The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1884-09-18
Earlier Accounts

FROM the st. raul PlOneer PreSS Sept Ia.
South of the Omaha railway bridge, in
West Eau Claire, from the Pioneer Lum-
Der company's mills to Westville, two miles
away, ard at the extreme end of West Eau
Claire and at Westville the damage wrought
by Thursdays flood is tremendous. Along
this section the banks of the Chippewa are
low; but Notwithstanding this and the
fact chat the soil is sand, the people had con-
structed their dwellings close to the waters
edge, apparently fearing no overflow. The
west side of Shawtown, q division of
West Eau Claire, is where chaos reigns
The streets are filed with lumber, houses
turned and twisted in all ways, the whole
place covered with layer of black mud,
left by the flood, from one to three feet in
depth; bedding, household furniture, roofs,
shingles. logs, tifteen-foot piles of wood;
houses with logs driven through them; the
depot inclined at an angle of forty-fve de-
grees, and telegraph, telephone and electric
light wires down. The Milwaukee railroad
track and bridge are completely uprOOted;
the street car tracks are buried under the
blacklist, nastiest mud that ever was formed
The city bridges ale literally distributed in
out-of-the-way places - one indescribable
mass of everything that could float The
two feet six inches, the most of the flood oc-
curing Wednesday night and Thurs
day morning No lives were lost
there. The main damage is to the Milwau-
kee railway, its loss certainly being over
$4,000 in that locality, while the streets
OF Shawtown are swept out of existence.
The estimated damage from Westville to the
Half Moon Lake canal, which is the northern
boundary of Shawtown, is over $50. 900.
OF deaths on the West side there
are not many, as near as they can be
traced now. It seems that a Mr. Lilly. who
lives near the Madison street bridge was
trying to save his wife from the flood His
body was found Friday morning Friday
evening float passed down the Chippewa
with two men on it. According to the story
of the bystanders it disappeared just opposite
the Bailey house and the men were not seen
again. iiGrossly exaggerated stories are fly
ing around about other deaths in the vicini-
ty, but their truth is doubtful OF the logs
that have broken loose, lumbermen say not
one will reach Durand, and they
can easily be recovered when the
water goes down. Between Eau Claire and
Rumsey's Landing, down the river, many
farmers were found by the relief party
perched upon knobs with their families;
homes gone, fields under water, and no pro-
visions. There are fears of great suffering
mate made by parties resident there approx
mates the West Eau Claire losses about as
follows, and the figures given cannot be far
from correct:
Milwaukee road ........................ $4,000
Lumber firms, foundry, etc. ............ $4,000
RESIDENTS ........... .................. 10000
No outside aid will be needed public
subscription is being taken up in the
city for aid to sufferers It is
believed that the total loss in all Eau
Claire will not exceed 81, 900, 900. A house
passed the city Thursday half submerged,
woman with child in her arms standing
at the upper STORY window and man on the
roof They are supposed to have been
drowned The river has fallen rapidly to-
dow hot - H..
from fifteen to seventeen feet. It is stated
that over 4OO,OOO.OOO feet Of logs have
drifted into the DelIs reservoir from north
ern points The Phoenix Lumber company
estimates it's damage at $4,000 The
bridges across the Eau Claire in the city
are iammed into all possible shapes
the damage to them being heavy. Reports
of house having 1oated into the Dells
pond with five dead persons in it have Just
come in. Summarizing all the damage
resulting to this town up to date,
damage is to the mill and numbering inter-
ests, though private property in that section
has suffered considerably. At Eau Claire the
city and railroads suffer; the mills are less
damaged. 1t is stated that over 5000 peo-
pie have been directly injured by this flood,
overtwenty- five corporate firms damaged. one
of the principal divisions OF a great railroad
almost entirely swept away, one-ffth
OF large city submerged, dozen and over
smaller places more OF less damaged and a
great agricultural region turned into sea-
The flood is directly traceable to the cyclone
that swept St Croix and Polk counties The
great bulk OF rain did not fall though till
after the blow of last Tuesday night when
all the small streams in Chippewa and Bar
ron counties north of here were turned into
rivers and lakes that discharged themselves
into the Chippewa and came down it's course.
No such rainfall has ever occurred in Wis
consln before since early pioneer days, and
the destruction from wind and rain is unpar-
aileled Nearly four millions damage from
wind and over three millions from water is q
terrible record.
THE LUMBER INTERESTS
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis, Special Telegram.
Sept 13.-Fred Weyerhauser, president OF
the Mississippi Lumber and Logging COM
there was i the Chippewa 525 ,OOO. 600 feet
Of logs belonging to his company, and above
rs, DOC, 600 belonging TO other parties Al
vices received from Mr.. Irvine. at Beef
Slough, are to the effect that all the logs run