, 1866-08-21
THE GREAT FLOOD IN ROOT
RIVER VALLEY.
Full and Authentic Details O: the
Late Overflow,
NINETEEN LIVES LOST - FIVE
Observation-Disclosures,
FENCES, HOUSES, ETC,
CARRIED AYAI,


CARRIED AYAf.
loom and Deso1nt1on left in the Track
Of tie Storu-Eumase to the Root
River RnlIroad-CondltIoa md Pru.-
pects Of sAar sT1lorou@hfare-The
Town Of RnHl1ford-Crop- and uar-
vest-APEcafancc OF tire Cocotry.
Special Correspondence OF WEao.a Reaut,scsn.l
Aces. II. 1=+S
Never has there keen known in the ,ai{cy
t the Root River so terrible e rood a. vi.it-
d that vicinity on sundar, Monday and
'uesday, the 5th, 9Th and 7sh instant Tie
orient has left = bread path Of d.ath and
leEolatIon in valleys that were rich with the
:o1den grain, the growing corn, the kay So
nred valleys tha. looked 10 heaven and
miled in peace and plenty, and get were
he same heavens for their destruction The
oss Of property cauLot be estimated The
alleys arc s1reWn with the wreck Of houses.
Mills, stores, barns, fences, and haod wood.
Great drifts Of rocks arr scattered a!or:. the Z
:oads and through the Acids, and the Tees,
or ten, twelve and fourteen feet high, :,
loaded with the dt15ix of the food.
The loss Of life Vas coIfred pri1ciY :.
what is Known as the Sta:h Branch ~
River On this stream sixteen Il. -
lost, four houses we're cazEiedawaJ - Fot
mills completely bzuken up aud ~ o.
throughout the valley The h.-* mill At the
head Of the stream |as owned bv Collins
Hall, and nsed as 3 sEist mill From Nj.
action of the hood upon lis mil in the
vicinity. It sained steadily SUNDAY mint
and Monday, but the stream At dark On Nun
day was only up to the sop Of it, banks
twelve, the storm mayed with The rsr:st-
est fury. The rain descended in tor
rents The stream flooded its bsnks, spread
through the, valley, and by midnight
had risen twelve or fourteen feet. carrying
down rocks, rails, stumps and tres, and
lurling them agait,st the mills and hoases in
its course. Nf. Hall was accustomed TO sleep
in the mill-Tas In this nisht-leard and
watched Inc food The night wa black and
dark, anu 6iiT IL the flashes Of lightning
came could one Eee- Somewhere ue:lt twelve
O'Clock an addition in the rear Of the rnirt
hour after. the mill swuu:: Oh. Mr. IIall was
sitting On the bunk with hat and boots Ut.
LET me say parenthetsc.llv that Mr. II. is
sixtS-seven Years o1d}. When 1h: mil
| started hetook position near the bolt chest,
deeminE that the best place Of safety. The
mill went some forty rods and struck u
large tree. The roof parted The mill iloatcd
GONE fifteen or twenty rods after the roof
vent, and brought up against some trees
For moment the angry waters were bar1k-
ed; but rushing on again with increased
forre, the mill Was crushed to pieces. Mr.
| Hall was carried on the chest tilrrc-qlartcrs
| Of mile, when, seeing some bushes. he
| swan TO them and thence got into poplar
| grosc, where he remained until daylight.
! The force Of the currcnt Is shown by The
| E,ct that the mill stones were carried several
| rods, and an iron sl.att, two inches ia dame
| ter and nine feet len:-. with four clst-irpn
| wheels upon it, was carried over half mile
from the mill Two nurses and seven hogs,
besides wagon, harness and 4 LE.e 1ua1l-
tity Of hay, belonging TO Thomas Tough,
I were lost
| TIE dam at Halls mill breaking away add
cd Il large volume TO the a}ready swollen
stream, and u SAW mill mills, ari i half from
Hall'e was the next obstacle. THIS mill WAS
| under repair by Wu. Kelly 4 pr,1=ii danl
had been built, but everything except soli-
tary post vas swept away with the torrent
4 few rods above NJ Halls mill lived 3
Norwegian named T"rseson, with his fami-
II. ard another emily, uatne unknown TOT
gcson'e house was carried some eight rods
and lodged against some trees The families
went up into the attic and were saved Onc
nlan betook himself 10 q tIee.
Among the families which suffered most
severely was that Of Mr. Wiscl, GerEl:.n-
His mill and house were c.lzritl OIL, and all
the inmates, consisting Of Mr. Wisef, his
wife, mother, and nephew, and an old gen.
\ | t1eulan named Btace, aged sixty. and his
wife, Who were on visiI from Iowa. were
. Brace cluns 10 n bcdstcad and flonted down
the stream some five miles. Mrs. Brace wns
knocked hy some foodwood aud killed. Mrs.
