The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1869-07-02
Great Flood in Western Kansas.
Thirteen Persons Drowned.
Railroads, Crops, Farms, Bridges, Hous.
es, Etc., Destroyed.
From the Junction City Union.


| joy. The most abundant haryests in
vited the ingathering of man. Our
people were happy in the extreme. The
/ bosom of destruction has passed through
our country, and to-day we have only
broken hearts, blasted hopes and ruined
homes.
! Sadness covers all, as waters COW
! er the valleys. The soul-harrOwing
details forbid us dwelling at length.
View this lovely country as it was a few
days ago, then contemplate the scene of
to-day, and who is safe from the ills
of life? Should it not awake the soul
to a just sense of its responsibility to
| its God?
| Thursday morning before day the
rain came but no one thought it un-
usual. At half past five in the evening
it came down in torrents, but lasted on
~ fifteen minutes. At nine O'Clock il
began again and rained steadily until
daylight Friday morning. About eight
/ o'clock news came into town that the
/ Southern Branch railroad bridge across
Lyon creek had been swept away. Still
| people could not believe anything un-
usual had happened.
| AT III O'Clock Il. IN. Friday, the awful
news came that men, women and chill
| dren were clinging to the branches of
trees, and that houses, bridges and cat
tie were being swept away by the re-
sistless torrent. BY twelve O'Clock ev-
/ cry man in town was out in some di-
! rection. Boats were swept away, and
ropes were the only means of assistance
/ left.
I This news startled our citizens, and
! they spread out in every direction to
render assistance. Superintendent Mar
shall, who had run up the road as far as
! Chapmans creek i'll the interests of the
/ railroad, brought the sad news of the
destruction of life and property iii that
! locality. On account of the lateness of
the hour we can give but partial details.
/ No person can describe the suffering of
some of these poor mortals. We could
only gather the incidents from small
/ portion of the country, and there is no
/ telling what has happened up the Re-
] publican, Smoky Hill and Saline. On
| Chapman's creek the following persons
are lost. having been swept away with
/ houses and property: James Kelley
and wife, Katie Quirk and her brother
/ Willie, and Mollie Hartigan, child
/ four years old, all from the family of
| Mr.. Hartigan. Mr.. and Mrs. Hartigan
were saved. Mrs. Crook and daughter
/ "a young lady, and II. w. COlwell, one
| of the oldest and most prominent citi-
Zcns of this county, who was stopping
at Mrs. Crooks, is reported carried
away by the flood. At about five
O'Clock i'll the evening the report came
/ that Mrs. Pickett, living about twelve
miles from Chapman's creek crossing,
had, with her two children been
drowned.
! The most appalling of all was the
case of Mrs. Brimbaugh and family,
consisting Of herself and four children
/ "a girl of IL, two boys OF D and IL re-
+ spcctivcly, and an infant aboAt six
months old. They were carried away
/ house and all, and were all clinging to
portion of the building which served
rs n raft. When they reached the cross
/ ing the raft parted, one part carrying
Mrs. Brimbaugh, infant and eldest
! daughter, the other the two boys. Their
raft stuck fast i'll some tree tops, within
a few feet from shore. A raft was then
hastily constructed by the citizens, and
Mrs. Brimbaugh and little son were
saved. Mr.. Samuel Bostick made a
| desperate effort to save Miss Jennie
Brimbaugh, who with the lad and in
FAINT had been on the other raft, but in
! doing so lost the girl and boy. He
saved the infant by taking his shirt and
tying it to the limb of Il tree, and swim
ming ashore alone. The current was
so rapid at this point that it was by the
most superhuman efforts he succeeded
in reaching the shore. Tied to the tree
the poor little infant remained about
five hours, screaming and yelling for
dear life, until about five o'clock, when
! Mr.. Bostick again determined to rescue
it, and assisted by some citizens Oh
shore who held a rope which he car
ried, plunged in again. He made two
| attempts and finally reached the little
sufferer. He then tied him to his back
| by means of rope, and SWAIN ashore.
! So rapid was the current at this point
| that Notwithstanding the aid of those
ashore who held the rope attached to
| Mr.. BOstick, he was carried down
| stream a distance of over one hundred
! feet, nearly to the rapids.
just above this point was Mr.. Eiser-
man, who in attempting to save Mrs.
| Brimbaugh, had little skiff capsiZed,
and he saved himself by being carried
by the current to Il tree, where he made
| fast.
Near by was Mr.. Horner.s who was
carried from the mill, clinging to tree
Both these parties remained in this per-
ilOus situation-with but the branch of
a tree between them and eternity-from
an early hour in the morning until about
five O'Clock in the afternoon, when a
number of citizens from Junction ar
.
Caswell and John NJ cad made the per-
ilous undertaking and saved both par
ties. These gentlemen also took their
skiff to the house of Mr.. Michael Ho-
gan, who with his family were IN the
garnet, the watar having reached to
within about eighteen inches of the roof.
and brought them safely to shore.
At Chapman creek the flood was first
discovered about six o'clock i'm the
morning. when it was little more than
over the banks of the stream. At that
hour the railroad bridge across Chap
man moved off. AT the crossing there
could not have been less than fifty feet
of water. The casualties we mention
cover distance of only SIX miles up
the creek, except in the case of the
Crook family and Mr.. ColwelI. We
have no knowledge of what occurred
above that point, nor between Chapman
creek and Junction City, along the
Smoky Hill, which is at present in some
places about four miles wide.
Thursday night. at Chapman creek.
quite jubilee was held by number of
neighbors, who happened together. over
the tremendous crop of wheat ready to
harvest. The farms in that neimhbor-
hood were in the highest state of Guilt
walton and Improvement. Friday morn
ing total ruin stared the people in the
face 1t was the most terrible and swift
est transfer from comfort and prosper
ty TO horror and ruin on record Not
a farm to be seen. improvements swept
away, and crops submerged.
Vague rumOrs come TO us ofpeople sur
rounded by water up the Republican,
crying for help, out the water is of snch
breadth that nothing definite can be
learned. Mrs. Badger. living some five
or six miles up the Republican, remain
ed on the roof of the house entirely sur
rounded by water bpt finally succeeded
in,