Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1908-03-12
LIVES AND PROPERTY
SWEPT AWAY
DEATH AND DISASTER BROUGHT
BY THE FLOODS IN THE
STATE.
SUMMARY OF DAMAGE.
Dams, Bridges and Railway Tracks
Swept Away, Stock Drowned and
Thousands of Dollars Loss In
fIicted.


The warm weather OF the latter part
OF last week which turned the great
body of snow into running water,
breaking up the ice in the streams,
| pouring through rivers and creeks Of
southern Michigan, bearing along
great cakes that came from the gorges
and damming the streams, carried
death and destruction. Human lives
were lost through the treacherous
Hood; animals struggling for life gave
up and were borne away TO be cast up
on the low lands far below the point
where the angry waters caught them
In powerful grasp. Railroad bridges
gave way under the terrific strain OF
tons OF ice jammed against them and
the crushing force of the great volume
oil water rushing on to the great lakes
rods OF tracks slid out and made it
impossible to move trains: all traffic
was freighted with danger and trolley
cars and teams moved only with great.
est caution.
To add to the stress felt in so many
sections OF southeastern Michigan,
dams gave waysand allowed the pent-
up force to sweep irresistibly on, TO
add to the desolation of the food.
farmer prevented a serious wreck
at La Sale, when he tagged c., II.
ID. train. The locomotive stopped
with its pilot overlapping the wash
out.
A Pere Marquette work train was
not so fortunate. Ten miles from Hol-
land the train rolled down an EN-
bankment, the members of the crew
receiving injuries that may be fatal in
two instances.
Fifteen feet Of roadbed on the Pere
Marquette was washed away five
miles south of Carleton. where the line
crosses Stoney creek. A temporary
roadbed was built there late Saturday
and trains from Toledo passed over
The Detroit. Toledo e. lronton rail
road is unable TO operate as the wa
ter carried away the rails near Scho-
field.
Returning from dance at 3 o'clock
Saturday morning, Harry and Roy
Tompkins and Garnet Anderson,
cousins, drove into creek near Te-
konsha, the food having swept away
the bridge Anderson. who was Is
years old and the son of Dr. j. II. An
derson, of Union City, was rescued by
Tompkins after a hard struggle in
which the latter was seriously injured,
but died two hours later. Both horses
were drowned and their bodies were
found quarter of a mile down
stream. The buggy was totally
wrecked.
Claude Pittinger, d yAung farmer
living near Flushing, WIS drowned
Saturday morning while bn he's way
TO the village to deliver a load OF
hay. The load was overturned I'm
hole in the road which was under
three feet of water The young man
was caught under the load and pinned
there in a death trap.
Dynamite was used Saturday at
South Haven 10 break up the ice gorge
which has been threatening the city.
The gorge came down Saturday fore
noon, smashing heavy timbers and
piles. City officials and volunteers
gathered on the banks and labored
for eight hours before the safety OF
the bridge was assured.
The bridge on the Fruit Belt rail
road line across the Paw Paw river
a half mile west of Paw Paw was
carried away Saturday forenoon. just
after work train had passed over il.
The flood at Niles has carried away
the new steel bridge on the Dowagiac
river, mile north of town. Niles
township thus suffers a loss OF about
$4,000 The st. Joseph river continues
10 rise, and the Niles dam is in grave
Danger.
A conservative estimate is that $780,
600 damages has been caused by the
Hood that has swept against every
structure in the low land districts OF
Berrien county. The loss OF the South
ern Michigan railway bridge at ST. Jo-
seph is placed at $4,000, while eight
smaller road bridges have been car
ried out.
The big dam at Berrien Springs Is
overlooked and the superstructure has
been carried away throwing 200 men
out OF employment
A report has reached st. Joseph that
the east end of the Indiana & Michi
lgan Electric Co.'S dam located at
buchanan on the ST. Joseph river has
crumbled under the foaming current
or the river. Traffic on the Pere Mar.
quette in this direction was abandoned
at daylight because the bridge was
carried out at New Buffalo.
Eighty houses in Dundee were sur
rounded by water and the families
taken In row boats To high ground
some distance back from the River
Raisin. The stream. rising four or five
inches an hour, overhowed its banks.
The Allegan division of the Michi-
gan Central is tied up. four bridges
having been washed away between
here and Homer.
High water in the Kalamazoo river
threatens TO tear out the $4,000 mu-
nicipal dam. which furnishes the power
Tor the Marshall lighting plant. The
water was 10 inches higher than it
was In the flood four years ago. An
On account OF q scarlet fever epi-
demic Manton schools are closed for
two weeks. The school board calls
IL spring vacation and in thai way