St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-05-19
SIOUX CITY.
N()URNS.
Mad Waters Carry Death and
Destruction to a Fair
Iowa Town.
Loss of Life Believed to Be
From Sixty to One
Hundred.
From Eight O'Clock to Noon
The Floyd River Reaches
Thirty Feet.
Hundreds of Homes Are Swept
Down the Bosom Of the
Raging River.
The Stockyards With One
Thousand Head Of Stock
Are Carried Away.
Value Of Property Destroyed
May Reach a Million
Dollars.
Railroad Trains Are Aban-
doned and All Business
Is Suspended.
Thirteen Bridges Are Borne
Away Between Lemars
and Heron Lake.
Value Of Property Destroyed
May Reach a Million
Dollars.
Railroad Trains Are Aban-
doned and All Business
Is Suspended.
Thirteen Bridges Are Borne
Away Between LemarS
and Heron Lake.
special 10 the Globe.


SIOUX CITY, To-, May 1s.-For weeks
continual downpour of rain has been
filling the ground with water, and the
elimination yesterday and last night in
an unusually heavy fall of rain con-
verted the already swollen streams into
life and propertY-destrOying torrents,
such as had never before been seen in
Northwest Iowa. The Floyd valley,
a mile wide in places, and five miles
through the manufacturing and rail-
road districts Of the city and thickly
dotted with homes, is today a sceEe of
desolation. At 10 o'clock tonight the
relief committee has the
Names of Fifteen Persons
known to have been drowned and au-
thentic reports of the drowning Of three
or four times that number. Only one
body has been recovered. 1t is calculat-
ed that the death list will number 1OO
The river commenced to rise about s
o'clock, and before noon was thirty feet
deepln the channel. The current was
very swift, Tor it empties into the Mis-
souri, river in the city, and soon fences,
lumber, sidewalks and houses were
swept away. There are probably some
200 families in the valley, the majority
living in small houses, and, as there was
no warning, the most they could do was
10 save themselves and leave their pos
sessions. A rescuing corps was organ
lied by citizens and the homeless
promptly cared for.
Hundreds of Houses
were swept entirely away. Over half
q mile Of paving on one Street was de-
strOyed. All the railroad yards, ma
chine ships, warehouses, lumber yards,
stove works, foundry, shoe factory, gas
works and many retail business houses
were submerged. One of the leading
hotels was surrounded, and all the de-
pots are inaccessible. The cable line
has stopped, and the elevated railroad
is the only means left of reaching the
eastern suburbs. The union stock
yards were carried away, with 1000
head of stock. All the packing houses
are flooded and four bridges carried
away. Not a railroad train can
reach the city. In the afternoon fire in
the flooded district added to the horrors.
The total loss in the city is estimated at
from a million to two million dollars.
The waters tonight are receding. and
the wind, which blew gale all day. is
auieting Many daring deeds were per-
formed by the rescuers, and the usual
beartrending scenes were enacted. At
10 o'clock
The Fire Alarm
was sounded to call out more workers.
All the boats from the boat houses on
the Sioux river have been brought in
and are being used to save life and
property. The Missouri river is very
high, and when the flood in the Floyd
river struck it, the water damned up
and rushed over the adjacent low
grounds. The stockyards and packing
houses were situated at the confluence
of the two rivers and they were instant
Iy inundated. Great numbers of dead
stock have been found floating down
the Floyd river. Tine whole rail-
road yards and switching tracks dis
trIct is under water, and there has been
Immense damage to the round houses
and other railroad property. The round
house of the Chicago, st. Paul, Mime
RpoIis q Omaha is damaged to the ex-
tent of $4,000. That road, the Illinois
central and the Sioux City & Northern
enter the city by the Floyd valley, and
all are stopped. At o'clock this
afternoon the water had reached to Jen-
uings street. On Fourth street the
Hotel Fowler and the Boston Invest
ment company's building are sur
rounded with water. The union depot
was cut off at 9 o'clock. Ali business
Is suspended. The chamber of COM
merce organized this morning for relief
work. Atnoon the ladies had several
IOup andlGnch houses opened for the