Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1884-09-19
EarliAr Accounts.

From tie st, Paul pioneor Press, Sept. IA.
South Of the Omaha railway bridge, in
West Eau Claire, from the Foneer Iiuu-
Der conpany'H mills to HestVl4e, two miles
away, and at the extreme end OF West Eau
Clairs. and at cstville, the damage wrought
by Thnrsday's 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 10 the waters
edge apparently fearing no overflow. The
west SIDE OF Shawtown. division OF
West Eau Claire. is where chaos relgns
The, streets are filed with lumber, houses
ta1.red and twisted in all ways, the Whole
place covered with a layer OF black. mud,
left by The food, from one TO three feet III
depth: bedding. household furniture, roofs,
shingles logs ffteeu-toot piles OF wood;
houses with logs driven through them; the
depot inclined at an angie OF fOrty-tve 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 are literally distributed IN
out-of- the-way places -- one understandable
mass of every thing that could float. The
rise of water at Shawtown was twenty
two feet six inches, the most OF the Hood oc-
dattin$ "Wednesday " nEH 1es AND Ih 1st
there The main damage is to the MilWau-
kee railway, its loss certainly being oven
$1,000 in that locality, while the streets
of Shawtown are swept out OF existence
The estimated damage from Westviile to the
Half Moon Lake canal, which is the northern
boundary Of Shawtown, is over $25. 1000.
OF deaths on the West side there
are not many, as near az they can be
traced now. 1t seems that Dir. Lilly who
lives near The Madison street bridge, was
trying to save his wife from the food. His
iC SriH 't,t1Hf 1iyeo
evening float passed down the Chippewa
with two men on it.. According to the story
CT the bystanders it disappeared just opposite
the Bailey house and the men were not seen
again .nGrossly exaggerated stories are fiT-
ing around about other deaths in the Yicini-
ty, but their truth is doubtful OF the logs
that have broken loose, lumDer1nen say not
one VIII reach Durand, and they
can easily be recovered when the
water goes down. Between Eau Claire and
Eumsey's Landing, down the river, many
farmers we're found by the relief party
perched upon knobs with their families;
homes gone, fields under water, and no pro-
visions. There are fears Of great suffering
between here and Durand. a careful esti-
| mate made by parties resident there approx
imates The West Eau Claire losses about as
follows, and the figures given cannot be far
from correct: ,a..- E,.... -<" 3=$z-: g.
Milwaukee road ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS $4,000
Lumber firms, foundry, etc.........-..- 5000
Municipal loss, bridges, etc.. 900, GOO
Residents. i5u,oOo
No outside aid will be needed. A public
subscription is being taken mp in the
| city for aid to sufferers. IL is
believed that the total loss in all Eau
Claire will not exceed s. l, 600, 900 4 house
! passed the city Thursday half submerged,
a woman with a child in her arms standing
at the upper-story window and Q man on the
roof they are supposed to have peen
drowned The river has fallen rapidly to-
day, at the Ane OF writing having gone down
from fifteen to seventeen feet II is stated
that over 400 ,OOO. 900 feet of logs have
drifted into tho Dells reservoir fro4n North