Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-09-02
CAUGHT IN A TIDAL WAVE.
Half n Dozen Americans Killed in IT,
Awful Sweep.

Awful Sweep.
From the Philadelphia Times
The famous tidal wave of the Turnagain
| arm at the upper end of Cooks inlet has
! again caught and claimed the lives of half
\ a dozen intrepid Americans in Alaska
News reaches here that a party of six, in
| Guiding Charles and Louis Peterson of Chi
cago Walter Hutchinson and Christian
| Madison of Rockford, ILL.,, A. B. johnson Of
Malone, N Y, and A. r. Porter of San
Francisco, have been drowned in the great
slough, overtaken by the thrush of the tidal
waters. Hundreds have yielded up their
lives before and others doubtless will as
long as men persist in Drawing the known
danger.
The tide in this estuary rises in ordinary
times forty feet; under peculiar conditions,
which nevertheless frequently occur, it will
attain siXty-five feet above low water. In
few parts Of the world is there such rise.
! This of itself would be a disturbance for
mfdable to contemplate by one navigating
the waters but this is accentuated by the
fact that, owing to the conformation of the
shore at the bend, where the inlet ends and
| the arm begins the water banks up there
| on flood tide without entering the arm.
For hours the tide has been rising in the
main estuary without affecting the branch.
During this period the arm will be great
slough mostly of brown mud, about five
miles from bank to bank, the water in it
narrowed to small, long splotch in the
center. Suddenly there will be heard a
noise, scurrying, securing sound, coming
from the direction OF the inlet. This will
increase to a roar which speedily becomes
deafening. At the same time there APP
pears in sight, in the vicinity Of the sound,
a great wall of water, which may be, as
the eye judges, thirty feet in height. It's
crest is white with foam, and 1t boils and
tumbes in a hurried progress toward the
arm.
The impression one derives from behold
ing 1t is that something combining the water
has broken away: that some natural dam
somewhere has yielded to pressure and per-
mitted it's contents to suddenly expel them
selves and inundate that country. The
vast mass Of the waters pour on, plunge
on, stirring up the mud until when it gets
| to about the middle of the distance from
| end to end the wall has turned nearly
black On its back 1t bears infinite drift
| wood and floating debris. which toss and
| tumble, dive, disappear and rebound until
| one upon the shore feels that any vessel
| of whatever size caught In such a surge
| would. If not become foundered by it, at
| least be beaten to pieces by the projectiles
which it bears.
| In a few minutes while one stands and
| gazes at this most grand, wonderful and
| awful scene, the bare fat bed has disap-
| peared, and there Is before him a tossing
| turbulent sea, high up to the forest line on
| the mountains which before seemed many
1
pitching of the waters continues for an
| hour more until the tide Stacks and the
| waters themselves must turn again." and
| move out once more into the inlet, to abide
| there six hours or so ere they repeat this
| extraordinary performance.
| The water comes in at a speed of about
| nine miles an hour. One far up toward the
head Of the arm, digging mollusks in the
mud Of the bed out at the edge of the water
| which remains in the gulch would not.
upon catching sight Of the tide bank, have
Ioo~- - ~
| overwhelmed by the wall of the water, for
the tide comes in from shore to shore flank
ing him and not behind him, and it would
strike him sidewise before he could reach
i a place of safety. There are those who
| have lost their lives In this manner and
among the victims not a few have been In
dams, for the clans are large and juicy.
being more developed the farther they are
| from shore. and one getting them Is tempt
ed to pursue them beyond the danger line
and so become entrapped by this watery
]