The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1899-07-19
7gEOUEER WATERS OF TEXAS
wuy HER PEOPLE SUFFERED so
TERRIBLY.
IN Single Minute Oceans of Water
Rush Upon Acres of Dry Land
and Destroy Everything.

The recent raging floods in Texas and
.ba consequent suffering of her people
make the following story of her waters
o,aar WAYS interesting. 1t is by cor
rosnondent of the New York Sun:
The most treacherous streams in the
United States are those of western Tex
as For the most part of the year,
and occasional y for period extending
over several years, these rivers and
creeks are merely dry beds. The older
inhabitants, who have profted by past
experiences, are acquainted with the
character of the streams, and know that
at any moment torrent of water may
rush down the dry bed and overflow it's
hanks. sweeping to destruction every
thing before it. 1t is for this reason
that one never sees Cow" and hunting
campS Gated near the creeks and rivers
of the section referred to. 1t is not only
wise policy to pitch camp on high
ground, but it has been proved that cat
tie and sheep should be kept out of the
low country when ON the trail. In
stances are known when herds of thOus-
ands of head of cattle have been swept
away by sudden food.
The recent high waters in the Nueces
and Hondo rivers and Los Moros creek
washed away many thousands of cattle,
horses and sheep. For several years no
water whatever has flowed in It's bed on
its upper course. The new settlers of
that locality looked upon it as dry ar
roya. What was the surprise of these
when they awoke to find in place of the
dry bed of the insignificant creek rag
ing river five to seven miles wide, its
witdb varying according to the character
of the country through which the stream
passed. The terrible food came down
upon the transporting people without
warning.
There are many dry beds west of here
which mark the course of former large
streams. 1t is related by old inhabitants
that during the period of about twenty
years from 1928 to 184S there were fire.
QGent and terrific rains in western Texas,
and that many of the little water courses
that are now forgotten were large rivers
then. In 1916 there arrived in San An
tonic from Germany young man named
G.. II. Guenther. He was miller by
trade, and soon after reaching this state
began to look about him tor suitable
place to establish a grlst mill. He went
to what is now Gillespie county, west of
here, where large colony of Germans
had located but few years before. On
his way to that colony he came upon
stream of large volume, and he picked
out mill site on it's bank and proceeded
to erect grist mill. He ran the mill for
three yeavs, when the waters of the
stream began to recede so rapidly that
the mill had to be closed down and fi>
nally abandoned. The ruins of that mill
stand today, and there are absolutely no
Indications that there was ever any wa
ter flowing in the bed of that dry arroyo.
1t has been dry for more than thirty
years.
Many lives have been lost along the
curse of the Nueces and Hondo rivers
in sudden floods even within the past
fifteen years. About nine years ago
party of Louisiana sportsmen went TO
western Texas with camping ouItlf
They located their camp on the left bank
Of the Nueces, not far from the town OF
Uyalde. There were six men in the par
ty, among them being T. L. Ressuer, a
wealthy sugar planter. The brst night
they were in camp mountain of water
rolled down the Neuces valley from the
hills above and swept everything before
it. All the men of the hunting party
were drowned, the Southern Pacific rail-
road bridge was washed out, and thous-
ands of dollars damage was done to
farm and ranch property.