The Daily empire. (Dayton, Ohio) 1865-1867, 1867-05-22
THE DAILY EMPIRE.
Particulars of the Water-Spout
Disaster on the Colorado Desert. |

Particulars of the Wnter-Spout
Disaster on the Colorado Desert.
The correspondent Of the Alta California
gives the following account Of the recent
singular disaster on the Colorado DESERT
The unusual storm of Sunday, 10th inst,
notice of which i sent you by steamer,
was not confined to this immediate locality.
On the Colorado Desert on the afternoon
of the same day, In what Is here known rs
water-spout, II Government train was lost.
The train consisted of eleven wagons, was
known rs Chandler's train, and was accom-
panied by one company of the llth United
States Infantry, under the command OF
Lieutenant. They had encampcd In the
bed of, and just below the forks of deep
and broad wash. The troops were march,
Ing TO Date Creek and Skull Valley, In
Arizona. The camp was about nine miles
east of the Dos Palmos at Canyon Springs.
While thus encamped, a small black cloud
suddenly appeared above the horizon, from
which lightning and thunder proceeded.
A sufficient time hardly elapsed TO observe
this cloud when 10, or another one teeming
with electricity, made its appearance in al
most the opposite direction. The whole
heavens We're overcast, and amid the vivid
flashes of lightning and dcafcning pcals of
thunder, shower of hail commenced fall
ing, which soon became q shower of Nat
pieces of ice, from two to four inches
square.
The mules instantly fed before the pelt-
Ing storm to some neigboring hills, while
the men sought shelter under wagons aud
high banks OF the wash. An ompi0ye, u
Californian, who came in with an express
from the command to the Quurtermastcr at
Wilmington, says he took shelter In u
wagon and IN II few moments "a huge vol
ume of water, the face of which was nearly
or quite three feet high, came rushing
down the wash. This was soon followed
by an additional one which came pouring
onward, and which presented front still
higher above the waters of the first. The
water rose In the wagon in which he was
until it nearly reached the bows of the COW
ering, only few inches of air being left ta
him beneath the wagon cover. Two lAcn
of the Fourteenth were drowned and the
commanding officer was carried down the
wash in the angry and boiling flood, aud
was only rescued from drowning by AN
Indian VaquerO, who, standing ON the
bank, saw the Lieutenant completely cx-
hausted from battling with the wild was
ters, amid the wreck of the trees, aud
he threw his RATA over his head
and drew him TO the shore. Six wagons
were irrctreyably lost, together with near
ly all the harness of the whole train, and
the rest of the wagons were washed down
the torrent, overturned, broken, bruised and
scattered for miles. Commissary stores,
with which the train had been laden, were
carried into the Salt Lake (the great basin
of the Colorado desert) II distance Of
eighteen miles from the scene of disaster.
The command and the train are unable to
move until resupplicd with wagons, har-
ness, and provisions from the depot at
Wilmington. The provisions were nearly
all lost. Canyon Springs are about two
hundred miles from this city. on the La
Paz road, by which route and place the
command was marching.