Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1885-09-17
cLoUoBURsrs AND THEIR CAUSE.
Resnit OF the Destruction of Timber.
Dangerous Dowppouring.

Cor san Francisco Chronicsl
There remains 10 be considered one of the
most disastrous of the phenomena attending
the destruction Of the timber, though hap
PLY not the most frequent. else the country
would become uninhabitable. The extraor-
binary rainfalls, To which the people gave
the name Of eloudburSts, began to be no.
ticed 100 years ago. The common opinion
was that the cloud was rent by the sharp
angle of the mountain, letting out millions
OF tons of water
One Of these phenomenal rainfalls oc-
Cured about 1913. in Lyme, " III. Tho
country generally had been denuded Of tim
her. A lofty hill, inaccessible TO the log
gers team. had been spared, leav-
in, perhaps a mile square covered so
thiekly with timber that the sun
light scarcely penetrated the thick foliage.
The moss on the ground was three feet thick.
and even in midsummer was moist and cool.
This afforded the requisite conditions for
cloudburst One day there was a violent
commotion up there. Thunder. lightning
and charging clouds seemed to have chosen
the top OF the mountain for a grand tourna-
ment The rains that should have been
drawn from the clouds by miles of wood
land were precipitated in one tremendous
tain was prostrated as if by a cyclone. A
torrent. many times too large for the ordi-
nary channels, poured down the mountain
side, carrying destruction in its course.
Mills were swept away, or left useless some
distance from the new channels, which were
formed. Mill dams were piled ten feet high
with bowlders and gravel
The phenomenon Of cloud bursts is becom-
ing more or less common in all the treeless
parts Of the country. Denver was once
swept away by such a rainfall Eureka,
New, has twice been inundated in that
way. The streams running down the east
ern slope Of the Sierra Nevada are noted
for such alterations. Some years ago q
stage coach. passengers, driver, horses, all
were overtaken by a solid perpendicular
wall Of water and destroyed. Several
times similar torrents have poured into the
Mojave deserts. In 1873 cloudburst near
jackson. in this state. sent torrent
through the town. destroying many liyes.
Several times they have occurred in Santa
Barbara county, accompanied with loss of
life In one instance the wall of water NOV
ing down the channel was estimated to be
ten feet high. One or two small ones have
occurred at the head Of Los Gatos creek, in
Santa Clare county. raising the water
twenty feet high.
There are evidences of numerous cloud
bursts in times past. where millions OF cubic
feet of earth are s=sept out Of the mountains
in one hour The pile of debris reminds one
Of the tailngs left by hydraulic mining.
Such pile in the lower ojai valley, in Ven
tura county, covers four square miles and
measures 100000 cubic yards. A well
sank to the depth Of 100 feet penetrated
fresh alluvial soil, proving the recent date
| of the affair. In the canyons above bowl
ders as large as churches are piled on each
other, showing the terrific power of the tor
rent. Such an outpour as the above men
toned may not occur in 100 years, but the
liability is constantly increasing as the tim
| ber is cut AWAY