The Anaconda standard., 1899-12-17
1T WAS A HARD FIGHT.
Incidents of the High Water Season
That Excited Hamilton.

Hamilton, Dec 16-One of the Incl
denis in the history of Hamilton that
will never be forgotten is the experience
that the town had with high water dur
ing the summer of the present year. The
Bitter Root valley shared last spring
and summer the experience of Western
Montana and for weeks the swollen
river played mad pranks with high
ways. dams and bridges and all at
tempts to check it's inrOads We're fruit
less, save that at the Hamilton mills
the big dam was prevented from going
out entirely, though it was badly dam
aged
The railway company suffered with
the rest of the valley. e-half of the
long bridge that crosses the Bitter Root
river below this town was swept away
and later the temporary structure that
had been put across went out. County
bridges We're ruined or damaged the
entire length of the river. Some We're
entirely washed out and others only
partially destroyed. Miles of county
roads We're washed away Up on the
East fork of the Bitter Root the river
took the county road for new channel
and left it's former course a bare bank
of gravel.
But the feature of all this struggle
against flood and rain that will never
be forgotten here is the memorable bat
tie that was fought here at Hamilton
by Superintendent Totman and his men
to save the dam at the sawmills. Be
hind this dam We're millions of feet of
logs and before it We're miles of beauti-
| full valley threatened with ruin if the
| dam should break and let loose the i'm
| mense volume of water behind it,
| Every f1oodgate was opened wide.
| Over the tops of the gates and out
| through the spillway the water poured.
| a seething. foaming mass, with roar
that could be heard far from the river.
| Still the water gained. Inch by inch it
| crept around the ends of the dam.
| Slowly it rose backed up by the banks
of earth-filled sacks. rocks and logs that
We're raised to stay it. until 1t stood two
| feet or more in the boiler room of the
sawmill. Then the rise ceased and the
dam held its own.
| The wearied men who had worked
like giants, day and night. draw a
| breath of relief. 1t looked as if the
fight had been won But the battle was
not yet ended. With the stay in the
rise of the flood came the news that
the dam was giving way portion of
the ap"on had been torn away and the
| water was finding its way under tie
| dam. Then the heroic struggle VAS re-
| neWed. The battlefield does not develop
greater heroism than was shown by
the brave lumbermen who took part
in that fight. They risked :heir lives
scores of times. Standing on slippery
logs which afforded at best a rrecasi-
Gus foothold. they We're in positions
where a slight misstep or error in iudg-
ment meant instant death.
Fortunately, no lives were lost. Twice
or three times the total destruction tf
the dam seemed inevitable and Word
was sent down the valley for the ini,aE-
itants to be on guard, but each TINE
the rise in the water ceased beehre tie
critical mark had been passed. And, at
length, after a week of exposure and tx-
ertion the weared watchers and figh--
ers were gladdened by the cessation:
of the warm rain that had caused ;he
havoc The water began to recede. The
logs in the pond were safe and the
country below had escaped. Then 'he
men sought the rest that they had s;
we'll earned.
The dam was practically ruined. how.
ever. 1t was so patched and anchored
! that it held through the summer, but il
. will have to be entirely rebuilt before
another highWater season. A larS,
force of men will be at work on the
| new dam all winter. The experience O
: last summer revealed the weak polnt
in the old structure and this viii II
taken advantage of in the construction
, | of the new dam.