The Arizona sentinel., 1891-03-07
THE FLOOD A Thing of the
 Past.
25ssEEa and GR5Ea SEree:s Covered tvTsz1 ESC2sE'is.- Business EEcn Actively E2sasEs2cyed EsaEEss- Ez2g.

The water has avaragcd to he from one to two feet higher in the Colorado river during last season than before for many years. In June 1t reached
 the highest mark known except in 'S4.
 On January 18th, this year, it stood exactly where it did a yea, ago. Within five days it was two feet higher. The Gila has been higher for the past eight months than ever known during the same season. Last sammer l71 inches of water fell through the Central and eastern DOT tions cf Arizona This Is the reason for the hi d water during the fall anl winter When She rain currents first touched the Pacific Coast in January, they driftod to the eastward, hence ;he balli of the rainfall was on this side but very near the Continental di- vide, this threw all, or nearly so of the water into tho tributari-s of the Little Colorado, Bill Williams Fork and the GiIl, and of course into the Colorado. In years past the Gila has seized the months of February and March for it's floods, bat the Colorado waited until May anl June before tine mountain snows gave up their water. hence TO danger.
 This year aA has been changed. The great storm from the 18th to the 18th seems to have occupied the whole great watershed lying between the Colorado and the summit of the main range. This threw the whole water fall into the Colorado On the 18th both rivers began to rise gradually. On the l9,h tbc swell began to. come. News came by wire aud every other meansSof communication that great
 food was coming Such was the fear tn t oa Saturday night force of men yeat-to work on the levee along the Gfa river. Saturday night the water was four feet below the top of it. Sunday morning the water had risen nearly two fe. t. Cur citizens felt anxious but still had no fears. They reasoned that in '8i it only came % high and not over the bank. At noon Sunday it looked bad. The water was within three inches of the top and was finding it's way through in two Or three places. At I:30 o'clock it had reached nearly to the height of the levee All felt anxious and were satisfied that within @ short time if the water kept on rising all was lost. IdIeFs and lookers-on were ordered away. Every man was doing his hest to held the water back, but of no use. At 430 o'clock the bank began to yield and tAe water found it's way down Gila street. An hour later and away went the Ievce in three places and down Main street came the flood. At the foot of the streets there was a bank Of earth five to ten feet high. used by the railroad company as a road bed for the sidetrack to the steamboat landing, freight warehouse. ice-house and shiPyard. Two small sewers conveyed the drainage from the town into the Colorado. The Colorado was now high enough so that the water began to flow throagh these sewers and up the street into the town. When the levee broke the water rose nine feet in 20 minutes at the foot of Gila street. Dynamite was used to break the railroad bank at the lowest point next to the prison, but of no avail. The ground was too soft. Prisoners went to work cutting the bank with picks and shovels. In a few minutes an opening was made and the water began to flow through it in to the Colorado. As soon as this was done the water raised no higher, but it was too late.
 Thurlow's music hall and resi- denee fell first. An IS inch levee protected this in '84. Now the water was three feet deep all around it. Next went the old Gates house, and then one by one, often three or four almost at the same time. When the water had fallen not an adobe house from the ;. r. hotel up to Leyy's big store stood on the east side of Main street and Gila street was nearly swept