The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-06-08
raE coNcoNuLLY rlooo.


ALMA. June 2--iSp<cial. l--As communs-
cation with Conconuliy Is sgain resumed.
iall accounts of the cloud burss of May 81
are handed in and continue 20 grow more
startling additional news 10 gathered
from isolated points. There 10 hardly any
thing ieft Of Conconuily. and . great pils
OF eoalders, logs and debris. piled up In
inexrrieaels confusion, marks the course
o; the main street Of the once beautiful
capital town of okanogan county. The
swollen Conconuiiy river 10 now around
and undermining the Elliot hotel and that
building. together with Herman's msr-
chaadise store. 10 about all that remains
standing.
Had the disaster occurred q few hours
earlier in the night the result would have
been appalling. for nothing could have
prevented great less Of life: a. is was
one lady was Killed and many narrow
escapes observed.
it seems that all Saturday night atsrrilia
thunder storm, accompanied with heavy
rains. prevailed In the mountains at the
headw aters OF the Salmon and the warm
rain falling on the deep SHOWS soon formed
in the canyon tremendous jam. which.
suddenly breaking loose. rushed upon the
doomed town below with increased mo-
mentum and with an Irresistible force that
was appalling in its magnitude. Grcas
pine and fir trees 2uo feet long. roots.
branches aud all. boulders weighing tons
and collections of drift OF former
years, forming rapidly moving
wall of destruction varying i'm
height from ten to fourteen feet,
all came tearing down the canyon like .
living monster. aud in its mad haste
sweeping all before IL like chat. Taylor's
and Hunters merchandise stores. together
with the bank and Hshne's hardware
store were the first to succumb. and these.
together with twenty other buildings OF
more or less importance, we're either
ground into kindiing wood or washed out
into Conconnuliy lake, which. although
quite broad and over three miies long.
was In . few minutes raised four feet.
Filling the lake ~ Il did, the water began
to iiti Its old channel and swept on. al
though with broken force, toward Ruby
City. six miles below. AZ this place
Rachtenberger's brewery, the new school,
house and several dwellings quickly gave
way 10 the destroying wates which has
tened TO complete Its work Of destruction
with the many farms which lie between
Ruby and Alma.
After doing much damage "a washing
out crops and fences the flood spent its
force upon plunging into the okAnogan.
Every bridge on the river has bssn carried
away and IL will take months before old
time communication can bs restored.
Conconnuliy especially feels this blow.
- 1t Was less than two PEARS ago whom q
destructive fire almost wiped tho town out
Of existence. Building the town up better
than ever soon aftsrward. the inhabitants
necessarily used up oil their means In ths
work of rebuilding, and IL will b very
hard now for the town to recuperats for
the second time In 30 short period.
Nearly all tho food supplies were washed
away by the waters. but outside contripu-
tions arc alleviating all suffering.
similkamsen and Okaaogsn Very High.
LooxIs. May 3I-TspeciaL Tho Simii-
kamsen and Okanogan rivers are higher
than ever known before, being seven feet
higher than the 1857 record. Nearly oil
the houses and fences ~ Palmer lake and
in the okanogan valley have gone out. md
the town Of orovilis IL completely sub
merged. There has bsen no mail In or out
of here for several days.