The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1881-04-28
THE SPRING FLOODS

THE SPRING FLOODS
Minnesota, Iowa, Dakota, Wisconsin and ILL
n0is Afflicted With a Surplus of Water.
In Minnesota, though the rains have not vet
come, all the streams are full to OVERLOOKING.
bat not much damage is reported, save to the
railroads. The Minnesota river is still rising,
and the flats everywhere are overdowed IN
many places not only mail but railroad commu-
n1cstion is cut of. The mud is very deep and
roads are almost impossible. On the Winona
St. Peter railroad the country is
represented as one vast lake Of water, under
the influence Of the recent mild weather. The
same may be said of the western sections of he
Hastings Dakota.
The Red river Valley, from Breckenridge to the
British line is submerged in many PAGES. The
bra ca .|ine.. of TIE. Man tooa road from Bre k
enridge to Barpesviile is under water. From
Breckenridge to Hermann there is perfect sea
, Of water: The Bots de Sioux and Otter Tail
| rivers, that form the Red river, are bank full,
and great dang r is expected as soon as the ice
starts to move down the Red river and gorge
and flood everything: On the Manitoba be-
TIVE, Glyndon and Crookston. the track is un-
der water. As said before not much damage is
yet reported, and probabably the waters will
soon subside, unless rain sets in.
WISCONSIN.
In Wisconsin, the flood is the most serious
since 1864, and the damage is likely to be very
great A vast amount of water has reached
milwaukee,, carrying along many. bridges, and
flooding all the lower parts of the city. Half
of the Rock river ';rid5e at Watertown was car
ried away by the running ice. A bridge at
ManitoHoc was carried away. Railroad tracks
on the roads entering Madison ara partially
submerged, although not enough to stop the
moving of the trains. Similar reports come
from all portions of the state.
1INCIS.
Tho P0rl< riva1j T,iD,,ia and WISDOM 10
high than ever known bef'.re At Rockford
al dwellings OIL L o1na, Montague, Wall, Nor
gan aid Knowlton streets are IL oded, the water
in many cases running into their windows.
Some people have been forced to leave their
homes What is said Of Rockford will apply to
all the towns on the river. An Elgin QlL) spe-
cial ga, g: T. o railroad track is four feet under
water aud trains cannot pass over it inside of ten
days. The bridges are badly demoralized here
and at Dundee The damage in Kane county is
$500, 600 but it is thought that the river can
not rise much higher, and the worst Of the
! flood is over. The damage in Elgin yesterday
afternoon aggregated 81 so, 900 to $500, 900
The chief items were: The breaking of the Ell
gin Hydraulic company's dam and race banks,
So = 600; destruction of the Chicago street
briaye, So, 900; Chicago Milwaukee & st. Paul
The rivers at Des Moines are running bank
full, falling and rising alternately, but carrying
away all water which comes from the north.
No danger from small streams. All damages
from the food are considered past, unless heavy
river at Sioux City has risen seven feet since
Sunday, and is now eighteen feet above low
water, and within two feet Of the highest water
ever known. The whole valley between Sioux
City and Len1ars, distance of twenty miles, is
overflowed from bluff to bluff. The bottom
land east Of the town is six feet under water,
and about 100 families have been obliged to
! leave their dwellings in boats.
DAKOTA.
There are probably forty pile bridges be-
! tween Manden and the bad lands washed away
or damaged. The road bridges between BIS
marck and the Black Hills are washed away,
and several wagons lost The Missouri at
Yankton is within about q foot of the stage
week ago, and there are continued reports Of
suffering among the settlers.
All the bottom lands at the confluence OF
the Minnesota and Chippewa rivers at Monte
yideo are one vast sea Of water, covering many
thousands of acres. The river overfiows its
banks, and extends from bluff to bluff in a vast
lake of moving water. The people living in
the valley have had to move out, the water
standing from four to eight feet in the hou SEES.
large number of small bridges have been
carried away.
All the bottoms along the Minnesota river to
it's mouth are ovortiowed. st. James has been
the head of navigation on the st. Paul division
during the snow blockade, and now it is the
head of navigation of the Sioux City division
during the high water.
All travel by team between ST. Peter aud LIE
Sueur county is at an end for awhile The
water is SO deep at the st. Paul g. Sioux City
elevator that Business is suspended at that
place for the present. The Sioux City railroad
have constructed high water track at the
bluffs.
The Redwood is now fifteen feet above low
water mark, and still rising. It has not been
so high since 1868. Both dams at Redwood
Falls are gone.
Reports from the western part of the state
along the line of the Winona & St. Peter intli-
cate that the situation there is pretty serious.
The Redwood river at Mar shall has overfiowcd
it's banks and swept through the farm of E. s.
Youmans, emptying into Lake Marshall, which,
has likewise been unable to contain the super
fuous water, and the food has set back, sub
merging the railroad track between Amiret and
Marshal. The Cottonwood is on the rampage
and has flooded the railroad track near Spring.
field. The freshet in the James river is very
severe, the water tank house at Huron being
three feet deep in water.
The ice on the Red River Of the North il
broken, and great overfows are recorded, and
fears are expressed that ice gorges will make
the water worse.
THE WORST OF ALL.