The Red Cloud chief., 1902-07-18
PEOPLE DRIVEN FROM THEIR HOMES
Blue Rises and Beatrice in the
Dark.
WHEAT IN SHOCK IS tAnRlfD AWAY


The highest water aver seen in Lin
coin covered the lowlands in the west
part OF town Wednesday night, sub
merging railroad tracks. filling base
ments and the lower floors of those
houses that are situated in low places.
and creeping up at some points higher
than residents of a quarter of a CEN
fury had ever seen il before. BY Z
o'clock the people living in the low
lands and the salt flats west of town
had begun a wild scramble to get away
before they were completely cut off
from the mainland. At night the
court house and the Park school house
were turned into emergency quarters
for those who were rendered homeless
by the flood. The basement of the
Richards block was also thrown open
10 the sufferers. At q o'clock the
water was falling at Saltillo. but at
midnight was still rising at Lincoln.
The water extended clear from
Eighth and N streets, which was the
highest point reached. across the low
lands to the high land on the west
shore Of the valley. On ID street the
water reached as far as Sixth, which is
almost a block farther than it ex-
tended during the food of 1892. Resi-
dents In that vicinity say they have
never seen the water as high as it was
last night. Train service from and to
the west on the Burlington and Union
Pacific was completely suspended
owing to submerged tracks.
The cause of the food was a heavy
fall OF rain on the branches of Salt
creek south of Lincoln. At some
points II approached a c%loudburst. The
first news Of the coming Of the torrent
was received from Saltillo about 9
o'clock In the afternoon. The water
was rising several feet an hour.
The police early organized them
selves into life-saying crews and
worked until a late hour rescuing the
people from their homes in boats and
on RATS. Chief of Police Hoagland
gave the alarm early in the afternoon.
but was laughed at. The rise came
so gradually at first that it was hardly
noticed.
The water at Lincoln began rising
about 2 o'clock and in less thar an
hour 1t was six inches higher than the
high mark of the forenoon. The steady
progress of the water was sufficient to
alarm the more prudent and a gem
eral exodus was begun from the lower
territory. People commenced calling
on the police for wagons to help their
families out of their homes.
News from Saltlllo, eight miles
south of Lincoln indicates that the
damage from the food was widespread
In the valley, The water began rising
rapidly about | o'clock and in a half
hour had risen four feet. BY the mid
die of the afternoon 1t stood close to
fifteen feet higher than the banks of
the creek. Later I'm the evening the
water stood two feet and a half feet
deep in some Of the dwellings. The
damage to crops could not he deter
mined last night, but many fields were
completely ruined. One field of thirty
five acres was swept entirely destitute
of the wheat which was in the shock.
Just north Of this was another field of
twenty-five acres. This was also
swept clean of grain. II is not thought
that any grain which is in the path of
the food can be saved, No loss of
stock has been reported. A number
OF cattle were seen in the water float
Ing with the current. II is not known
whether they were drowned or not.
About 6 o'clock the water mt Saltillo
began to fall and by 9 o'clock had sub
sided a foot or two.
The heaviest rain for a decade fell
at Hickman. II poured all night and
by 5 o'clock yesterday morning the
water In Salt creek valley was higher
than II has been for twenty years
The cellars in all the business houses
were flooded, doing great damage tc
merchandise such as oils, vinegar ant
other wet goods. Farmers having
crops on the bottom lands will suffer
considerable loss.
The railroad men of Lincoln hac
all the trouble they wanted with tn,
high water, The Rock Island road a
G o'clock had its last train in from
Omaha and got ii out for the west b!
, great good fortune over the Burling
/, ton.
The Burlington northern division
had no trouble handling all trains tina
reached here up to Z o'clock last even
; Ing when the rising water submerge,
! all tracks leading north, west an,
, south out OF the city. No. 3, the ever
! ing passenger for the west, wa
| pushed through Just in time to avoi
{ a sudden rise of water that closed tn
! track.
g.