The San Francisco call., 1901-12-28
SEA WRECKS
HOMES AND
CANNERIES
HOwIing Gale LaSheS
Cuffs Waters
Into Fury.
N arrow Escapes of Men
and Women From
Terrible Deaths.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

VANCOUVER, B. c., Dec. H.-Disastcr
by flood, the most extensive on the lower
mainland since the Fraser overwashed
it's banks in 1894, to-day followed the
storm of Wednesday night. The can
neries and buildings and farms at the
mouth of the north arm Of the Fraser
River are the greatest sufferers and tho
damage will aggregate nearly s1,OOO,OOo
High tides and freshets from heavy
rains combined to cause the trouble.
Lulu Island and Sea Island. containing
the town of steveston and the village OF
Eburne. with 10000 acres Of highly culti-
waited farms, were buried to-day under
four feet of water. Three canneries were
destroyed. many others damaged and
miles of dykes were swept out
Out in the muddy waters Of the gulf
there are thousands Of dollars worth of
salmon cases floating around, tossed idly
to and fro by the waves that still keep
green the memory of the storm Of the
day before. At the north arm Of the
Fraser the river all day yesterday and
again this morning was the widest ever
seen By the oldest residents Of that vicin-
ity. All along there are piles Of wreck
age.
Big Canneries Are Lost.
The Alliance cannery, the North Arm
cannery and the Labrador cannery at or
near Terra Nova were wholly destroyed
The canneries mentioned were wrecked
by being battered with trees and by the
high tide which aided in moving them
from their foundations. Portions of the
salmon pack were still in the buildings,
left o~er from the fishing season. Some
of the canned salmon is piled up over in
the fields where there is from two TO
four feet of water. while many cases
have foated out to sea and are being
washed by the waters Of the gulf.
The most exciting scenes occurred in
the demoIfshing of Japanese boarding
houses standing on piling near the can
reries. Many of the Japanese would have
been caught like rats in a trap had they
not been assisted out by the white peo-
pie in the neighborhood and by other can
merry employees. One Japanese boarding
house containing nine men hoated away
and for some time it was impossible to
reach the occupants, but finally two boats
were manned by volunteers, who realized
perfectly that they were taking their lives
i
these fishermen. The latter we're taken
off the roof of the floating house and
brought to shore. or rather to the place
where the shore used to be-
Logs Storm Buildings.
The Labrador cannery was the first to
be wrecked. Logs four feet thick which
| dashed against the building were also
carried inside the dyke and leveled the
embankment on the way. Nearly all the
cannery boats were smashed and put out
where dry land will appear when the tide
goes oUt again.
The Alliance and North Arm canneries
had not a possible chance to survive the
| storm and were quickly demolished. At
| the Vancouver cannery, near by, ninety
fishing boats, valued at 500 each, were
washed up in a field half a mile away
| from the river and practically battered
to pieces. One case of salmon was thrown
twenty feet along dyke, where the next
wave caught it and flung 1t fifty feet
higher into a tree, where it still rests.
/ At the Richmond eannery the engine
house and smaller buildings were
wrecked Here, as we'll as in other can
| neries. the water came in over the can
/ :ery floor and damaged the pack.
The town Of Steveston was still under
water to-day. Along the north arm and
/ around the island to Steveston. distance
( totaling thirty miles. there is not a hun
/ dred yards of continuous dyke remain
/ ing. Farmers moved their families into
the second stories of houses and went TO
barns in boats. Loss to small stock will
be large.
Watchman Bravely Escapes.
On the Steveston side the Cleeve an
ming Company's fishing station. with
buildings and scows at the sand heads,
were carried away and not a single pile
of the. wharves is left standing Some
of the smaller buildings of the Albion
cannery were also carried away. The
watchman thought that the entire can
merry was going out and he hoisted Sig
nails Of distress. These attracted atten-
tlon from steveston and the watchman
was brought of.
The ship Greta was loading salmon
! Continued on Page Two.