The San Francisco call., 1904-03-25
FLOOD WATERS
DESTROY CROPS
Damage to the Asparagus
Fields on Bouldin Island
Will Amount to $50O,OO0
HOUSES SWEPT AWAY
LandslideS and Heavy Fall
of Snow in Northern Part
of State Impede Traffic

STOCKTON. March 24.-With the ex-
ception of some small reclaimed tracts
Just north Of the Calaveras River there
is not a reclamation unfiooded on the
east side Of the San Joaquin River
north of Stockton. Bouldin Island is
entirely inundated. The leyee on the
south fork of the MokelUmne River
broke early yesterday morning, but the
dredgers, piledrivers and steamers sue
ceeded in stopping that break and de-
LAYING the flooding for the time being,
but floCd waters from the Sacramento
continued to pour through from De
hind and the San Joaquin River kept
steadily rising The two streams met
near the junction of the south fork
of the Mokelumne and the San Joa-
( auin rivers and banked the water up
until al o'clock last evening the flood
swept over the tor OF the ieVee near
Central Landing on, Bouldin island,
and within an hour the entire island
was flooded To be exact. the break
on Bouldin Island occurred just in front
of the Zallos House II quickly W1dened
TO fifty feet and the torrent swept
Chinatown away as though the build
+ ings had been chips. The break is on
the south end of the island.
Bouldin Island was the largest as
paragus tract in the world About 1000
acres of the island was one unbroken
field OF asparagus and ii was estimated
that this years crop alone would have
amounted to more than $500 600. The
island had been reclaimed for twenty
years and had never before been flood
ed 1t takes three years to get aspara-
I gus yielding. Consequently it Will be
four years now before that immense
industry can be brought to anything
I like it was before the food.
TRUCKEE. March 24.-The month OF
March has been almost a continual
storm in this vicinity. During the last
few days more than two feet OF snow
has fallen in Truckee. At Summit %
feet of snow is reported and many
slides are expected. Railway traffic is
+ seriously impeded. Another slide oc-
Cured at Cisco early this morning after
. the blockade OF yesterday had been
raised The track has been cleared.
I AT Lake Tahoe the storm is too fierce
for the work on the dam to proceed.
The danger that was threatened last
week is believed to have passed. Two
days more viii complete the repairs.
The water is within two inches of the
TOD. the highest since the dam was
built.
WILLIS, March 24.-This place ex-
perienced a hard snowstorm to-day.
1t has rained here for the past fifty
two days. The rainfall for the season
is 77S7 inches. During a snowballing
contest here to-day Peter Nelson drew
a revolver and shot at a railroad man
named Scanlon. The bullet grazed
Scanlon.
BAKERSFIELD. March 24.-There
! were several heavy showers during the
day and il is raining tonight. The
hills are covered with good feed and
crops will be large. Twenty-eight
hundredths of an inch fell in the last
storm bringing the seasonal rainfall
to about 3.41 inches.
HOLLISTER, March 24-There has
been an inch of rain here during the
last twenty-four hours. which with
the showers usual in the spring makes
good crops a certainty.
GRASS VALLEY, March 24.-The
/ heaviest snowstorm in years for this
. time of the year visited this city this
I morning. AS much snow fell during
the day as came down all winter.