The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1903-09-03
Was a Regular Waterspout.

The heaviest rain ever known in this
part OF Iowa fell last Wednesday night
and continued a good share of the day
Thursday. From 6 O'clock Wednesday
evening until 6 o'clock Thursday MORN
ing the government gauge kept by
Millard +. Stookey registered g. inches,
and on Thursday inch. When it is re-
membered that an inch of rain is an
awful rain, the extent of this rainfall
can be imagined, and it is also we'll to.
remember that government guage will
not register as much as a tub. or bucket.
Thursday morning people found crooks,
buckets and even washtubs that were
empty the night before running over.
All the streams were out of bank, and
Grand River at Davis City was as high
as the great flood of 1885, which how
ever was caused by long series Of
rains.
All over southern Iowa the railroads
suffered severe washouts. Just south Of
the depot the GAINESVILLE line had wash
out OF 4S0 feet Of track, and another big
one down by Blockley. Between Leon
and Van Vert there were numerous
washouts, and the state fair excursion
train which was due here at 2 o'clock
Thursday morning, got as far as the
crossing on the cemetery road about Z
O'Clock, the passengers being compelled
| n
| big culvert was washed out SO that the
train could not cross. No attempt was
made to run the excursion train back to
Des Moines, as the heavy rains had
practically broken UP the state fair, and
passengers were leaving Des Moines on
every train. Thursday trains got down
from Des Moines as far as Van Vert,
but there were no trains west or south
on account of the washouts, and the re-
suit was that about 1900 passengers
were dumped off there and many Of
them had hard time getting anything
to eat. Teams were in great demand
and as high as $500 was paid for team
and carriage to drive to Leon.
Thursday morning No. Is, one of the
main line mail trains on the @. came
down through Leon, making an effort to
reach Council Bluffs by way of st. Joe,
and this was the last train from Chari-
ton until Saturday afternoon, as the
Charlton river between Derby and
Charlton was several feet over the
tracks. The st. Joe trains We're operat-
ed between that city and Humeston.
The main line of the Q was washed out
all along the west part of the state. AT
Woodburn two engines and seventeen
cars OF meat went into a washout which
blocked the track for several days and
at Corning train of q cars standing at
the depot was washed bodily from the
track and ditched
County bridge superintendent Leeper
and his force of road men are finishing
a big fill on the Leon and Decatur road
near the old Helsher place and the.
water on Little River west fork played
havoc with it, cutting it out quite bad
ly, but the boys say not as bad as they
expected. The county did not lose a
single bridge, but the approaches to
quite number were damaged by water.
1t was the greatest fall of rain ever
seen in this section of the county with
in the same length of time the water
even drowning English sparrows 118
being picked up in a.small space near
the light house. Cellars all over town
We're hooded, and there was over foot
OF water in the electric light plant, SO
that tn it was impossible to run the lights
Thursday night.