The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1883-05-03

xt.A .,eh calamitous svifiness or cove
She aovuxr 10 such depths As IN the val
iey of sLe ~ sesehiog and sncw'ied ms
sour. Loag saS bitterly remembered "
hundreds. whose ASs~ss we're swept swa'
With scarce . monents Srning, viii o
the icy Overflow of that caiana-s2us season
From ali It's Numerous iribu,Ari1s- IRON
the ,rickling rills Of the snow clad Fean
as,us 10 ,tbs brcsd and sluggisa nve'
r,st.s The bands of ice, suddenly loosaa
lat forth torrents TO swell the mishtis'
river III /. poured down tothe Mississippi
with destructive haste that had nese'
been witnessed before
Many tired farmer who vent 70 IN
rss, after hard days work. and dreamed
49, : .s-, rs--A.---, - s."-'.e CON y.
!, sud abundant harvest a. the fsso" !" -
lsb.rs, arose to find his farm
vsste. the angry river already at his veiy
door. sad his live stock wading aud swim.
! ming diassctsdly about amid floating mas
, ses OF ice, brushwood and the debris Of
s other inundated farms above. In vain he
sought 10 save his horses, his cattle or his
houshold goods; 1t was often all he could
do to save bis wife and little ones.
Upon broad and we'll cultivated farm
upon the Nebraska sde Of the Missouri
there l,Ssd family named Wilson in Q
frame house that stood In grove Of large
but scattered trees near the bank OF the
stream.
Cultivated fields and well fenced stock
pastures extended back across the inter-
vales. The soil was dark and extremely
fertile, the land lying but little above high
water mark, on which account the spring
freshet always caused Mr.. Wilson consid.
erable uneasiness. The Oldest settlers
thereabsuts. however, had never known
this tract to be entirely covered; and this,
with Mr.. Wilson's own experience, had, as
the years went by. considerably lessened
his first misgivings
Therefore, the great food OF 1881 found
Mr. Wilson wholly unprepared, and, at
the time Of its coming both he and bis
wife were absent from home They had
felt little reluctant about leaving home,
as the river was swollen nearly to the high
water mark, but urgent business compelled
them TO ride TO the nearest railroad town,
some thirteen miles away, from which
they intended to return on the day follow.
ing.
Mrs. Wilson carried her youngest child,
and there remained at home Henry, lad
Of fifteen. and two little girls aged ten and
six years, and the hired man Rudolph.
Rudolph had relatives living two or
three miles back from tho river and when
the chores were done at night he left the ,
house, telling Henry that he was going ov-
or to see his folks, and would be back at
ten o'clock.
The boy aud his sisters had been left ,
alone Of an evening before. They were
not afraid, and went to bed at nina o'clock ,
to sleep soundly, as such children will.
When the boy awoke the next morning ,
he found the sun peeping In at his win {
dow, and leaping out of bed, he called to ,
Rudolph, as his father was in the habit Of .
doing. But Rudolph did not answer.
Rude must be up and doing the
chores thought Henry; and then. speak !;
ing aloud, he said: "What q tremendous
roaring the river makes this morningl II
sounds as II il WAS all around us"
Goodness! blieve it is, he added af-
ter listening moment; and then be ran !
to the window to look. 4
Stouter hearts than his might have
quailed at the scene which met his eyes. \
Everywhere was water-a black. tumul.
tuous food-dashing up against the trunks I
Of the great trees, flooding the fences OF the
stock. yard completely out Of sight Logs, .
boards, and great, cold.looking cakes Of 4
white ice, even the bodies Of dead cattle, =
were swept furiously on. The heads-on.
lv the heads aud horns some Of their .
own cattle could be seen here aud there, !,
rs the poor creatures swan feebly TO and !,
fro.
Looking down in frightened awe from n
the open window, the lad saw that the !,
ielving, guttering current had already at q
tackled the foundation Of the house, which Il
stood considerably higher than the stock. a
yards, and that the doorsteps below were
under water. Y
As the danger OF tho situation dawned n
upon him. the lads terror grew. Again a
and again he shouted to Rudolph; but -
there was no response save the rush and b
roar OF the river. O.
Then be ran To the room Of little Jennie !
and Izah, who had already been awakened 4
by his shouts. With frightened sobs the j,
children clung to their brother, scarcely T
daring to look out upon the fearful scene h
about them. "Where is Rudolph? Where i,
is Rudolphi" they sobbed. y
Henry soothed them as best he could. !.
and leaving them at the head Of the stair !,
way he went below 10 see hog high the a
water had risen. /,
To his increased alarm he found that
The kitchen floor was already covered, and n
the muddy water was pouring in through /,
the cracks about the door. II WIS rising h
fast--had risen ever since be looked upon /.
il. /.
Then for few moments the boys conr- n
age almost deserted him. He trembled n
and the tears came into bis eyes I,
"oh, father! mother. why ain'tyou hereY Ii
be cried out. q
Then the crash Of huge ice cake against !,
the door aroused him.