Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-07-07
WHAT 4 CLOUD BURST IS.


No Such Thing a. Burstfn& Cloud.
simply Heavy Rain.
az. G. Knowles, In Ainsleess Magazinel
The most destructive form OF noun
tain storm is the so-called cloudburst,
when the ripping brook Suddenly be-
comes roaring river, carrying death
and destruction in its path. The noise
made by cloudburst has no parallel.
Above the rumble and roar of mass
of rushing water is heard grinding,
groaning sound of falling trees, OF
slipping earth and rolling boulders,
while the banks of the stream far above
the danger line tremble as If in an
earthquake. The senses are numbed
by the awful cataclysm, and it seems
TO the spectator, although he is on the
high banks and out of actual danger,
as if the very foundations of the earth
had burst and Judgment Day was
come. The food losses about mighty
trees and rocks as if they were straws,
the banks of the stream seem to dis
solve before his eyes, and feeling of
awe at the irresistible power OF nature
steals over the observer. Once wit
messed, cloudburst is never forgotten.
In point OF fact, however, there is
no such thing as the bursting of a
cloud. The term 'cloudburst' is a con-
venient expression by which the result
of very heavy rain is designated.
Nearly all the surface of the earth
in the mountain region is made up
either of rocks or adobe soil The
latter, in most cases, has never been
broken to cultivation, and is almost
impervious TO a sudden heavy down
pour of rain. The consequence is that
the mountains are cut up with aroyos,
gullies and water courses, and in the
course of unnumbered ages into mighty
canyons which astound the tourist. In
an unusually heavy rainfall, the great
mass OF water spread over large area,
| instead of sinking into the ground is
quickly accumulated in the beds of the
streams, which rise many feet in
short time. When this accumulation
is rapid enough, and the lay OF the
land is just right, the water rushes
down the bed or the stream in solid
wall, and is called a cloudburst. The
same precipitation in an open country
or in one in which the soil has been
broken up by cultivation, would be
called heavy rainfall, and would do
no damage unless continued long
enough for the streams to rise out OF
their banks and food the country.
"One of the most destructive storms
of this nature, so far as its manifold
consequences are concerned, took place
in the spring of 1864, when cloud
burst occurred at the headwaters of
Cherry Creek. This Is a small stream,
dry most of the year, but notorious
for its eccentricities. 1t flows through
Denver and empties into the Platte
river, within the confines of the city.
Just at nightfall the water swept down
this creek in a wall said to have been
ten feet in height, carrying everything
before it. Many people were drowned,
and many buildings were washed
away. All night long the creek flowed
bankful of water that was thick with
wreckage. People were rescued dur
ing the night on RATS and improvised
boats. The most serious loss was the
City Hall, which was swept away by
the water, together with all the records
on file there. These records included
not only those of the State and city,
but also the United States land filings.
The food was followed by an era of
land jumping, and a good many OF the
present fortunes in Denver date from
that event. The safe of the City Hall
was never found, although some relics
of the flood, including portion OF the
press of the Rocky Mountain News, are
now in the rooms of the StV,e Histor-
ical Society"