Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1916-06-23

The following account of the flood
of 1894 is taken from the issue of
the Kootenai Herald of June 23rd,
and will probably be doubly inter
esting to oldtimers as we'll as the
newcomers of the Kootenai Valley:
"This office not being provided
with paraphernalia for submarine
printing, the Herald has been forced
to suspend publication for four
weeks. In other words we have been
experiencing some of the stern real
tiles of the Kootenai Valley flood,
our presses having been under as
much as seven feet of water. But
the waters having subsidized we again
greet our readers, our faith in the
Kootenai Valley unshattered by the
calamity which the Kootenai Valley
in common with every other valley
in the Northwest has suffered.
MANY of our readers know the
story of the flood here. In fact
there are unmistakable evidences in
town which speak the story in far
more positive language than we could
assert it, yet few words on the
subject in this, our first issue since
the subsiddance of the water, will
not be out of place.
"To begin with, we have had the
worst flood in the knowledge of the
oldest white or red man in the val
Hey. Chief Isaac, of the Kootenais,
figures it out that SO years ago the
water rose high enough to drive the
Indians out of the valley to the
high lands. But as he describes it
the water was not so high that year
as it is this.
about the goth of May the banks
began to get dangerously full and on
the 22nd they were overlooking.
Since that date we have not had a
passenger train.
"Tbe water continued to rise at
the rate of about a foot a day until
the entire business portion of the
town was submerged, the water ris-
ing from three to five feet over the
banks from the foot of Main street
in Bonnerport down to the postof-
flee. All had to move out except the
Kaiser House people and they had to
conduct the hotel on the second
floor. The water was seven to eight
feet deep in the Yankee Kitchen and
the Hummer building, in the Great
Northern addition.
"In the Eaton addition, between
the railroad and the river, the water
was up to the caves of the houses in
the lower places which appeared to
be from the site of the town jail
through towards Green g. Cooks
place on Main street, and several
houses were fioated off their founda-
tons. The only dry land in that
part of town was the little knot
in the east end. This locality and al
lEaton's store and Cottage avenue
were the only portions of the South
Side not under water. Not foot
of dry land appeared in Bonner
port or the Great Northern addition
"When the water first came ovel
the bank at Bonnerport it had {
dangerously swift current and sweep
down the streets in a way tina
threatened, as it arose, to sweep thu
town. Great RATS of driftwood cam'
: floating down, and, as the curren
set in toward town, threatened t.
NOW the houses off the face of tn
earth. Fortunately the building
withstood their dangers until tn
back water helped to check the cur
rent and the driftwood continued t.
D the stream.
! at was soon to be seen that tn
greatest danger was to result from
the cutting away of the bank aloni
e the river front from Main stree
7 down towards the ferry landing. i
G front of the Kaiser house the ban
: stood it we'll but from there dow
9 it cut oway rapidly and occasione
the greatest loss, taking job
Scharr's blacksmith shop, Fry's stor
building, the dining room of the FIR