The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-05-20
An Orcron ClOudburst.

when you talk Of rain" said Maj.
Wharton, who built most OF the sno"
sheds on the Union Pacific road and
who runs half a dozen saw mills on the
Falls river in Oregon-"when you talk
Of rain in the East you simply never saw
anything more than a sprinkle. I've
been OUT all day in what you probably
call a d6wnpour. but II a drop or two
hadn't hit my sore ear / shouldn't nave
known it was raining"
What's your idea Of rain Storm
maior?" asked the interviewer az the TWO
got seated after the usual preliminary
"W'hy. water, Of course!" he answered
"Tbis drizzle can't be called real water
YOU know. It's just fog and smoke and
evaporation from mud puddles which
went I'D TO come down again. say
Young man, YOU ought to have been out
TO mill No. 4 one night last August. ana
witnessed what we call genuine ram
storm. II wasn't the biggest ana tattesl
I ever saw, but it would have given you
a pretty fair idea Of what We can do out
there on short notice"
WAS it a cloudburst?'
Some folks call 'em by that name. out
It's defamation of character. n cloud
burst is simply an effort on the part OF
weather
barrels Of rain water together In some
particular locality and then knock in all
the heads Of the barrels at once. the
object IS to clear the Grftwood of the
hanks Of streams and discourage the
umbrella trade As a side issue a. cloud
burst usually browns about half a tribe
NJ Indians and starts the tops or three
or four mountains TO sliding down NIL 10
hll up some valley"
About this particular rain Storm ma
jor?' .-,. o.o
afternoon the barrels began TO gather
over the Cascade rapge. TO the west OIL
us. They snuggled together between TWO
peaks. and I judged there vas water
enough up there to wet down halt 'h'
west Falls river had just three feet
Of water in Il that afternoon ana th'
ground for fifteen miles 10 the west wa
yallev-land on which a lot Of cattle an'
horses were grazing. l had four bulld
ines beside the saw MILL and In th'
river and around the mill were 5.op-
saw logs. When saw that IL was goin'
! ~ raIn-that we were In for genuine
: rain Storm called all hands and w
; made for a hill half mile away.
/ "And the rain descended, did it?' queriet
/ the interviewer as the major seemed u
/ have stopped short
! "Tbe rain! Oh! certainly. Yes. sir
I the rain descended in due time. Whei
| everything was all ready the heads or IN
! barrels were busted in and down poure'
! the wafer A food seven feet deep an
! two miles long came swishing across IN
,,,11ev and poured into Falls river II
| obout three Jerks Of a deer'S tail. IN
| nil buildings and logs went on voyage
| and I haven't seen a splinter or en-
| since. The food brought along about 10
! head Of horses and cattle, and the bone
of some Of them are in the tree top
around there to-day"
"And what did you do?'
Began getting out timber for new
mill next morning, OF course. We don
LET a little cloudburst knock the SAM
| ont ~ us I'm oregon, you know. Had
new mill hummins away inside Of thirt
dave Don't write II up in a sensationa
way. or our people will give me laugh
| T. vas sirnDlv one Of our summer show
ore reporter from Portland happene
IN no down that way, and how niue
enace do Won suppose he gave II? JUS
o,,a limos, ) hundred thousand tons o
mountain slid into the valley, a doze
poonIe were drowned, and everything O
The river swept clear for a distance q
,bir+, miles but FIVE lines covered
oil sorry that I can't make a big thin
60 ,.h, hut see me again-see me mex
u,intar-and I'll tell you about some Q
erowdr,fts which have been bore
distance Of 400 feet without strikin
bottom. Detroit Free Press