The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-06-07

f's~s the read - completely ohl3fsrasesi
AID WI havs so ~ entirely rebuilt Tho
governments bridges hare been washed
eas. ons he has not heard of any railroad
bridges beng carried s~ay In travelling
IRON Ssncouver 10 New Westminster Ne
say the Fraser covered with . eontinnous
stream Of uproctea green srees. logs.
fences. barns. etc No maiis had been re-
esAved 81 Vancouver from Msy - 10 June z,
and meat was being shipped from Victoria
10 Vancouver. ~ there was tear Of
famine at the latter place.
q, s Logan. who arrived here on Mon.
dav morning BY the Canadian Pacific On
his return from Scotland. said:
The whoie country seemed to be under
water. Men ~ Yale. who had been there
forty years. said that the Fraser. which
Was NJ eighsy-fonr feet, VAS two feet
higher than they had ever knowr L. TAs
snow has been brought down by extreme
saturday The FIRST delay We struck was
~ kevelstoke. where slide covered about
~ 5cet OF track to . derth Of two or shrcs
ieet, and We had to spend . night there.
Immediately after Ne crossed the Nicola
bridge 1t Was swept away. aud IL seemed
thai the train WAS oil that held 10 down.
saw number Of barns floating down
s<st *sNCts 3&s0 a. hAhnsDNRS A3W u mousse
f1oatsng down with some horses standing
on the verandA"
On the Northern Pacific the water 10 IN
nndisp1ted possession Of the track at In
tervals from Hope 10 Horse Plains, aad
until IL suhaiass aud reveals the damage 10
has done. for 1t eifectuaily hides its raw
ages. They have made preparations fog
this time by gathering material on fias
ears ~ the edge Of the flood ready to push
in and begin repairs whenever the water
will let them. Until then 10 Is idle guess
ing to ATTEMPT an estimate Of the time il
will take TO make repairs. supsrintend-
ent McCabe. of the Pacific division, Who
Was in town yesterday. say that fifty-iivs
miles at the Portland end was cut
OF by the water at both ends. about
tSenty-isve miles being under water.
Ii is submerged for twelve miles from
kelso 10 kalama, and the latter town 10
absolutely buried. He does not think.
however. that the track viii bs badly
washed. as it 10 simply under water and 10
not subject To tho action Of the current,
and he estimates that trains can run again
within seven days after the water goes
down.
Railroad men from the scene say that
the Union Pacific line along the Columhia
river cannot be operated again for threa
months after the food subsidies, Tor in
many places IL i washed out right 60 ned.
rock and will have TO be entirely rebuilt.
The only way to get east from here, sx-
cept by the Northern Pacific railroad aud
ferry to Portland and thence By tbs SOUTH
ern Pacific, 10 TO 60 by the Northern Pacific
TO Pasco, by steamer from thers to WAi-
lula, and then by the Union Pacific, which
has no trouble east Of Waliula. but the
Union Pacific people only sell tickets on
their own line, not assuming any rsspon-
sibility until the passengers ere ON thsir
own line.
The Great Northern people do not know
what the damage TO their main line 10, az
cspt that no bridges are gone. and are
waiting for the water 20 make shox-
down when IL goes down. but they have
tFaia loads Of material ready to mako re-
'p1isguS Socn - they can gss at the track.
All that u known here b that thsrs are
many washouts along the Wsnatches
river and the Columbia, and that immsnss
damage has been done between the SUM
init Of the Rockies and Spokane. hus the
extent and location II unknown.
The water will soon b. out Of the way.
for ali the rivers were falling At the iass
reports, and continuance of the present
snow and cause the food 10 subsids
rapidly. All the rivers flowing into the
Sound were falling last night. and another
day will 80 the Skagit of the Seattle q
Northern track. IL fell two feet from Q p.
m. Tuesday TO q m. yesterday and foot
from that hour 70 s p. m. yesssrday. This
was st Mount Vernon. ana 10 had fallen
tweivsinchss st Hamilton and ten inches
At sedro In the twsnty-four hours ending
yesterday morning. Al this rate the
Great Northern and Seattle q Northern
will bs able 10 run through trains on Sat-
urday and possibly tomorrow. The formss
only ran To Stanwocd yesterday.
Cap. d. r. Decatur. Of Mount Vernon.
who is In town % member Of the United
States grand jury. says the flooding Of the
Skagit fats was the fault Of she 6kagit
Boom Company and that that company u
Likely to bs addicted for obstructing shs.
dow OF tho riyvr in it, channel and forcing
the water across the fstA Speaking OF tbs
matter yesterday, he said:
sThc Skagit Boom company has driven
plies around tho mouth OF the river in
order 10 catch the logs ~ they ioat down,
aud AZ trees came down they would catch
in the boom and then hil in With sand, 10
a. 20 thoroughly block the mouth Of the
river. The river turns TO the south about
Avon, and when its outlet Was blocked In
this way, it Was backed mp. Then tt broks
the dikes and flooded $500 acres ol
land nearly all cultivated with oats and
hay. All their crops are ioss to protect the
property OF the few men who own the
boom. We kept raising the dikes on tho
but the boom company held this driis
back with its piiing, and - fast - No
raised the dikes the river rose until finally
Ii broke the dikes aud ovcr1owsd the
whole country. The people ali the way up
the rIver from Fir To Sedro, distance of
sirtecu miles, worked night and day 10
save their land. bus - fast - they buiis
dises the boom company backed up the
water TO dood thsm out. and we propose to
indict the officers befoss ths United States
grand Jury tor o5atsucting . naviGabis
stream. The snagboat Skagit - there, bat
il IL no good. for Il 10 all the time getting
ready 20 do something and does nothing.
II came down on Sunday aftsrnoon
when the river wa still rising. There
were twcnty-sight families sheltsrsd in
the schoolhouss, and every family south of
Kineaid street had 70 b taken out ON rats
and boats. Thsir loss is particularly hard,
for they had Just got homes and gardens
II xed and they we're all washed out The
Ia Conner people came up under the lssd-
er.hip Of Dennis Ssorrs and helped AZ to
save the diks on the west side OF the river.
Mr. storrs told them they bad either 70
work and get In their best iicks or get oas
OF the var Of the water. and they dared
not refuse. They turned ont, men, NO.
rnen. teams and oil. and saved all shs
beaver marsh county"