Wisel tloateti into a brush heap and saved
herself The bodies have ali boen found,
!, with the exception. We believe, Of the boy
I 4 sad moufner is the bezea-ed wiGs, Mrs
. Wisef, and sorrowful duty llas she had tt
perform in the burial Of her relatives
Next below the house Of NJ; Wies! lived .
man named Wellington, with lis wifi.
: They had their granlchild with them Til
: parents Of the child reside in Caltdonia
= Houston County Their ramc Is Gage Tht
: house was made complete wreck. and StFs
! wellington and the child were found d:as
, in the bed. the ruof falling upon them TIL
:, body Of Mr. Wellington was fonnt buried il
= = the sand and dirt, only ene foot hcissss aeog
ground
d A short distance further down. anothe
:e pail} WAS swept; away, aHd the miller, Jeu
;;s larson. and entirc faEily ly-eiyht III al!-wer
- lost The particulars, such ~ they are, wes
= furnished US By q uei,hhar, Ms- Iol,n=n,
p p A horse belonging Ia Nj. Johnsoa's. br"tht
" vas taken down the stream, and found ali,
III md sound over mile from the stah1c. y
=, johnson himself Was away from home, hi
~ ~ his brother happened totbe in the ht"s~
es having been detained By the rain 4tbo
~ ~ talEpast ten water began to CONC lnto Il
y house, and the family vent uF stairs- Fro
VI a window they watched the light in the tlou
IN N; of their neiGhbor Larson The light y
-. extingusshea about twelve O'clock ~
~ ~ house probably went or at that tine- hi
uu rying its eight unfortunate and t:2ncIel
Nv Nv MATES to their dreadful tate- Whst thu
70 feelings could have been in The Eaee Of sMt
II. m awful death can only be coE;;ect glrd- =
oe waters iuaxning and sur:ying arsund til,
ny opened to give them a tlis:,4at toatl,, and
~ ~ hEman eye could penetrate the darkness
~ ~ see them die " the inmates there w
II, tirely three yea1s sad two months. ono s.
~ ~ eight years old, I.arson's sister Ellen, w
W. w. was widow. and her two boys, eight d
W W three years old.
m m The body OF the elder daughter Was fs,r
~ ~ floating near the house Of u Norwegian,
H. and a half miles down. Lnrson's body !
- found one mile further down, badly bri,is
at st' The body YVES in Z dra:, wien discover
11 ,.1 and the shirt was the only remnant Of clo
Inc thc in;; left upon II The body OF the inf
AZ AZ The bodies Of the viii. and Ellen were i
or, pond, one and th1cc.9uartess miles dist:
~ One Of Ellen's boys WIS found in Srr
- - Greek, mile aud three -quarte7zaway
- remaining bodies have not IS set been
~ ~ covered
the dn One more house, situatcd on this stree
~ ~ with its contents, was total loss It
Ee5 situated some six or eight miles from
"a head Of the stream. aud owned by Nor
hat gian named Lars Ta1yestad- &c had 0
The ins in the nev house on tie night OF
ea7 flood They bad not removed their got
clothing, furniture, &c., ffoul the old ho
IT'D Everything was lost, together with some
could not exactly ascertain
This completes the particular list Of 10:
,nx. on this branch The sad summary Is ski
''47' lives lost, four mills, four houses, ser
late to thrifty farms. Fences, crops-alf are e
ses- The valley is almost waste Save
ing. spots Of high land, the surflce Is dark
Con- naked with the ruin Of the flood- Som'
trH- the inhabitants who hare survived Will i
one higher localities !; Others will trE. asail
said | the ta1ue place; but it will be long I
own before the valley is again so busy and 2
the porous.
tho This valley Is about fourteen miles Sc
atie e. eastesIy % direction tow toward T xhat ( % tes@cd
Eem- South Branch Of the South Ferl. At
OBJ town of Dedham, g1ist mill, distillery,
aade | store, with stock Of dry. goods and groce
were carried away, involving 1oseiof 8
;ouri Of 81 Geo. Fifteen miles above this poi
rcn- widow named NcCabe. and her two b
1am. aged nine and two years, were droE
some These, with the sixteen in the other va1
VAL make nineteen lives lost All the b0
as with the exception Of two OF three hare
urse recovered.
e re- The large fat on which the town Of H
ton is located, was orcrhowcd to the d
from Of four and a ha1fo five feet, coming
,old the f1st stories apd causing ~ the inhaei. Bit
my bottom land are au ruined, save some OF
: Ma corn where there was no current. No
stock was lost
gate, Great an1iety has been felt to hear
the Root River Railroad, or as some fs
w1ckedly styles it, the Rar-RaE- Rar,
: He stood The ordeal The injury, though
great, is not so bad as It Tas last sp
Mr. No bridges arc gone and the oil emh
feel meut is hut little injured. The worst y
these ing out was On the new establishments v
were made last spring. The track is in
part able condition from the river to He
. cur and Temporary truck Is being constr
# the for the running Of trains- The ties
/ IN