South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1920-06-23
SWIMS SWOLLEN
STREAM TO WARN
PASSENGER TRAIN
North Dakota Section Foreman
Speaks Modestly of
Heroic Feat.

OMAHA. Seb.. June 22-In the
recent south Dakota floods. John
Williams, a section foreman. swan
"a swollen creek an Right in a hail
storm 10 warn q passenger train
hat Ca bridge had gone out he
stripped himself and tied the danger
signals 10 his back AMER he had
set them. he Approached a nearby
house. then remembered his negli-
gee. and swan back across the 600
feet OF swirling current
The passenger train. IL developed
later. was stopped farther up the
road at a point where the railroad
men had little hope OF haring it,.
williams herOism however. was not
overlooked by the railroad officials
The bridge was the Burlington's
over Hat Creek near ArdmOre. $. ID.
The Hat Greek flood tied up traffic
Cor eight days, cost seven lives. and
did 100000 damage 10 the one
road
Tells His story.
Several days after the flood the
section foreman was looked up by
70 newspaper man from the city. lie
found him directing a gang Of la
borers repairing the washout
Williams related how il had been
raining through the previous weeks
and the April blizzard had left the
ground soaked. so that when the last
storm came on 10 ran off as If from
"a ducks back "and old Hat Creek
started on a rampage"
Il kept watching the new bridge
over The creek all afternoon" Will
Jams told his visitor. land water
kept comm up and comm Up until
10 reached the ties Then i got wor-
ricd for fear the bridge would go
out 80 / went back 10 town and re-
ported about 70 10 the operator. lie
told the dispatcher at Alliance about
&c. The telephone and telegraph
wires runnin' west had all gone
down and We couldn't get EdgemOnt
or anyone west of the creek. Jack
Welsh. the dispatcher at Alliance.
talked 20 me over the railroad phone
and asked me IL 1 could get 10 the
west end Of the bridge across the
creek, and put out red light and
some stop signals so as to hold the
night passenger train. No. AZ which
was due at 9 O'Clock I told him
ia try and went back To the bridge.
Water Over Bridge.
When / got there again the water
was clear over the top OF the bridge
and 10 looked 20 me like one Of the
steel spans had gone out. We'd
tried 10 phone the government farm
ON the other side 20 ask them 20 go
out and put out "a red Ii-lt but their
phone was gone and re couldn't
reach anybody.
Well. / just fEEered the chances
was probably against me gitten'
across but IL was only my life
against so passenger on No, AZ,
and ] figured that ,hc train Would
b. runnin pretty fast when they
came up so the bridge. and they
might be into DO before they saw il.
SO I walked up the creek a half mile,
stripped of my clothes, tied my red
lantern. red flag and torpedoes TO
my back. and swum across.
Swims Back Again
There wasn't 40 many trees out
there and she was only about 600
feet wide but the water was full OF
hailstOnes and cold as hell. To was
rainin' 10 heat the band and dark
as blazes- j sure felt good when I
hit that fence ON the other side and
drug myself on the bank"
How did YOU get back 10 Ard
more Williams was asked. after he
had related how he placed the sig
mails
We'll I walked up 20 the govern
menl house bat when ] got close 10
the office and saw the bright lights
there ] remembered 1 didn't have no
clothes on and 1 thought I'd make a
pretty lOokin' sight Dustin i'm on
'om like that. $50 D walked back up
The stream and sNVum back