The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1877-05-24
Incidents, Accidents and Notes Of the Heaviest
Rain That Was Ever Seen in This Section.

Incidents, Accidents and Notes Of the Heaviest
Rain That Was Ever Seen in This Section.
One Of the most wonderful rain-talls that
ever visited any section fell in this valley last
Wednesday. Inside of two hours and fifteen
minutes it was estimated that four and bali
inches Of water descended from the clouds.
The face of the valley was suddenly trans
formed into lake-like appearance. The rain
did not cease, but fell al intervals, all through
that day and the following night, filling the
ground and swelling all the smaller streams
On Friday evening again the water began to
come down IN torrents, continuing through
out the night. Saturday afternoon the sus-
pense and anxiety of the people eliminated
in frenzy by the ringing OF the fire bell In
answes to the alarm word was given out that
| the Little Arkansas river was out of its banks
and its waters coming down through the
town. Hundreds, headed by the Mayor,
armed with shoyels AMI! picks, made rush for
the breech. This demonstration reminded us
of, and was as foolish rs the old woman's at
tempt to restrain the tile OF the ocean with
her mop. The water came Oh. Such tear
| ing up OF carpets, such a getting up stairs,
such impromptu receptions by neighbers of
higher ground given to their ne ighbors on
lower ground was never witnessed in these
parts before. And then the caring for squeal-
| ing porkers, rescuing threatened cows and
horses, and the general getting up and dust
ing was more laughable than serious.
BY seven O'Clock Saturday night the waters
through the low swale below Lake Side, by
the stone yard and down through town by
the Occidental, in body from one to two
hundred feet wide and two feet deep. Before
morning 1t had reachen the floors of the BUSH
ness rooms and county offices in thai Building.
In the mean time, or during the night, the
Little river broke over its banks near the fair
grounds and over the confines of the mill race
that crosses from the Little river TO Chisholm
creek, three miles above town. The result
was that the waters, when they had reached
the railroad bed, were turned back and came
in over the upper portion OF the city.
Y Sunday mornings sun rose upon modern
Venice; and she was not wanting IN gondolas
of a rude construction. No church bell dis
turbed the quiet of the city, but the general
noise and confusion was like unto gala day.
Everybody turned out to see how their neigh
bors had Jared, for which purpose all the lum-
Der wagons, carriages, buggies, and vehicles
OF every description were brought into requi-
sition. Navigation, though tedious, was in
no wise dangerous, there being no perceptible
current except through the low swale aiore-
mentioned, which crosses all the principal
| streets.
There were no mails from Thursday night
It'll yesterday afternoon, aud the rumors that
were hourly put afloat were anything but as
surfing. One idlotic snoozer rode through
the upper end OF town and told all the women
that dispatch had been received of a food
| fifteen feet coming down the valley and
sweeping all life before it. One rumor said
that Pueblo and Dodge City had both been
destroyed, and that Hutchinson was under
five feet OF water Another that all the Cow
skin bridges were gone; another that the
Walnut Valley had been swept clear of all i'm
proyements, of whatever character, with
great loss OF life.
A thousand and one incidents happened
during the food, but none of a serious char
acter The damage done the city is hardly
worth naming. Wet cellars, damp clothes,
badly saturated gardens, sidewalks fioated
out of place, are the principal complaints
among citizens.
The upper bridge was partially washed
away, as also the I'll Paso bridge, and we hear
that the oxford bridge is also gone, but the
big truss bridge at the end of the Avenue,
across the Great Arkansas, is not damaged in
the least, although at one time the surging
waters swept a foot upon the main braces.
1t rsined again Saturday night, but Sunday
morning it Gle AIRED off, and we hope for good,
for while. The whole valley on Sunday
morning was almost vast lake in appearance
and reminded us Of remark once made Us
by Major Shankiin, former agent of the Wich-
ita Indians, who said in early times lie and
his Indians used to hunt catfish herea3outs
with shot guns and setter dogs.
OF course about nine out OF every ten
blamed the city authorities in some particu-
lar. But such fault-fndig was all ioolishness.
Nobody was expecting such Hood, in the
first place, and in the next place the talk of
sewering a small town like this Is the merest
moonshine. One main sewer through the en-
tire city would bankrupt it. Tax payers
would hardly stand a thorough system Of sur
face ditching and street guttering, and they
are right. About one-half of the quasi cities
of Kansas to-day are grooming under expen-
siye Improvement debts, the carrying of which
has knocked all the life and enterprise out of
them. Wichita need make no such mistakes.
When we reach popu!ction OF ten thousand,
with corresponding power and wealth, II viii
be time enough to talk OF sewerage. gas, etc.
We verify believe that we heard a hundred
different theories from as many men for avert
ing the little food, and. of course, all reflect
ing on our present authorities. Again We
say emphaticaly that, taking all the surround
ings, we cannot see chow the officers are to
blame in the least.
The entire damage sustained by the city is
hardly worth naming. Many were inconyen-
ced, trade was brought to dead stand, and
everybody complained, OF course, but Wichita
is just as good as she ever was.
The reports from the country, up to this
writing, are, upon the whole, much better
than we had right to expect. But few fields
have been materily damaged.
But for the railroad bed and mill race COM
bined the upper part of town would not have
overlooked at all, while but for the large body
of water carried over to the Chisholm by the
race the overflow in the lower part of town
would have been much greater.
The Great Arkansas. nearly bank full for
several days, rises and falls alternately two or
three times few inches in every twenty-four
hours, but beyond carrying away portion of
the upper bridge and the Oxford bridge has
done no signal damage.
The Crops in the County.