Griggs courier. (Cooperstown, Griggs Co., Dak. [N.D.]) 1885-1902, 1900-05-31

above - crrakii.s aAu sEea1ins. of
~ swaying timbers q the dwelling
5Labove The moaning ST the bhst..,he
! FLASHING of the rain and the gufgling,
rushing. surging mulmurS Of the
angry Hood | sprung from my bed,
. threw on d part OF my clothing. hnr-
ried to the stairs and commenced de-
saei,ding them rapidly.
When little more than half way
down. ] found. TO my dismay and hor
ror. tlrat my feet were buried in wa
ter, and ] knew that the parties be-
low must be struggling to keep them
selves from drowning. Laboring as
knew they must be under the most
intense and terrible excitement. they
might naturally want the presence of
mind which would enable them to
escape immediate destruction by gain
ing the second story; and shouting
to them that help was at hand, L
plunged boldly downward into some
four feet depth of water, and went
knocking about in the deep darkness
among the different articles of furni-
'ure. but struggling forward to the
point whence came the continued
shrieks of fear and Distress
The flood was still rising rapidly;
it appeared to me that / could feel it
gaining upon us every moment; the
grooming and trembling house seemed
about to be borne away. or come
crumblng down around us; and
felt, if there were indeed any saliva
ton for us, our lives depended upon
the action of the momentous seconds
which We're SO rapidly bearing us to
the verge of eternity.
Happily l soon reached the widow
and her daughter. whom found
clasped in each others arms. nearly
beside themselves with terror. but in
stinctively keeping their heads above
the water; and speaking to them
some soothing words OF hope which
little felt myself, l dragged them
forward, found the stairs and assist
ed them to the story above.
by this time poor Julia Arlington
had tainted: but the mother. with Il
slight revival of hope. seemed to re-
gain her presence OF mind: and as we
both bent over her daughter. chatting
her limbs. and dashing water in her
face, till she began to show signs OF
returning consciousness. she said to
me. with the deep feeling of a fond
and grateful parent:
MAY the Lord Almighty bless YOU
for this. You must have been prov-
Centrally sent to our rescue: for,
without your aid. | am certain we
should have been drowned below
"'Alas.' said !, somewhat gloomilv,
as the rising waters seemed to roar
around us even more fearfully than
ever. we are not yet saved. we are
not yet saved. and the good God alone
knows what fate is in reserve for us.
"'God help us. exclaimed the re-
stored Julia. Il few minutes later. as
she stood trembling and clinging to
her mother and myself and endcavor-
ing to peer around her in the awful
darkness; Il fear we shall yet be
swept away by this terrible flood
~ have my fears. too.' | replied;
but will rely upon Gods mercy,
and hope to the last.
almost as Il spoke there came a
louder creaking and grooming then
II crashing as of some breaking tim
bers-,hen Il rocking to and fro. like
a boat upon the waves-and then a
seeming whirling and plunging down
ward and forward
God help us now. indeed.' ex-
claimed; for we are already af1oa1-
already i'll the grasp of the angry
flood. and should be prepared for the
worst. as becometh those who put
their hope and trust in a Higher
Power and a better world.
II need not dwell upon that never.
to-be forgotten night ! could not. il
would. describe our feelings of al
ternate lrope and despair; our un.
speakable anNieties rs we went whirl.
ing down with the rushing tide-rocl1.
ing. rolling. plunging through The
seething. bnbhlng waters; now strill.
ing some rock or tree with almost
force enough to crush our frail tene-
ment; now checked i'll our progress
till some feeling of hope would revive;
now torn from our moorings and sent
forward again "A frail bubble upon he
bosom Of a maddened flood. till de.
spair would awe us 10 silence in view
of the impending death.
''.All that dark aud awful night was
passed in IL manner which. if YOU cam
not imagine. | have no language to de
scribe
"Reaching. at daylight. long
broad level we float ed out Of the main
current, and made a Judgment upon
rising ground. as Noah'S ark might
have rested upon the summit OF
Mount -Ararat.
Here we remained through the
day. in painful anNiety--wa tching the
timbers. drift-wood and wrecks OF
buildings which Went floating past us
and hnmbly thanking God for our
own wonderful preservation. Before
noon the storm had begun to abate:
and we saw the sun of that day set
gloriously in he west. with the water
subsiding around us.
I'VE passed another night beneath
the same roof. hu- on the second 6av