The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1891-07-02
HOUSES BUT BUBBLES.
TREES BENT AND BROKEN LIKE
REEDS.

of Railway Track Washed Away and
Many Families Made Homeless-Gravity
of the situation lncrea sing Hourly
Scenes and Incidents of the Deluge.
Northwestern Iowa has been visited
by the heaviest rainfall in twenty years.
An eyewitness of the recent floods in
the vicinity of Cherokee, states that it
is necessary for one to see to have the
least idea of the great amount OF dam
age done. "Why," he exclaimed, at is
simply terribly wonderful the way that
immense body Of water swept things be-
fore it. Houses were but bubbles on
its crest. I was at Cherokee when the
cloudburst came, and in less time than
it takes to tell it flood was upon the
town: Houses were seen to tremble.
swing half around, and then carried
along by the torrents. Trees were bent
and broken like reeds and not thing
could stop the terrific onward rush of
the water, and all this occurred before
the people could possibly realize what
had happened. The most remarkable
feature of the disaster is that any of the
people in the track of the flood escaped
with their lives AS far as / know no
lives were lost at Cherokee and the i'm
mediate vicinity"
The storm rendered between 800 and
400 families homeless in and about
Cherokee. These are being cal ed for in
the Masonic, Grand Army of the Repub-
lie and knights of Pyth1as halls at
Cherokee. The Illinois Central lost
IL, Ut feet of roadbed and 9S5 feet Of
piling This does not include the bridge
taken out over the Sioux River. The
amount of damage will reach $3.50, 600.
AS the waters recede the carcasses of
Gait are landed and to-day the stencil
from them permeates the air. 1t is es-
timated that hundreds of head of stock
have been lost. Two miles of track Of
the main line of the Illinois Central has
been washed out between Cherokee and
Sioux City, and it. will take week to
repair the damage. The Onawa and
Sioux Fall branches of the same road
are in worse way, and it will
be about ten days before traffic can be
resumed. Both wire competitions are
still broken. The Sioux River is sub
siding, but it is still forty feet deep, and
covers quarter of mile of country.
The average depth of the river when in
its channel is about four feet. The
work of clearing away the debris is now
in progress, and aid is being rendered
tile unfortunate inhabitants. The town
of Neville is still flooded and not one Of
the 200 inhabitants is able to occupy his
house, and all are camping out There
is only $50 pounds of hour in the town.
The town is almost completely cut Off
from succor Hundreds of horses and
other live stock out in the fields in the
valley were fearfuly lacerated by the
barbed wires carried down by the swol-
len torrent, in which the beasts become
entangled
The damage at Cherokee is estimated
at over $500, O00 The river fell about
ten feet, but was still twenty feet above
low water mark. At ordinary stage OF
water the river is only about 200 feet
wide, while it is now 1900 feet
The engineer of the relief train which
was the first to go from Fort Dodge to
Cherokee after the big storm, has return
ed to this city, SAYS Waterloo special
1t took them eight hours to run from
Aurelia to Cherokee, and many times
they were compelled to stop on account
of the rain, which came down in torrents.
From Storm Lake to Cherokee the
country resembled one vast lake almost
as far as the eye could reach in every
direction. Only water was visible, while
debris of destroyed buildings, bodies Of
horses and cattle and other farm animals
fiOated past Cherokee in large numbers.
Most of them were still struggling to
escape, but the rush of the torrents pre-
vented their reaching dry land.
The farmers along the line suffered
very much. One farmer living south of
Cherokee stated that over 200 catt.e are
missing from his pasture, and he expects
all are drowned. The merchants in the
small towns have had their stores under
mined, the Easements filled with water,
and in many instances the water has
come on the first floors and damaged
their goods extensively. At Cherokee
seventy-five to one hundred houses are
destroyed and manyof them have been
swept away. The gravel train which
was in the PIT at Cherokee is buried out
of sight. the only portion of it that is
visible being the top OF the SmokeStack
OF the steam shovel.
Superintendent Gileas reports that the
damage to the Illinois Central track al
ready in sight will foot up 5000, 600, and
but. | title is yet known of the condition
of two branches from Cherokee. The
water fell about ten feet at Cherokee,
and many occupants OF houses in the
flooded district were able to regain en-
trance to-day. The ruin wrought made
many heart sick Where the houses
were not DESTROYED their contents are all
covered with thick, black mud, running
them. Three hundred poor people in
Cherokee are being fed and clothed by
the relief committee, and dispatch
from there says outside aid will have to
be asked.
A. w. Thesher, ma6l-clerk on Mil
waukee and st. Paul train that was
water bound, at Hornick, thus relates
his experiences: Between Hornick and
Hedges Siding the track is out in many
places, and SO great was the force of the
water that the rails were carried far
from the roadhed. got hungry, as did
all the passengers. Our rations were
rather slim, and so / made up my mind
to come to Sioux City. put my letter
mail in pouch together with my cloth
ing and started to wade. / waded
through fully mile and half of water
between Hornick and Hedges, and in
many places it was up to my neck. At
Hedges [ caught construction train
and rode into Sioux City
"The low lands are covered with water
aS far as Won can see Field after field