Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1917-06-07
lIEARWATERFLOOD
! TAKES BRIDGES
| AND ROADWAYS
nrsp1rE VIGOROUS DEFENSE OF
CITIZENS BRIDGES ARE SWEPT
DOWN THE RIVER.
|McH WATER MAKES RECORD
Much Damage Sustained all Along
Riyer-An the Flats undated,
Gardens Swept Away.

The high waters af last Tuesday week
contributed a record in the history of
ali the streams in the county. At the
electric. light compahy's dam on the
south fork the gate houses were en-
+ tirely washed away and great volumes
of water rushed down the flume carry
inc with it boulders and drift. Great
rocks weighing tons were washed up
and rolled over the dam. The water
came to higher level than was ever
seen before in the history of the river.
The gardens along the flats were either
Inundated or washed away. The water
completely covered the gardens of the
old Charley Brown place. Further down
the river Joe Bakers garden was alto
gether ruined much of the soil being
washed away. The water, in fact came
clear up to Joe's door.
Harpster Citizens Fight for Bridge.
The Harpster bridge was well defend
ed but could not be saved. In the
morning when it was seen that the
high waters were going to endanger
their bridge, the citizens turned out
with pike poles and other tools to ward
off the piles of driftwood which were
pounding against the piers of the bridge.
This procedure was successful for a
time but the water kept raising until
1t flowed over the top of the bridge
As last resort the defenders made one
end of the bridge fast with the cable of
Hercules stump puller. They fastened
the cable to the timbers at the end Of
the bridge and then passed it around
two trees near the bank. 1t was then
fxpo nfhnr fnr,
ther off, securely anchoring the bridge
as they thought. They considered that
if the structure was dislodged 1t would
merely float around to the bank and re
main anchored. But when the final
crash came it was seen that the force
of the waters had been underestimated
The current of the river was flowing al
the rate of fifteen miles per hour
Besides that the water was backed uI
behind the bridge to about the depth OF
two feet. A large amount of driftwOot
was accumulate also and when the breal
came the wooden structure tore away
from the cable leaving nothing but &
few hmbers and some twisted bolts.
The violence of the flood is evident t.
any observer at the present time al
though the water has gone down severa
feet The island at Harpster was swep
clean of the timber which formerl,
covered it and is now piled high will
dRftwood. There is no trace left of th'
embanked roadway which led up to tn,
bridge
Other Bridges Go.
The Harpster bridge when. it Gu
loose floated straight down the rive
and reached Sites in just forty-f -fiv
minutes. The first bridge in its pat
was Houston IS bridge, . woodel
structure which Houston had built him
self He had thought, it secure sine
II was founded on large rock in tn
center of the river. 1t was partl
torn apart when the bridge struck il
when it gave way entirely. In lik
manner the Sites and Kooskia bridge
went. Of the four the Kooskia stru,
'ure was the newest and the mos
valuable. 1t was constructed partly 0
steel and partly of wood and cost abou
$1,000
much Inconvenience Caused by Flood.
IL Is not known to certainty wheti
u any great amount of livestock wa
iost In the flood. 1t is reported that
"'hpSi VI utdu noloto anu No
,,e M were seen in the Clearwater betwee
slarpster and the Dewey last weel
someone also saw a deer floating in th
lser 1t is very likely that the mos
Vi these died before the flood by sta
suon and were washed down by til
alen water. 1t is said that a team {
nurses with harness was seen goin
aown the river at Sites. However
M mot known whose they were.
Inc water ran into the houses in man
plsees, a:% especially at Kooskia. Peep
i probably leave the flats after tn
anu oegin to build little higher u
Az suites the sidewalk between Il
asep9t and the town is entirely gone al
M iahd up to the warehouses is washt
cay These are only few details
a,s s curious and unbelievable things Il
0'a nver did in its fury.