The Black range. (Robinson, Socorro County, N.M.) 1882-1897, 1894-08-24
HERMOSA.

have been accommodating from all parts
of the heavens, at last came together.
and descended upon IIermOsa with a
violence which has net been felt here
for years; the greater part of the
storm was above town and upon the
range. The hillsides which have been
denuded not only of their protecting
grass, but also of their shubbery, were
attacked in their d~efenseless state by
the torrents from the sky, and a NOV
ing, Shiny mud descended the noun
tain sides into the gulches below, where
collecting and gaining acquisitions In
its downward course, it carried all the
rottenness and pollution, which had
been accumulating since the last food
in the gulches, was mixed with the
dirt laden waters from the denuded
mountain slopes and rushed, Kissed
and tossed past town, composing a
seething mass of corruption and dis
ease breeding liquid which it would be
a mockery to call water. 1t deposited
its filthy mud as it progressed on its
course down the canyon, and thus by
contracting the cross section of the
river bed, raised its more liquid por-
ton to a height which has not been
known for years. RottOn logs, tree
trunks, bones, stable refuse, out houses
and even an immense rendering ket-
tie were borne down upon and within
its seething mixture. 1t dlled the first
crossing below town with boulders and
made the road between the bluffs at
this point almost If not quite as bad as
before any road or crossing was made
down the canyon. Just below Willow
creek and Antelope gulch added their
volumes TO the flood, The flood from An
telope gulch running over the fiat and
road between it and Willow creek and
depositing a quantity of mud upon
them. The first foot-bridge, below
town just aboye Ed. Young's house
was carried away and tossed up on the
north bank, where it is a wreck from
which little can be saved TO rebuild it.
The foot bridge of the Pelican Mining
company connecting its Office ana
boarding house with its mines Was
swept off from its foundations and its
longitudinal beams fractured. Just
below this bridge the river makes an
abrupt turn at least ninety degrees and
the accumulation of the dumps from
the Pelican Mining company's mines
have encroached upon its channel and
the flood attacked these distractions,
like an Infatuated lot of railroad man
ayers who wished to destroy anything
which impeded their course, tearing
down tons of the dumps and covering
the channel with the broken rock
which rolled along under the water
raised the bed of the river at least a
foot or more, The Embolite bridge
was the next to go, but being in two
sections, fastened at the bank abut-
ments with wire rope and resting upon
a central pier Of solid logs bolted to-
gether and fastened to bed rock with
drill stell, the bridge was not lost and
has been replaced. When the flood
reached the falls, where the channel
has been cut out of solid rock, the
channel being not more than twenty
feet in width, it leaped over the rocks
in a chocolate cOlored stream tossing
logs right and left and leaving them as
marks of its fury upon the combining
cliffs. On reaching South Fork it re-
.ceived little acquisition as the storm
had not ragged as fercelY on its gulches,
Then meeting the food from Dry Fork
it emptied itself upon the valley of the
Palomas depositing its debris and
leaving the marks of its toulness
everywhere. Several wells have been
contaminated by its influence and
though most of them were immedi-
ately cleaned out, yet. if care Is moi
taken and a r%ecleanng made, Oh the
water boiled for drinking purposes
which comes from them, fevers Of
more or less dangerous character may
result.
The populists have organized and q
club formed which comprises in its
membership at least a third of the
voters Of Hermosa. They do not seem