Arizona republican., 1896-07-17
Greatest Damage to the
 Railroads.
Heaviest Rainfall Known for
 Years. s
Several Thousand Dollars Damage Done Mercantile Stocks by
 Leaky Roofs.

The storm of Wednesday night was to Phoenix the heaviest that has been known since the late summer of S7. i The country well received. the flood, | however, and the thirsty earth drank | up the moisture of which it had so long been deprived. The streets be- came mud puddles, which now are drying and the dust of the roads was most satisfactorily settled. To the east of the city the fall was lighter, l Tempe having but slight fall, though | the slopes of the Salt River valley 1 mountains near Kyrene, always a damp corner of the valley, experienced something like a cloudburst.
 The greatest degree of damage re- ported was to the railroads. AS soon as the rain started "Wednesday night a close watch was commenced on all bits of dangerous track The Mari copa & Phoenix train pulled out of Phoenix on time, 8 p. m., but was turned back at Tempe with the infor- nation that the roadbed along by Ky rene had been so washed as to be un- safe. So the train brought passen- gers and mails back to Phoenix, re- turning about d. Yesterday morning another start was made at 6, force of workmen and ample material being taken along and Maricopa was reached during the afternoon, the track being safely repaired at all weak places. The return was made in all celerity, the Pacific mail being brought in at 5, just nine hours late. No further damage or trouble is anticipated.
 On the Santa Fe, Prescott & Phoe- nix damage was also done The train that should have left yesterday morn ing and that should have arrived yes terday morning both were cancelled, special running in shortly after 6, bringing the ibelated passengers and the eastern and the northern Arizona mails. The trouble lay mainly at New River crossing, sixteen miles northeast of Phoenix, where that turbulent and cratic stream is passed by means of single-span truss bridge. Wednes- day night the river bed, usually desti- ute of water, was the recipient of the volume of cloudburst and was filled to more than its meager banks. The bridge was keeled over by the flood and
 
 washed away. There had also been small washout at Martinez, above Congress, but the regular southbound train that left Ash Fork yesterday morning came through nearly on time At New River passengers, express and mails were crossed to a swing train that had been run out from Phoenix, arriving in Phoenix only about three hours late, though the mails were those that should have come, had it not have been for the weather, in the morning at 6.
 The same arrangement of transfer will obtain for day or two, though there is no telling what Engineer Drake of the Santa Fe may do in the line of quick repair. When the Agua F'ria bridge was damned up by the flood of last year it was he who fixed roaders had insisted would take month.
 There were washouts Wednesday on the Atlantic & Pacific both east and west of Ash Fork, but all is under stood to have been patched up so as to permit of the usual regularity in the | running of trains.
 Locally, the rain found a number unprepared for it's coming.
 1 The heaviest losers from the rain were the Alkire brothers. The water came from the roof of the Bank build ing and was caused by curious over sight. Some one who had been sleap- ing on the roof had for some purpose stuffed rags into the drain pipes and had left them there. The water had no escape, rising till it had passed the height of the timing on the cornices and then pouring over and through the iron roofing into the offices of Judge J. H. Kibbey. Here much damage was done to furniture and books, though the judge busted himself about all night in trying to stem the flood He saw the course of much of the water and sent hack for Frank and George Alkire. They arrived about midnight and did all that could be done to save their great and com pactly arranged stock, over which the water was dripping from every joint oi the iron ceiling. What the damage will be no man can as yet tell, but il will probably exceed $500. A di- vision of the stock is now progressing The main loss will fall upon dress goods and domestics, though not g small number of straw hats caught the drip.
 Cohn's cigar store suffered the loss of portion of it's ceiling, causing some damage to cigars from moisture and the breaking of a showcase or two
 The Pratt and Hickey building or West Washington street had not beer provided with proper skylights as ye