New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-05-20
THE SIOUX CITY CALAMITY
\ SCORE OF PEOPLE DROWNED AND
Sl,jOO,0OO DAMAGE DONE.
FEW BODIES RECOVERED FROM THE FLOOD
PEOPLE SMILED Al THE WARNINGS OF
DANGER AZ AT JOHNSTOwN-HER0IO
WORK OF THE RESCUERS-
TIE WESTERN SPIRIT
ASSERTS ITSELF.
ASSERTS ITSELF.
IBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TBIBUSE.I

tBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TBIBUSEI
| Sioux City, Iowa, May 19.-As was perhaps
| natural, reports have been sent out OF the SlouN
City disaster that were greatly exaggerated.
Probably not more than twenty people have
| perishcd. and the total money loss is nearer
81 100000 than twice that sum. In the upper
part Of the city tonight the electric lights are
blazing as usual, the electric Al iect-cars and the
| elevated railroad are packed with laughing pas
| scngers the candy men drive "A brsk trade at
the street corners, and invcteratc bicyclists are
out for their evening run. Sioux City Is
boom" town, and local investors are eager to
| belttle the visitation.
Yet, although JohnstOwn not repeated the
result i, serious enough. II seems a miracle that
many thousands not drowned, and only good
luck can avert a greater calamity in future under
similar conditions. Sioux City lies on the left
bank Of the Missouri River and faces the south,
the river here running east and west. II is prac-
tically hedgcd in by bluffs, the ground continuing
fat between the hills for quarter of mile from
the river bank, and then rising sharply.
The inundated district Is In the fiat
eastern corner of the city. Here
narrow stream called Floyd River descends to the
ilissouri through a gap in tie back bluffs, and
an overflow of the Floyd did all the damage.
The heavy rains that for weeks have dclugcd
Iowa and Nebraska had converted the Floyd into
torrent, and yesterday morning at about
o'clock an additional heavy downpour, called
locally "a cloudhurst,' ovcrtaNcI the capacity Of
the channel. 4 great wave >el us 20 have formc
Leeds. "A village some distance up the Floyd and
this at once swept down the valley toward
Sioux City, exactly as the wave from the
broken Concmaugh dam burst upon Johnstown.
In Sioux City the first sign of danger
moving cloud OF mist; a fash followed, and
,I a,f;1 k,,r. int.
crested with foam. Fortunately it was only two
or three feet high, and not forty at Johnstown,
but it quickly united with other swollen streams
and spread out the fiat.
This area "A mile wide was occupied by pack
ing-hOu-rs in which beef il dressed for the West
crn market, stock yards and railroad yards and
strings Of little yellow frame cottages t'nanted
by railroad hands, stoclimcn, packers and labor
ing men Of all natonalities. The Chief of Police,
who received notice lA telegraph, warned many
OF these people that the flood was coming. Some
fled half-dres>cd. but many said they had sccn
hgn water before. and stayed until II
was almost too late Many business men own
ng large stores showed no better Judg-
mcnt later IN the day. declining To
leave their stores when the spread OF the water
was iuundating a fresh city block every half
hour By 10 o'clock everybody who owned
piano or a cradle was, however, joting of in
wagon through the rain, and Il procession of
trucks and eNprcss vans was crowded with forlorn
sIoupr OF bcdiaggei women and crying children
lly that time the carcaSss,s OF horses, COWS, pigs
and chickens sircwcd the flood; the railroad
Yards with several hundred cars standing on the
tracks, three OF four fee, under water; the
railroad and wagon bridges began TO fall. AMI
hundreds OF screaming hogs were swept away
and drowned. while stout fences and heavy
wooden buildings went down like strlwS. The
fool was At its Height lcforc noon. At that time
the water had sakcd the lime In lumber
ward immediately under the elevated passenger
railroad that trsvcrscs the llt and the lumber
was presently in flames. The trcmcn who had al
ready performed gallant service IN Tc-"uins drown
ing families, cNtinguiShcd these flames without
much difficulty. with the aid of a volunteer
bucket brigade The water, fortunately, began
to -ubsido early in the afternoon
Tonight some Of the lower portions of the fiat
ar. still submerged. but dc-olat' waste i' th'
principal token Of the disaster Entering the city
from Omaha by way of the Missouri River
bridge, one sees either hand wide,
bare spaces, with only the stake
marks In the yellow mud 10 show
where furongs of fencing stood yesterday morning
The immense yards Of the packing houses are knee
deep in mirc, strcwn with dead hogs, sheds and
outbuldngs tilted their sides or roofs. In the
railroad yards the damage is evidently greatest.
Scores of freight carts are lying on
their sides or are turned bottom upward.
amid collapsed sheds broken and twisted tracks.
dropping telegraph poles and dslodscd bridges.
Among rows Of dc-crtcd worlimcns cottages. tiut-
cring lires OF washing are the only signs
of present halitaton. The streets here
are Wmmcd with railroad ties, savcs,
barrels and several hundrcl thousand round
cedar paving blocks Two or three of the detached
Floyd River bridges have been lifted up and turned
around beside the overturned cottages. and at one
bridge there is a jam Of railroad ties thirty feet
high and a hundred yards square through which
the muddy current now trickeS lccbly.
Many heroic rcscucs were accomplished. The
elevated railroad, on its heavy trusscs, firmly
wiihstOod the rush Of water, and thousands OF
willing lifc-savers made the structure
base of operations. Ropes wcr, thrown
10 helpless castaways a. they came
floating by on logs OF house roofs. and the fire
men with lines tied about their waists swan and
wadcd in the torrent with reckless intrcpidity
The police also worked nobly, although they were
not So intcliecntly organized. The fire trucks
were pallopcl several times across the town with
boats aud bargsS
Three boiics recovered to day, those Of \ q.
Anderson and Mrs. Henderson and her baby. DIR.
r.. Hedges president OF the Stoclyard Company. |
estimates the loss to the stockyards and packing
interests at from SijO,000 10 SjO0,000: the los,
io houses and furniture of the residents Of the
flooded district will aggregate about S1j0,o00, |
ard the stocks OF goods damaged 100000. The
damage 70 the city in pavcmcnts, etc, will foot
up over ~ 90 900.
Up the Floyd for twenty miles the Sioux City
and Northwestern and Illinois Central tracks
built OF cmhnnkments are washed out or damaged. |
The loss OF the Terminal Company and OF all
the railroad companies is estimated at from $3.50
coo 10 81 100000.
A. G.. Anderson, "A stationery engineer, saved |
thirty lives, then his boat capsized and this morn
Ing his body was found in a pile OF rubbish, his |
face bruised and broken and covered with mud.
One stubborn family refused to be rescued until