The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-05-22
NO. 291
A Black Hill Flood.

Chicago, 2O.-Deadwood ID. IT,
special: & storm began here yes
terday morning with the highest
water ever known. WhiteWood
stream runs through the heart of
city. The channel was cut 100
yards wide and every thing went be-
fore the flood. All the towns ND
the gulch were badly damaged. PEN
nlngton is entirely gone. The val
ley is flooded and half of Spearfsh
washed away. Rock City is nearly
all gone. The water is?HOW falling:
there is much snow in the noun
tains yet, George Chandler and
wife, and two other unknown men.
are known to be drowned. The loss
is roughly estimated at S60O,OOO.
Rope basket communication is es-
tablished between the two parts Of
the city.
Bismarck, D. T., 2O.-A Tribune
special gives additional facts as to
the flood at Deadwood. The heavy
snow and flood reported some days
ago in a dispatch from Stevenson
was at Deadwood. Additional rain
had fallen every day for a month
making the roads impossible and
saturating the ground thoroughly
with water. This was followed by
a heavy fall of snow which dis
appeared rapidly under 9 warm rain
on Friday night and Saturday. The
| gulches or valleys in the hills are
from few hundred feet to probably
a quarter of mile wide generally.
| DeadWood is at the junction of
| WhiteWoOd and DeadWood Clutches.
| Numerous gulches in this case emp
tied their accumulation of water
from the mountains into these two
main gulches and gave volume of
water that rushed down WhiteWOOd
in resistless force Central City and
Golden Gate are on DeadWood,
above Deadwood City. The greater
portion Of Central would be above
the food, but for Anchor and
Golden Gate, and there was no.
escape. The gulch is not over
600 feet wide. Deadwood is
a town of 5000 people. The main
residence portion of the city is from
100 to 500 feet above the guIch, and
the main business position was also
above the danger line. The portion
destroyed was occupied by cheap
tenement houses, second class no.
tells, laundries, small traders, sport
ing houses, livery stables, etc.
Some buildings were built over the
stream, which in its ordinary state
was but a few feet wide. Its local
itY was avoided, however, by the
5 shTeWder interests, for the danger
was recognized. In this case timely
, warning was given by means of
the telephone system existing in
the hills. The most valuable articles
were removed. So far but three
bodies have been recovered. but
it is now believed chat
the loss of life has been
great. The wild excitement was
only eQualled by that of the time
of the fire. HorSemen rushing In
eveay direction and hastily loaded
, vehicles jostled each other. When
) the flood came it carried everything
excepting the more substantial
!, buildings before it. The loss in
8 DeadWOod will reach 100000.
0 Golden Gate, Anchor City, Central
City, South Bend, and Crook City
are heavy losers. Several of the
= mills in Deadwood GuIch were de-
, stroyed, and the damage to the
mines by the floods cannot be re-
: paired for several weeks. All roads
j; are impossible. Trains were
i forced to suspend on the railroads
because it was Impossible to get
wood the stations. The Methodist
church and public school buildings
were among the buildings destroyed;
. also Mlller's fire proof warehouse /;
- also Isman s. Ayres and others
brewery. One hundred houses are
known to have been washed
away. Five lives were lost,
: and three bodies have been
2 recovered. Among the drowned
q were George Chandler and wife
and man named Brindley. Spear
fish and Rapid are broader valleys,
the former from two to twelve
miles wide. The flood was not so
l. destructive there, but the damage
], was serious nevertheless.
b All telegraphic communication
e with Deadwood is cut off since the
a food. Reports to the outside would
3 have been by telephone to Rapid
n City and thence east.