The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-01-06
COAST ROADS TIED UP BY HIGH
WATER.
SLIDES BURY, THE TRACKS
Rivers Out Of Their Banks and Peo.
pie Flee from Home to Places
of Safety.

Seattle, Jan. 4.-The Great North
ern coast line and the Northern Pa
cific's line to Sumas are the only
lines of railroad running out of Seat
tie which are open. For three hours
even these lines were blocked by
slides.
Floods have interrupted the train
service on the west side of the noun.
tains and slides in the mountains have
added to the trouble. In addition
there have been numerous small
slides occurring on the west side
lines.
this city and Tacoma was open for
part of the day, slides occurring
last night having been cleared, but at
o'clock tonight all trains were can
celed and notice was given that fur
ther communication with Tacoma was
impossible for an indefinite period.
Tonight the Northern Pacific cancel
ed it's Portland train and this morn
ing the Columbia & Puget Sound was
unable to send out any train owing to
food damage at Renton. The Cana
dian Pacific has been able to send
trains eastward, but both the North
ern Pacific and Great Northern are
blocked.
The Great Northern will be COM
PEELED to arch it's bridge at Madison
and this delays reopening the over
land line for an indefinite period. 1t
is probable now that the first COM
munication with the east. will be made
by Great Northern and Northern Pa
.cific trains by way of Portland,
though reports that the Oregon Rail
road and Navigation roadbed is soft
indicates flood troubles that may
make this impossible.
At O'Clock tonight the climax in
the railroad flood situation was reach
ed when the White and Stuck rivers
ir King and Pierce counties went out
of their banks, burying the Interurban
and Northern Pacific tracks between
Seattle and Tacoma several feet un-
der water, flooding the valley between
Auburn and Kent and driving many
of the residents all trough the White
river valley out of their homes.
Train service between Seattle and
Tacoma has been abandoned and at
midnight it was stated there was no
telling when it would be re-establish-
ed. Parts of the Interurban track
near Kent are under three feet OF
water and there are several wash
outs, the extent of which are no.
known. All the wires to Kent are
down and the telephone system is
working imperfectly. The, Meeker
hop yards near Kent are under eight
feet of water, the old operators sta
ton is flooded and the new depot is
The waters are run
ming at a mad gait all over the val
ley, carrying away logs and posts
many miles from where they were
resting when the water struck them.
The Northern Pacific advices re-
ceived at 10 o'clock tonight from Au-
burn are to the effect that there were
several bad washouts in the vicinity
Of Auburn and that the big bridge
between Auburn and Tacoma was tot
tering and ready to go out at any
time.
From Z o'clock to the time the dis
patch was sent force of men was en-
gagged weighing it down with rock,
but it seemed evident that the men
would not be able to combat the force
of the rushing waters and that the
bridge must go. This was the last
dispatch received up to midnight.
The streets in the towns of Kent,
Auburn, Darlington and
others in that vicinity were flooded
and there is no telling how great the
damage to property will be, but it is
said that it will be very heavy
Tacoma Report.
Tacoma, WASH, Jan. 4.-Shortly be-
tore midnight last night slides were
from various minis along