punished By The Irish
and Dutch employed in this work was start.
ling. Toward evening the fighting fluid be-
gan to do its work, and in front of the
!" Globe hotel a free fight ensued between
the Pat O'Reileys and the Hans Gunsen-
hausers. Stones, fists and eftfbs Nere the
weapons used-neithef party (for wonder)
being armed with anything more deadly
The air was filled with stones, clubs and
curses, and the ground covered with hats,
coats and fallen warriors. The melee com
mcnced in doors, at the bar, and during the
preliminary skirmish the greatest execution
was done, for there the bottles and glasses
Of the bar furnished offensive and defensive
weapons, and some terrible cuts we've given
and received withpitchers aud porter bottles
reached the ground Just as the two little
armies einerged-deployed, is believe the
proper military term-upon the open field.
They formed suddenly into two lines. and
the " frequency" with which rocks flew back
and forth was delightful an outsider, and
might be likened to two armies cannonading
each other At last the Teutons were forced
to retreat. and this was quite Leesburgh
affair, as there was the raging canon to cross
and the means Of I" transportation limited
to single narrow log. Here the Patlanders
rushed down to the shore and poured in a
deadly fire; most Of which, however, took
effect upon the back Of bIrly Dntchlandcr,
who literally, covered the retreat As soon
as the front ranks had reached the shore
they wheeled and poured in fire on the
vcnturesome Irish which made them fall
back, and by this most admirable and truly
military maneuycr. the rear was enabled to
effect safe landing. During the fight
crowd of Americans looked on in disgust
and one chiv. gave vent to his mind as foi,
lows: Those fellows amt as general thing
bad citizens, but d--n them It takes them
a long while to get over their low notions
and become used to working with knives
and pistols! las