Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1878-08-17
AUSTIN FLOODED.
the BUSINESS PORTION OF THE TOWN
WRECKED.
TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF THE REV
ELLIE" OFFICE.
ESTIMATED AT 800, 900.

AUSTIN, August 16.
Austin has again been devastated by o
terrible calamity in the shape Of a cloud
burst. Last Wednesday, tine clouds COM
menced to gather, and that niglt there
was q slight shower Of rain. YESTERDAY,
during the day, the clouds gathered
thickly and the atmosphere was close and
sultry. The fears Of the people were
aroused, and such preparations as could
be made in the shape Of barriers were got
in readiness for an emergency, but every
thing proved Of no avail. When the flood
rushed upon us at twenty minutes to four
O'Clock in the afternoon, q heavy ain, ac-
companied by hail, commenced to fall, and
in o few minutes a small flood began
pouring down G dar street, which forms
the water shed of the hill lying on the
north side of the town. Main street is the
bed Of the canyon and is the water shed
for a large area of hills. Gradually the
water began to cover the surface OF Main
street, and in a few moments the BED Of
the street was q raging torrent, running a
river from three to ten feet in depth. De-
struction marked every step of the tor
rents path. The krreiHe Office, q one
story brick, was TIE first building to 60.
Then followed sidewalks, porches, awnings,
merchandise, cattle, wagons, wood, timbers
and fragments Of small buildings. The
sight was IL frightful one to behold, and
struck CONSERVATION to every heart. For
tunately, the r, sidence portion of the town
is situated on the hills, at the side of the
main canyon, and most of the women and
children were out of danger, and such as
were not we're hurried to a place Of safety.
One man, named Sparnum, was washed
out Of the Philadelphia brewery, at the
lower end of town, and late in the evening
his body was found over a mile b, low,
stripptd naked. A freight teamster, I'M
loading his wagon in front of Gage, Curtis
& Co.'s store, succeeded in getting out his
mules but the flood caught his wagon,
one OF the large wagons called "prairie
schooners." and carried him down. By
next to a miracle the man caught in an
an eddy in a wide spot, after being thrown
from the wagon, and he escaped with q
slight injury. Your reporter saw a man
have a narrow escape in the early stages of
the flood. He ran into the stream to catch
a bale of goods, and was caught by the
rush Of water and carried down about two
hundred yards against a fence, which he
caught hold of and saved himself. The
scene this morning is a sad one.
The main street is completely Quilted,
and every house filled three or four feet
deep with sand and debris. The entire
street is q wreck. The ReceiHe Office is a
complete ruin. One Of the compositors Of
the ReueiHe Office had a narrow escape for
his life. When the building commenced to
fill with watt r he climbed to some t;mbers
supporting the roof. and when the crash
came he was buried in the ruins, but man.
aged to break through a skylight and es-
cape. 1t is impossible at this time to give
the amount Of damage or details concern
ing it. Suffice it to say that there is not a
business man or house in the town that is
not more or less injured. The total loss
will approximate fully 500, 900. The
Manhattan mill pan-room floor was covered
with mud to a depth of two or three feet,
which is all the damage done to the prop
erty of that company. When tho water
had somewhat subsidized, an effort was made
to establish telegraphic communication.
The Western Union Office was flooded, and
the wires down on both sides Of the Office,
but the Western Union manager got out
his instruments, and, in company with your
reporter and the messenger boy, rode out
of town and tapped the wires, but all
efforts failed to get q circuit. This morn
ing men are at work clearing away the
ruin, and the pretty little town Of yester-
day morning is now a sorry sight of wreck
and devastation, which it will take months
of time and thousands of dollars in money
to repair. An effort will be made by the
Recei!le proprietors to get out some sort Of
q paper to-day. Their office is entirely
gone up the 1une. but they hope to fish a
few type out Of the wreck and get out a
shs ct. This description but poorly pic
lures or describes the calamity with which
this town has been visited. but can not be
made more complete, owing to the diff
Guilty Of getting arornd in the mud and
muck Of the torn up streets. The tele-
graph operator has his Office on a box in
the street, and your reporters desk is in
the telegraph Office. Owing to the flood
being confined to the business portion Of
the town, no families are rendered desti-
tute or homeless, but the visitation is a sad
blow to the business prosperity of the
town. To-day is bright and pleasant.