Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1878-08-22
THE STORM KING.

4, 1o d, n:' at about 8 o'clock, p M, this Sec
co-o's' visited by a terrific c%loud-burst,
a. ~ commenced on the mountain eas' .,
len ,oe and spread over the bench IAN
) a par,t to it, filling the ~ravines and guIl'es
' s,ar1owing, One small rav'ne ca.leo
o'e " culch was the scene of the heaviest
ny" The water poured down this gulch'
'' .caot torrent, six or EIGHT feet high,
sarm of a tidal wave,- carrying with 1t
=" ~ houlders, grass and soil, Until II
'> 11' the farm of Oliver ingram, tearing a
wv 6~ve-rail leaning fence from its place.
,;no this onward, it tore through the
sof A. w. Pillbury, and then followed
- If destruction painful to witness. A
WI or 8 feet deep and Is or 20 feet wide
the whole length Of the Plllsbufy
This ran full, with a ridge OF water
. feet above the level of the ground IN
oontre. The water spread two or three
,ro1 feet on each side to the depth OF
foot. and, in all, reached to the width OF
,npdred feet. This ranch, the soil OF
il is nagnitiecntly nich-being undoubt-
formed by similar washes and the con-
,pnt deposits-is occupied by a fine field
heat and. barley. Not less,t than % per
and perhaps so per CENT, ct this crop
total loss, the current GEOGRAPHICALLY
no to}yash much of.the grain up 'byFthe
3. and the balance being lodged flat on
ground and partially covered by sedi-
{. Head-gates, fumes and bridges all
Of down together. At this point the
, current was powerful enough to have
led away a house,
"a farm of Mr.. Christensen lies next in
y. His fine field of wheat is badly dam
l. perhapsmore than one-haf, and some
mer tallowed GROUNDED his dreadt"Ely
No. VIM. Callahan is damaged to some
mt. but not as badly as.the' others: In
tom to this, a hail storm had almost
alt%aneously threshed out about 30 per
of, the oats and perhaps 10 per cent. o.
wheat on Wisconsin creek. How much
g damage has been done in this vicinity
IT. vet known. The cellar of Amos Pur
|, grocer, was flooded, but the damage i!
,ablv slight. No doubt the hay grount
O Wisconsin creek is covered with drif
sediment.
yeral other cloud bursts have occurred
,outhern Montana this season, but non
10 as much mischief as this. Hail storm
more orless violence have also been quit
lmon at this time of year.. Some OF tn
er have been very destructive to crops
usually extend over a limited area. Nh
ace of}this portion of the Ierfltor
VS. uodoubted evidence of violent storm
cloud bursts, several Of which, in ditfel
localities, have come under the observ;
of the writer. One at Bannack washe
h mining bar SO completely that quite
lber of nuggets of value were picked u
next day. One at Spring gulch, f>
IS below Bannack, cleared out slulc'
mining property in a twinkling, al
e near drowning some men in dIffts.
known cases of timber being Washt
! considerable distance out upon Il
lirie or bench land, where water neF
MS except at such times. | have seen III
oumulatedr to the depth of three OR TO
It in hollows. when the hail storm was
mpanied by heavy rain. Nothing can
npletely dampen the ardor of a farmer
destructive flood. In a moment, a
jthout warning, he may see the result
onths and years of hard toll swept rele'
sly away by ar agency which no a1nou
pains or forethought could prevent.
whole, it, will be a safe rule for Monta
'mers to get their grain into the bin at
rliest possible moment.