Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1903-06-13
F.O. Kihlberg Discourses on the
Great Las Vegas Flood
of 1855.
PRESENT ECLIPSED
Rain Fell for Twenty-Seycn Sue
cessiyc Days and Flats Were
Mighty Lake.
DEVASTATION IN DAYS OF OLD

In these days of general rains and
floods, it will be Of interest to The
Optic readers TO hear "reminiscences
of the great flood of 1856 from one
of the oldest of the .old timers F.
o. Kihlberg was interviewed
yesterday by an Optic man:
Early in the morning OF rainy
day the first week in July, 1855, ! sad
died my cream-colored mare re-
member that mare we'll (she was a
good one), and went to Mora on a
hurried trip. No, we didn't drive much
in those days-poor roads and too
many Indians.
The next morning started back,
in spite of the rain, which was still
get home and off again to Santa Fe
ON some government business. Well,
| got along as far as the Sapello and
crossed the creek all right about
noon (you know that's the first rule
in camping always cross the creek.
we learned that crossing the plains)
| got across and rode up to an old
adobe house Francesca Baca's 1t
was-and he was sitting there in
front OF his house, which was leak
ing all over. He said the rain came
on when they were repairing the roof,
and when it began to rain he had
sent the rest of the family away.
knew there was no other shelter near,
and il was getting time for lunch. !
had little lunch in my saddle bags
and my bottle with me; but that
house looked discouraging for long
stop and | didn't reckon | could get
through in the rain, for it was com
ing down hard by that time SO |
thought I'd go back across ten
creek TO Sapellu, but net i
bit of it, The creek had riseu !,
it came up evidently just after got
across. and there was no getting back.
Well, | rode up TO look at that house
again--it was either stay there or
ride on eight miles to Los Alamos.
and didn't like the idea of that. |
asked francesca if he had anything
to eat Nothing to eat. II he had
any wood. No wood and no dry bed
ding. Well, | got off and thought I'd
make the best of it, The doors were
those old-fashioned Spanish, strap
hung sort. | suggested we take off
those doors and make sort of tent
dryest looking place. So we got to
work and took all six doors and fixed
us a pretty good sort of place with
a dry floor and got the dryest of the
bedding in out of the wet. | put the
mare in the kitchen-it wasn't drip
ping so bad there.
There was nothing to do then, but
sit there and smoke. After a while
when we got pretty cold and shivery
got out my bottle and we each took
a nip. and that warmed us up a lit
tie. Twas a good thing | had that
bottle along.
Toward evening ! ate my lunch and
we rolled up in our wet bedding the
best we could and went to sleep.
The next morning it was still rain
ing. ! waited TIL about O'Clock in
the afternoon; then thought I'd push
along. Francesca said I'd never get
across, but ! took the foot of the
erosion and skirted the hills all right
till ! got to the San Guijuela The
river looked pretty bad. and | knew
! couldn't Gross there rode down
about a mile looking for a wide place
till came to where she spread out
about 400 feet wide. saw some boys
in a cave on the other side and shout.
ed to them. They said ii was all right
except for getting out on the other
side chats where the channel was.
right up next the bank. ! took my
lariat and tied II around my mares
neck, then around the pommel of the
saddle and to her tail-that's another
trick we learned crossing the plains.
! could see that the trouble was not
going to be the getting in or getting
across. but the getting out on the
other side, where the current was