Omaha daily bee., 1917-06-07

, The storm began about o'clock.
Lightning played fercely. the wind
was high and the water fairly tumbled
out Of the clouds in cataracts for sew
eral hours.
KILLED BY LIGHTNING.
Hugo Wohleis, aged 4S, residing
nine miles west of Dundee, was killed
by lightning while feeding his stock
Tuesday evening during the chore
hour. Mr.. Wohleis was unmarried.
He lived with his mother and brother.
Steve Dordasy, his wife and chill
dren were found in their home at ASH
North Seventeenth street, standing on
chairs and tables in the morning to
escape the flood while the water was
rising about their feet.
Officers Ford and Troby answered
the emergency call and found the
family in this plight. The officers
crossed over to Larson's boat house,
where they procured boats with which
they rescueG the family.
Grades Carried Away.
Reports to the railroads Indicate
that the country lying just to the
west of Omaha was hardest hit ~
the cloud burst. Streams in that area
quickly became raging torrents, carry
ing away grades and pretty nearly
everything else lying in their path.
! Union Pacific trains that should
have arrived last night did not get II,
until this morning, running seven to
eight hours late. With the Union Pa
cifc the most of the trouble was in
the vicinity of the Lane cutoff and
along the Pappio valley.
On the Lane cutoff the water
softened the north side of the grade,
and an immense slide occurred, put
ting both tracks out of commission,
for several hours.
The ox.bow, around by the way Of
Papillion, was under water that came
from the overflow of the Pappio and
several hundred feet Of track was un-
dermned, some of it going into the
ditch.
New Buildings Damaged.
The storm did considerable damage
to building construction work. At
Thirty-sixth and Farnam streets the
foundation Of new garage was
washed in and the structure damaged
, to extent of $500,
A tree was blown across sidewalk
at Tweny-hrst and Farnam streets
and another tree torn from its roots
at Eighteenth and Davenport streets.
| The Northwesterns trouble was
mostly in the vicinity of Irvington
and to the south along the Pappio
valley. Early in the evening the
stream got out of its banks and tore
away through the fields, striking the
Northwestern grades at number of
places and washing them down. In
some places the water was four and
five feet over the tracks. There was
big slide in the new work west of
South Omaha.
West Of Bennington the water
from the Pappio was two feet over
the grade and did a good deal of
cutting before it receded During the
night and this morning trains in and
out of the city were handled through
the north yards, routed by way of the
DeBolt spur tracks.
One hundred and forty carloads of
live stock from the range country was
held out on the track in the vicinity
of Irvington during the night and for
time it was feared that they would
have to be turned loose in order to
save them from the flood. At times
the water was up around the trucks
of the cars.
West of Arlington there was heavy
rain, but no damage.
West Bluffs Flooded.
West Council Bluffs from the ILL
nois Central station at Thirteenth
street to the river is lake country.
Every vacant lot, almost every gar
den patch for blocks together is COW
cred with water. From Indian creek
embankment at Fourteenth street to
Twenty-hrst street between Broad
way and Fifth avenue the majority of
the houses are surrounded by water
knee deep at the street intersections.
| Men wade up to their knees in water
to reach the higher grade on those
three streets.
Above the creek the east and west
streets, Broadway, Fifth avenue and
the parallel avenues are masses of
mud three or four inches deep. The
water, which stood over them knee
deep at the height of the food last