Telegram-herald. ([Grand Rapids, Mich.) 18??-1892, 1891-06-26
DESTROYING ELEMENTS
Between Wind and Water Iowa
Suffers Great Distress
AWFUL DAMAGE By CLoUDBURSrs
Hundreds OF nsasss Dsssroyea-Eighs o.
Ten Ltses Lsst-ksii~ay Trsrsie L.
Suspended aud sasiaess Gea-
orally faFaiy1sd.

cnERoxsK. Ia, June % -The terrors
of the Johnstcwn nood were in part re-
peated in this place Wednesday. a
hundred houses have been carried out
Of sight IN . Siagara-like torrent How
many lives have been Lost Is yet mat
ter OF uncertainty. A terrific cloud
burst, thrice repeated, and wind almost
q hurricane are what eonsuInmated
the dread work. The storm
which began Tuesday night appears to
have swept in vast circle
over northwestern Iowa. fully 100
miles in diameter, with Cherokee a.
the center.
Most OF the destruction IN Cherokee
was wrought by the extraordinary rise
In the Little Sioux river, resulting from
the tremendous downpour of water
from the sky. Some idea Of the i'm
mensity and suddenness of the flood
can be inferred from the fact that il
carried off, apparently without an Ell
fort, the big truss bridge on which the
Illinois Central crossed the river, and
trestle on which the company's tracks
approached the river. The Little
Sioux is at tho highest stage ever
known.
WATERLOO, Ia. June 25.-Reports of
the storm that prevailed Tuesday night
along the line of the Illinois Central
west of Cherokee show ID To have been
the worst storm that has visited that
section for several years Cherokee was
-fsff ~ ~ I.,,
morning fully as disastrous though
not of SO long duration. The Illi-
nois Central railroad bridge. about
$50 feet long, across the Little Sioux ut
Cherokee went down under the rush of
the flood at BIS Wednesday afternoon.
Several houses In the lower part OF
the town were swept away. The re-
ports of the drowning of four persons
at Cherokee and four at Correctionville
are confirmed by dispatch from Mr..
Gelleas. superintendent of the Iowa
division, who is at the scene of the dis
aster.
The later reports of the storm indicate
that it 8as worse than at first reported.
A courier has Just arrived ut Aurelia
from Cherokee, giving the information
that 100 houses at Cherokee have been
washed away. But no further loss
OF life is reported there beyond the
four persons whose drowning was re.
ported Wednesday. 1t is impossible &c
learn their names or how the uufortu-
mates met their death. Everything is in
the widest confusion. The same is true
at Correctionville and no word by
telegraph can be received from there
until communication is rccstablished.
1t is now known though that six per-
sons met their death in the
country around about Correction
vile, and the number is reported in
creased to eight. Houses, barns and
outhouses were reported floating in the
Little Sioux past Cherokee all day. No
one knows where they came from, but
are presumed ito be from Sutherland.
No loss of life is reported from the up
country.
Aurclia reports from to feet
of water in the streets there. The cell
lars are flooded and thousands of dol
lars worth of merchandise and house,
hold goods are destroyed. At Storm
Lake the merchants were unable to get
into their stores on account of the
water. All passenger and freight traf
fic west Of Aurelia has been abandoned.
Sioux CIrx. Ia. June 25.-Thc terri
BILE rains have almost devastated this
portion of Iowa No roads are run
ning trains from this city east The
Floyd river valley Is inundated for SIS
miles north of this city. Many
houses in lie MFRS are flooded
over the first floors, while the towns
Of Merrill, linton and James are
completely submerged Thirty-five
miles of tracks on each OF the Illinois
Central, Chicago, st. Paul g. Kansas
City. Minneapolis Il Omaha and Sioux
City Il Northern are flooded north Of
the city with bad washouts ut LIE Mars
The Little Sioux river bottom at Chero-
kee is entirely inundated and thou
sands of acres are under water.
On the Centrals Onawa branch 900
feet of track was carried out; on the
Sioux Falls branch seven bridges were
washed out. The Chicago Il North
western tracks in the Sioux valley are
out for over half mile at
Sutherland. The same road is also
washed out at Carroll. Al Merrill,
s miles from this city. the Floyd
river rose Is feet I'm three hours
Wednesday afternoon, and the food is
sweeping the Floyd river valley toward
this city and devastating hundreds Of
acres Of crops. The manufacturing
towns of Leeds Lynn and Lewiston
nre in it's course and will be submerged,
causing thousands Of dollars of dam
age.
Hundreds of families on the Floyd
river Cats in this city are moving ont
on 10 higher grounds. The railroad
companies have abandoned their
yards and shops, and engines, cars
and all kinds of material have
been removed to higher g,C.und
A cyclone at Sutherland Tuesday
night at o'clock destroyed fifteen
dwellings, four warehouses. several
barns and the Chicago & Northwestern
freight depot. The people took To
caves anc. no one was injured All
county and railroad bridges were
washed out
cifTN Ntfh. tas "u"F A
nal is receiving reports from all quar-
ters of unprecedented high water in
The streams. injury 10 railroad proper
". loss Of bridges and destruction of
crops along the rivers The FLOYD rlver
l. ont Of it's banss, and people have
been compelled 20 make hasty de
r>a-sures ~ higher ground The wa
tors are reeeding and the worst IL now
over
Tisc following additional particulars
? az the food a, Cherokee have been re-