St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-02-07
ALL DANGER is over.
The Raging willamette Is
Subsiding to It's Normal
Level.
Portland Is Still Submerged,
as Are Many Other
Smaller Towns.
A Careless Engineer Causes
a Serious Collision by
Disobedience.
Two Workmen Fall Eighty
Five Feet and Sustain
Fatal Injuries.

PORTLAND, Or, Feb. 6.-The river is
falling slowly to-day, and all fears of
serious local damage from the flood is
passed. The water reached the highest
point, twenty-eight feet, four inches, at
6o'clock this morning. Since then it
has fallen four inches in the channel.
This is the highest water in the history
OF the city. The water falls more slowly
IN the streets, and Is not perceptibly
lower, but is running through the
streets with less rapid current, and it
is free from heavy driftwood in the
channel. The bridges are believed to
serious damage to buildings. The goods
in the stores on the lower streets were
all removed beyond the reach of DAM
age. The only loss in the business
district will be from the presence of
the water on the ground floors of the
buildings, which will be tritiing. Re-
ports from points on the Willamette
river indicate that the river is falling
very rapidly. Detailed reports of the
damage above will be slow to come in,
on account of the interruption to tele-
graphic communication. The most Sc
rious loss will be from the
DESTRUCTION OF BRIDGES,
which seem to have been swept away
everywhere. The largest towns in the
valley are well above high Water, and
only the small and unimportant build
ingS have been carried away. Inter
ruptiOn to travel still continues. but the
Oregon Railway and Navigation COM
pany has established steamer service to
the Cascade locks, above which the
trains are running. Between Cascade
locks and here there is succession of
land slides entirely obliterating the
track in some places. The Southern
line west of there, but got no
further than McMinnville, fifty miles
from here. No trains have been sent
out on the main line. The Northern
Pacific is running to Tacoma and is
carrying the mails. The Eastern mails
accumulated at Cascade Locks are eX-
pected to reach here by steamer to-
night. The only telegraphic communi-
cation with the East is by way of the
Canadian Pacific and Postal Cable COM
pany. 1t is expected that the railroad
blockade to Cascade Locks will continue
for some days, and that between here
and San Francisco for weeks, as the
track and roadway has been entirely de-
stroyed for a considerable distance.
Meager adviceS from Ashland state that
the Southern Pacific railroad bridge
across the Umpuquia river has been
washed out, and in Cow Creek canyon
the railroad track has been virtually
wiped out. Many more smaller railroad
bridges between here and Ashland have
been washed away, and the company
does not attempt to send out trains. On
the west side of the Willamette trains
were running as far as McMinnville.
The Union Pacific is blockaded by
heavy slides between this city and The
DalieS, and no trains are expected to be
running for several days. The Northern
Pacific is still running. AT Salem about
sixty houses have been swept away and
many persons were
DRIVEN FROM THEIR HOMES.
though, so far as known no lives have
been lost. Along the river bottoms con-
siderable of the live stock has been
drowned, and large quantities of grain
and hay destroyed. The damage in this
city will not be SO great as first antici-
pated. Docks and wharveS while being
submerged, have all stood the strain of
the current, and now that the water is
decreasing it is thought the danger is
over. The Columbia river, at VancOuv-
er, WASH, is falling. At Eugene, Ore,
large wagon bridge near Springfield,
went out Monday, also part of the
bridge near the city, causing loss of
about $4,000. 4 few small buildings
and large amounts of cordwood, fencing
and other material were washed away,
and the aggregate losses will foot up to
many thousands of dollars. At Rose
burg, Ore, no trains have arrived since
Friday, and shortage Of provisions is
feared unless communication is
restored soon. The bridge across Dreek
creek has gone, and the woolen mills
have been totally destroyed by the flood.
MANY BRIDGES THREATENED.
TACOMA, Wash, Feb. 6-The Villa
mette river is higher than for twenty
years past. Many bridges are threat
ened, and there has been great damage
done IN the entire valley. The revenue
cutter Richard Rush, with the north
ern mail from San Francisco, was una
BILE to cross the Columbia river bar,
came back to Tacoma, and has taken
the mails back to San Francisco.