The Greeley tribune., 1904-05-26
GREAT FLOOD
WORST EVER KNOWN IN THE
POUDRE VALLEY.
River Mile Wide Tears through
Fertile Farms, Leaving Ruin
and Destruction Where
It Passed.

The greatest and most destructive
flood that ever came down the Cache
la Poudre valley passed through Gree
ley Saturday, leaving ruined fields
and damaged homes behind it.
Nothing that could approach it for
widness and awe inspiring scenes
has ever been witnessed here before.
But in spite OF the fact that there
was a much bigger volume of water
here, the damage dollar for dollar
will probably not be one to twenty
Of what 1t was In Fort Collins, thirty
miles up the river.
The high water was caused by
unusually heavy rains in the foothills
and on the PLAINS near the mountains
a few miles northwest Of Fort Col.
Inns, at about moor last Friday. The
rain was especially heavy about the
north fork OF the Poudre river and
the Box Elder creeks. Both have
large watersheds. and the entire val
ley through which these streams flow
were filled. bout the first warning
OF danger that the people up the
valley had, was when wall Of wa
ter, ten to fourteen feet high, burst
out of the Poudre canon couple Of
miles above Laporte. AS quick as
possible word was telephoned to Fort
Collins of the coming Of the flood,
and the people Of Laporte sought
safety on high ground. When the
water reached the open valley 1t
spread over a surface Of about mile,
and it's speed was somewhat slack
ened, or the loss Of life at Fort Col
lius would have been appalling. AS
it was, number Of people living in
the valley we're caught In their homes
and were only saved by the most
heroic efforts. About $50 houses.
occupied mostly by Russian beet-ield
workers, were swept from their foun.
dation and foated down stream some
distance. Only one bridge was left
standing. The Wellington branch
Of the Colorado & Southern, running
north from Fort Collins, was heavily
damaged. Considerable damage to
property about the sugar factory,
which lays in the valley, was also
caused, but no serious loss resulted
here.
Only one life was lost at Fort
Collns-one man who stood in the
water about ten hous and died from
the effects.
At rhe same time that the water
of the Poudre came rushing down,
the Box Elder, a small stream ordi-
narily only a few feet wide, was tear
ing down through a fertile valley
filled from bluff to bldtf with sheet
of water mile wide, carrying
buildings and bridges away in its
mad rush. The town of Wellington
was a heavy loser, and the farmers
in the bottoms saw their fields laid
completely waste. The Box Elder
empties into the Poudre a short dis
tance above Timnath, and the two
streams became an enormous river as
the water rushed down toward Gree
lev. In places the Poudre was now
one and a half miles wide.
Word had been telephoned to Gree
ley Friday afternoon of the flood,
and nearly every family living in the
bottoms moved to higher ground
during the evening. Reports were
received from time to time OF the
progress Of the water, but owing to
the width of the valley 1t did not
come with the force that it had on
farther up stream. 1t reached the
CITY about $50 Saturday morning and
formed an immense reservoir west OF
the q. P tracks, the regular channel
of the Poudre and the culvert under
the tracks up near the city being
wholly inadequate to carry away the
water, although under both bridges
a stream like Niagara river was
rushing. This quickly spread over
the farm lands below the tracks, and
soon houses in that vicinity were
submerged TO the window sills.
Thousands of people watched the
water from every vantage point, and
IT really looked more like holiday
for the town than a calamity that
was destroying thousands Of dollars
worth of crops. The Oak street
bridge was submerged and the
Eighth street bridge washed away.