The record-union., 1894-05-31
WHOLE VILLAGES ON THE BANKS OF
THE STREAM AFLOAT.
Eight Lives Known to Have Been Lost
Many Bodies Reported to Have
Been Seen Floating in the River
The Town of Conconully, Washing
ton, swept Away by FIood-Every
Business House In the Place De-
stroyed.
Special to the REcoRD-UN1ox.

Zer klVer mas DfOkeNO out raging torrent,
dealing destruction and death. Whole
herds Of cattle and focks of sheep have
! been drowned. Whole villages on the
stream are afioat. Eight lives are known
| to be lost. Many other bodies are re-
! ported as having been seen in the stream
| At Morris steamers steam across where
farming land used to be.
Farmers are taking passage on the
steamers and bringing their families
/ here.
The towns of Chilliwack. Harrison and
! Centerville are almost entirely inun-
dated. The damage to the Canadian Pa
cific track is very serious. At Haztic the
| dyking has entirely given away. Nj
comen is under water. No train has ar
rived from the East since May 23d. Every
farmer and rancher at Hattie prairie is
ruined.
The latest report says that the Matsqui
dyke has caved in and the country is all
| flooded. The Mission Railroad bridge is
expected to go every hour. The Solinon
arm bridge collapsed yesterday afternoon.
The Fraser River is still rising to-
night, and no doubt it will reach the
| level of 1882. when whole valley was
Hooded. In the last twenty-four hours
! the water raised eight inches at New
! Westminster. and is now about ten inches
| below the mark of 1882. Three,d ,dikes up
the river have given way and several
others are in danger.
| At New Westminster the water is up
| to the joisting of the wharves, and all
merchandise has been flooded. Several
mills on the water front have been shut
down, as the water inter1eres with the
machinery.
Reports from up-river points state that
| the danger is increasing. and great loss of
property and stock has already occurred.
| Happily only two lives have been lost so
| far. Indians have had to leave several
reservations along the river, and steamers
are now employed in carrying farmers
stock to places OF safety. At Chillwack
| boats are used as means of transportation.
No train has come in on the Central
Pacific for a week to-day. Telegraph
wires have been down all the week, so
particulars are meager. The supply of
meat in the town is short, but local
| butchers have sent to Puget Sound for Il
supply. Five hundred men are now en-
! ployed on the Canadian Pacific repairing
| the track. The Empress of India sails
| for China Monday and the mails and
/ passengers must be got through.
Word has Just been received that the
village of Harrison is completely inun-
dated Harrison Hot Springs is pleas
ure resort and boats are the only mode of
conveyance. The settlers are utterly
destitute. The loss cannot be estimated,
but will run into hundreds of thousands
| of dollars.
! TRAINS WATER BOUND.
TACOMA, May 30.-Passengers who left
| Spokane last Thursday night over the
| Great Northern arrived here to-day, after
making four transfers and Transporting
themselves eleven miles by hand car.
Northern Pacific mail line trains are run
ming irregularly on account OF WaShouts
in Idaho and Montana. A special made
up at Spokane will arrive early in the
morning. Tie branches to Seattle,
| Gray's Harbor and South Bend and the
| Portland line as far as the Columbia
River are all right.
THE SITUATION IN OREGON.
! PORTLAND, May 30.-AIl high-water
records were beaten here at l O'Clock this
afternoon when the river reached twenty
eight and nine-tenthS feet above the low
water mark. Reports from the upper
| Columbia are such that rise of at least
thirty feet above low water is expected.
The Union Pacific mails and passen-
gers due here Saturday have not yet ar
rived. The Northern Pacific is now open
from ST. Paul 10 kelso. At the latter
place the West-bound passenger train
was placed on the huge transfer boat Ia
coma, and the boat brought the train to
fifty miles.
The boat arrived here at P. NJ. and
| landed at Duniway's dock, on the west
side of the river, where the passengers
were landed. At O'Clock 1t left for
kelso, bearing the east bound train.
The Union Pacific cannot get west of
| Umatilla. A boat will run down from
the Snake River this evening, and to-
morrow passengers and mails will be
conveyed from u matilla by boat to Cello,
thence by rail to The Dalles, by boat from
| The Dalies to the Cascades, and over the
Portage road TO Bonneville, thence by
! boat to Portland.
The Union Power Company was COM
PEELED to close down during the after
noon, seriously crippling the street-car
| service.
From the lower Columbia intelligence
comes that operations have ceased at
nearly all of tha salmon canneries, and
! that fishing has been suspended, and
much damage is feared.
Among the farmers living along the
river bad state of affairs is reported. a
! great many houses and barns are afioat,
! nloored to the banks and their owners
are fearful that the swift current will
carry them away. Thus far no serious
| losses have occurred.
! The latest news from the upper Colum-
bia region is of favorable nature. At
Riparita the river has fallen a foot. At
| Umatilla there is rise of four inches,
while at The Dalles the water is at
standstill.
At least further rise of one foot is ex-
pected i'll this city.
A TOWN SWEPT AWAY.
SPOKANE, May 30.-Word reached here
to-day that the town OF Conconully,
Wash, was swept away by the flood.
| Every business house in town was de-
stroyed. Among the losers are II. Har-
ris, blacksmith; ID. Il. Wilson, merchan-
disc store; Y. Hunter d Co., general
merchandise; 4. w. Tullock, drugs; G.
Z. Haul, hardware store; L. Linder,
| livery stable; William Shutfeldt, barber
shop; h. NJ. Thompson, saloon, and all
the residences between the concentrator
and the town, distance of mile and
halt. Mrs. Almira Keith lost her life.
There is much suffering among the peo-
pie. as they saved nothing.
Conconully Is the chief town of the
Okanagon country. 1t has 700 people,
and the nearest railroad and telegraph
point is Coulee City, los miles distant
The flood was due to a rapid rise of
Salmon Creek, which runs through the
town. The disaster occurred last Sunday
morning. Saturday night the entire in
land empire experienced terrific light
ming and rainstorm. 1t is believed there
was cloudburst which almost swept
away the town.
The Spokane River rose an inch last
| night, but to-day has been at standsIill