Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1912-07-19
FLOOD HITS DENVER
WATER SWEEPING DOWN CREEK
AFTER cLouDRuRsT DEvAs-
TATES PART OF CITY.
TWO DEAD, FIFTEEN INJURED
Hundreds Of Men, Women anc Chill
dren Are Sheltered in City Audi
acknowledgement Alarm Saves
Many From Tragic Death.

Denver, Colo. July 17.-As the re-
suit of a cloudburst which poured
down the shallow bed of Cherry creek.
through this city, into the South
Platte river Sunday night, two are
dead, Is injured, 1000 men, women
and children homeless and $2,500,000
worth of property is in ruins.
Frand Hill and Mrs. Lydia Rickford
are known to be dead Zoe Wallace
and Albert Clay are missing. as are
several others.
The big city auditorium is refugee
camp commanded by Fire Commits
sioner McGrew and Chief of Police
| O'NeiL Hundreds OF the homeless
men, women and children gathered
there are fed by the city. Twenty
five babies from six months to six
years old, whose parents are believed
to have been lost, are in the care
of the police matron.
After directing relief and rescue
work, Mayor Arnold organized relief
parties to begin the search OF the
course of the flood, which is trail
of wrecked dwellings, debris from
which is heaped in the sluggish cur
rent of the South Platte.
The chamber of commerce has
opened a relief subscription. The
flood is without parallel in the his
! tory of the city.
Reports along the course Of Cherry
creek indicate an augmentat9l of the
loss of property in the outlying dis
! tricts.
| Had it not been for note of warn
ing sounded over the telephone to the
city hall just before the crest of the
flood reached the city many could not
| have escaped death.
| The message, from person as yet
unknown, was repeated along the
| course of the creek and some of the
jewellers were able to fee in time.
many in their night clothes. That
many were caught in their sleep is
the general belief.
The crest of the cloudburst was
preceded by storm with wind
velocity of forty-eight miles an hour.
and sewers were overlooking, the
tramway lines were out of commits
sion. hundreds were marooned in the
parks around the city and fifty miles
of city roadway was destroyed
Then came lull Of four hours,
during which the car lines were re-
turning to schedule through flooded
streets.
1t was then that the cry of warn
ing of the coming food reached the
city hall and Mayor Arnold. Within
thirty minutes wall of water twenty
five feet high descended on the city
in Cherry creek, the course of which
enters the city near the southeast
corner and flows northwest through
the Country club grounds, passing
within five blocks of the city hall,
the county hospital, the West Side
court, out to the South Platte. five
miles distant.
1t ripped out concrete walls that
confined it for two miles, destroyed
upright bridges and hundreds OF
small dwellings and drove their &C.
cupants from their homes or to roof
tops, from which they were rescued
by members of the police and fire de-
partments, who had been ordered to
rescue work on receipt of the warn.
ing by the mayor.
Reaching the Union station, it
spread three feet of water through
the yard, putting locomotive fires out.
NARROWING several hundred passen-
gers and closing the city to incoming
| or outgoing traffic. In half an hour
| 200 miles Of tramway lines were put
| out of commission, while a sewer
undermined, broke and flooded Capitol
| Hill, the aristocratic section of the city
A general call to physicians speed
! fly gathered staff at police head
quarters, and they were dispatched to
| the edge of the flood in police auto
| mobiles.
| Not until the telephone and tele-
| graph lines are restored will the full
extent of the damage be known.
Terre Haute, Ind, July 17.-Thou-
sands OF bushels of wheat In shock
were floating down the Wabash on
last Monday afternoon. A cloudburst
caused fifteen foot rise in seven
hours, overlooking the lowlands where
wheat was stacked waiting threshers.
| One emhc nkment where wheat shocks
and farm material was washed up
rabbits and domestic and wild ami
stun