The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1883-05-22

MOUNTAIN TORRENTS SWEEPING AVA ,nvn
IxpASora-TIMELY WARNING pkhph'.

DISASTROUS ftvV"' ....,-,
MOUNTAIN TORRENTS SWEEPING AVA,
ISpAKora-TIMELY WARNING bkhph''
ST.. pAut. MINI, May 20.-A Dcaaw W"i
disnatch 10 the Pioneer Press Oh 81. hos
says 1.-THE most disastrous nood .is. no
ever been known In the history oil TINS 81 .,'
tion has inst visited Deadwood 'anu VI.
surrounding country. II seeineu nv.
enough that for months past the count a.,
has been deluged with water, causinE ~.
greatest amount Of suffering and depriNl,nS
eycry city in the Hills OF even the necess'" ~,
OF life on account OF the condit'oh Va ,ho
roads and streams On "Wednesday Ii
barometer took sudden fall, ana coh',lud :,
going down till evening. when ~ 49, ID
rain set in. Very soon the snow wh'cu .I'
been living IN the mountains began 10 NJ -,
forming rivulets which continued W
crease very rapidly into torrents "a. :
O'Clock =. VI. telephone message from . VI.
Ten-Nli,e Ranch apprised Deadwoou ,la'
the entire volume Of snow from the iIoun-
tains was moving, and cautioned tue peo-
pie to prepare for the worst.
THE WORK OF DESTRUCTION.
| " About this time Wildwood creek
which runs through the city, left It's banks
and began its first work OF destruction' III
creasing every minute in volume. sweep
inc he,lses down the stream and cutting
/ into the bank ut places to depth. o. ioV
Yards. Ina few hours over seventy houses
| had been washed away. But for the timely
news il is impossible TO say what the number
~ deaths would have been. over one han
~ Deadyood is swept away, but fortu-
naiely leaving the substantial portion oil
the city. ON Mann street. stranding. The
loss in this city is estimated at 100000.
Basket communication has been established
between the separated portions OF the city.
The only deaths now known are George
Chandler and his wife and a hired man and
another man. whose names are UNKNOWN.
WIDESPREAD DEVASTATION.
GAN the towns UP the gulch are more or
less damaged. All OF Pennington is swept
away. as are also the greater portions OF
Crook City and Spearfish. The total loss
from all these cities will be immense.
Business is paralyzed throughout the
gulch. The Homcstake mine has nine
feet OF water over it, and il is safe to
say that weeks of work VIII not re-
pair the damage done to the mines and
railroad. All the mines in the vicinity
of Deadwood are shut down. The Gold
Gate and South Bend are washed out. Most
of the bridges throughout the country are
washed away, and reports OF disaster are
being received from all quarters. As all
the tclegraphic lines are washed out 1t Is
impossible 10 ascertain the amount OF
damage done. Only one telephone line re-
mains. and that is oyercrowded with work.
The entire loss from this flood cannot fail
to reach into the millions
An UNDERSTANDABLE CALAMITY.
4 dispatch from Mead, OAK, says: at
is impossible to describe the condition OF
the crops between this place and Dead
wood. or to imagine the destitutiOn that
has followed the flood. The telegraph
lines are down and cannot be repaired.
Men sent ont to-day narrowly escaped
drowning. and returned without success"
Information from Rapid City, Oak,
saws: "The disastrous flood OF Deadwood
Is upon us. The city is entirely surround
ed By water, and many buildings will be
swept away. The Rapid-City Valley, more
than forty miles in length, all OF which has
already been seeded, is entirely submerged.
The amount of damage done in this valley
alone cannot be estimated. Many Of the
houses up the valley are being washed
away, and probably many lives viii be lost.
An entire destruction OF the coming crop
may be expected"