Arizona citizen., 1874-01-31
THE CITIZEN.
SATURDAY, January 31, 1874.
Salt River Valley and Yuma.

Following are extracts from PheniX and Yuma letters relating to the recent storm and floods. The first begins at PheniX January 20, and reads:
 We are but recovering from the most fearful rain storm we have eXperlenceu TOT years It rained off and on sunday (lSth) and at D. m. that night it began steadily and came down heavily, and kept It up until Monday about sunset. According to my rain gauge five inches fell. Houses with mud roofs leaked fearfully and eve rybody and his wife looked sour ana Olue: The river had been increasing for several days and on Monday morning US ptllks , were full, and about daylight the head gate and bulkhead of the Griffin ditch were carried away and a fearful volume or water went rushing down the dlIcn over flowing everything in general. renter MOrrills, Griffin, Parker ana eNeryDouy below the ditch left in a hurry with house hold goods and gods and rushed to Phe- nix for safety. Patterson finding hlInseI1 cut off from the main land by the slough between his and the Zimmerman place, ne too came to town with his family. me aceouieros of the Swiiling canal came tO town on Monday and reported the head gate gone in the original SWlillng lTflSaG- Ing canal and the new one llkeIy 10 IOI- low. All the ditches of the SWllllng com pany were running full to oVer1oWlhg ana all nanUS DGCulCtCO Sb liOOp n
 gate should go. And it did go thls morn ing-Tuesday-and now there IS a river pc tween here and Starar'S ranch or nalI a mile wide and from twelve to eISH1Ten inches deep, sweeping down past I1Isie i' , , and into the Griffin ditch. The water l;+ IS ;+o it foot depp in and around the mesquite school-hOuse and it on it's last legs. heI heI- lings lS Co., worked all night with every available man to save their mill anu prop erty from destruction by ovefIioM lIOIil orld the North Extension ditch ana the one one below. Shultus and StararS came 10 town in fear of the flood. The bulkhead ot the Swilling canal was not carried away py being broken but by the bank of the riNeT being cut away past it. If the gate had been one hundred feet further from the river it would have stood unharmed. me river has fallen five feet since last night.
 JANrARY 23-Have not yet full returns and estimates of damage to the canals in the valley. The Swilling company wlli meet on the 25th to devise ways to repalr theirs. Parker's house fell covering his wheat and bacon in the ruins.
 JANUARY 27.-Judge Rush arrived home last night. He was detained from Mon day till Friday at Hayden'S Ferry. He he passed in a ferry and then walked t2 HeflingS X Co.'S place where he obtained a horse He reports the Tempe ditch as having suffered greatly. Shaw writes that the Verde ralSeu tWelNe Ieej anu CdIne up to the engine-hOuse of their Water-W0rKS. Our telegraph communication with Pres colt has not failed during the storm.
 A Yuma letter of date 20th says:
 There is a terrible excitement here about the Gila river. Everybody is moving from Gila street to higher ground-even some of the merchants are moving, and others are throwing up embankments around their premises even at this time of night-9 D. m. I hear the rattle of drays, wagons, hand-carts and WheelbarrOWS, which reminds me of ByrOn's description of the night before the battle of Waterloo. It is almost impossible to navigate the streets on account of the embankments thrown up. All seem tO think the water will get here by F o'clock tonight. The sky is overcast with black clouds which look as though they contained another deluge ready to drop at anytime.