The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-12-29
RIVER FLOOD.
HAS CAUSED THoUsANDs or DOL
LARS OF DAMAGE.
Two County Bridges washed Away,
Farms submerged and Injured,
MIL Plants Injured and Other
Damage-River In New Channels.

Special Dispatch to the Post-Intellisencer
WHATCOM. Dec. 2.-The Nooksack
river has subsidized and is again within Its
banks. after the worst overflow In twelve
years. The extent OF the damage Is nard
to estimate In dollars, as river banks have
been cut away. farming land encroached
upon. roads and bridges washed out and
fields overfiowed.
The damage to the county bridges has
been considerable. Two large ones were
carried away, as already stated in dis
patches to the Observation-Disclosures not rye
as reported In an evening paper. The two
bridges gone are the county wagon bridge
at Everson. and the Bellingham Bay q
British Columbia railroad bridge at the
same place. The bridges at Lynden, Nu-
gentle Ferry and Saxon. which were re-
ported in danger. are still standing. Tho
first named is damaged but slightly.
The crib protection of the middle pier
Of the Nugent bridge is washed away. and
new crib protection and one approach will
have to be put in at the Saxon bridge.
County Commissioner A. l.. Kline reported
that the seven other large county bridges
escaped without any damage, but that sew
eral small ones on tributary streams were
partially destroyed.
The county Is confronted by a serious
problem at Everson. The bridge there was
built In 1893. and has been washed out
three times by the turbulent river. The
stream now threatens to adopt new
channel and leave high and dry what 10
still standing Of the bridge. The rail-
road and the county will probably CO.
operate and spend several thousand dol
lars in building jetties for the protection
Of the bridges.
The railroad company has two pile driv-
ers at work, and will have trains running
over the bridge at Everson on Saturday.
Passengers are now transferred in row.
boats.
Between Lynden and Everson, dis
lance of six miles, the river has done
more damage this year than in many pre-
ceding ones put together. Last spring the
farmers along the river made perpetual
conveyance to the county Of forty feet
along the river bank for road purposes
between the two towns This road Is al
ready nearly all washed out. and the
farmers must move their levees back an
other forty feet.
AS an Illustration OF the damage the
river Is doing to farms in that locality the
history of the Hawley place is cited. 1t
was once one of the finest farms IN the
country, and an offer OF $4,000 was re-
fused few years ago for 1t. Since then
the river has taken over half the best part
and the remainder was recently sold for
$500. The river IL still eating away at the
farm. and will apparently take the rest
of 1t.
from the flood is slight The high water Is
there made worse by the immense log jam,
which is over mile in length. The river
has done irreparable damage to the
Lummi Indian reservation, having washed
out the roads and deluged farms. The
Indians have had to move their school
house. and are preparing to tear down
their church with the same purpose in
view.
Extreme high water at the reservation
does little more damage, however, than
a moderately sized freshet. as the log
Jam acts as a dam and caused the en-
tire country to be flooded and the river
to cut new channels through the fertile
reservation land in either event.
The Indians have prepared a petition ad-
dressed to the United States commissioner
of indian affairs, asking the government
to remove the jam which Is causing the
ruin of their reservation. There are be-
tween 800 and 400 Indians on the Lummi
reservation, and much of their land Is not
excelled for richness and fertility by
any in the United States. =.
The total damage from the HOOD Will
reach thousands Of dollars, but no man
can make an accurate estimate OF the
amount owing to the diversity OF the IN
terests affected.