Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1880-06-10

The first place of business where
exertion was made to remove goods,
was Mr.. j. E. Ingraham' and here the
stock was only moved from the
addition into the main build
ing, all hoping and believing the
food would subside Alas hope was
vain. The trickliug of water through
the siding told of its rapid rise, and
the street, now a river, gave no room
for further hope against
FLOOD
that would sweep the city. The
merchants began at once to care for
their stocks, (many of them, and
teams and boats were brought into
Irequisition with all possible speed. H.
w. Lord had removed his stock the
previous night. Mr.. Morrill, at once
removed his stock of meats to safe
point, and Miss Gordon took her stock
to the second story of Spaford &
Coles store. All the parties on the
river side Of the street worked the
long weary hours, with willing hands
to aid them till all available room on
the opposite side of the street was oc-
cupied with crushed and dampened
goods. By noon the main street was
surging torrent. Gables were at
tached to the buildings and every de-
wise which ingenuity could suggest,
resorted to, to save the buildings from
being swept out into the sea of the
main river. Huge logs, pieces of
boom, piles of lumber, gigantic trees
torn up by their roots came sweeping
through the doomed street, only to
crush or clog up the new made
water course, and make food which
burst out upon either hand making
more terrible the devastation
THE SLOUGH
lying east of the business part of
the city became as terrible almost as
the main river, and buildings, and
structures of every description swept
down It's widening current, crowding
through the old ''flled road" from
whence the slabs were washed till the
passage way became so clogged az to
render that point no longer an outlet
The partial damning of the current
threw the water upon the underpining
of the adjacent buildings and many
were SO badly washed as to necesitate
the relaylng of the walls. M. G.
Warren's cabinet rooms were deluged,
and, for time it looked as though
they would fall prey to the food.
WATER STILL RISING.
All this time the water was rising at
the rate of about four inches an hour,
and, extra caution was exercised In
securing goods. A line of man to
their waists in carrent which almost
bore them off their feet passed goods
from Mr.. Ingraham's store across 20
the Masonic Hall, while batteau was
brought into requisition to convey
the coarser goods to the shore by the
Rablin House barn. With the flood
still rising with no show of subsiding,
the large store room connected with
Spaford Il Coles store suddenly part
ed from the main structure and was
whirled out into the seething waters
laden down with at least s., 900 worth
of staple goods OF every description
Away it went, and all eyes were
turned toward the bridge expecting to
see it carried off its piers, but the
structure was equal to the strain, and
with a crash like the grinding of !
thousand bark mills the she'll went
under strewing the river with it's val |
liable merchandise. Late in the day,
the water still rising, Messrs Spaford |
& Cole made a strenuous effort to
remove the balance of their stock |
They worked with all the aid tnev
could secure till late in the night, till |
nearly all was placed beyond danger.
BY SUNDAY.
The water by Sunday evening had
risen to nearly sixteen feet above low
water mark and still it was coming UP. |
and rumors were afoat of continued
rise as far up as Wausau and Jenny.
Already a dozen buildings had gone
down, and the outlook for the coming
night was cherries enough. The
buildings opposite the Rablin House
were fast falling and moving down the
tide, their fronts smashed in BY ac-
cumulating logs and general rubbish
FoRLoRN SPECTACLE
Never was more forlorn spectacle
presented to our people than was visi-
bic from the street near the Congrega-