Jasper County Democrat, Volume 5, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 July 1902 — HEAVIEST RAINS IN YEARS. [ARTICLE]

HEAVIEST RAINS IN YEARS.

Jasper County Crops Suffer Greatly From High Water.—Loss WHI Probably Reach $500,000.' • While in some quarters there has been some doubt indulged concerning the flood of Noah’s time, no doubt exists in the minds of the inhabitants of Jasper county that a flood of vast proportions has visited us. The highest water since March, 1900, was recorded in the Iroquois river at the Washington street bridge on the morning of July 1, although the sediment deposited in J. A. Sharp’s building showed an inch higher water had prevailed during the early morning hours. In May, 1892, the water was higher by a few inches than it was last Tuesday, yet that year the farmers harvested a good crop of everything they had planted. This year, however, the heavy rains coming so late have done irreparable damage to crops all over the country, and many farmers in this county will harvest but little. This immediate section had escaped much of the rain that had fallen in the northern part of the county and most crops were looking well, especiallj’ oats. Rain began to fall here, however, last Friday afternoon and kept falling with slight intermissions until Monday morning. This caused immense damage to corn and oats, the latter being beaten down so flat that it will be impossible to gather them all in cutting, w’hile in many places they will rot on the ground. It- is impossible to enumerate the farmers whose corn and oat fields and meadows have been covered with water, but there are hundreds if not thousands of them the county over, and the loss in the entire county to crops this season by wet weather will reach from §250,000 to $500,000. We notice that th? State Statistician places the entire loss in the state at not to exceed $250,000, but we venture the assertion that the loss in the townships of Jasper county, north of Rensselaer alone, is more than that sum. No doubt the loss in the Gifford district, atjprevailing prices, is at least $125,000, while the big ranches about DeMotte and Wheatfield suffer onehalf as much more. Not only are growing crops ruined, but pastures have been rendered valueless by mud and water until new grass starts up.

FLOOD NOTES. Hicks and other weather prophets predict a stormy July. Alf Donnelly’s onion field was covered about a foot deep with water. The Tippecanoe river at Monticello is claimed to be the highest for 35 years. The Wabash bottoms have suffered tremendously and thousands of acres of crops ruined. Probably there was more water on the ground than ever seen here before in any previous rainy season. Tiled land suffered as well as the untiled, the capacity of the tile being insufficient to ci try away the water. The grade at the Lamson bridge ’west of town was also covered four to five feet with water and was impassable. W. H. Eger, in view of the goodly supply of water, gave his store windows a good washing Tuesday morning. In the Gifford district dry land is reported to be at a premium, <nd B. J’s grape-vine railroad is nearly all covered over. Along tne Big Slough southwest of town and on both sides of the river thousands of acres of corn and oats are inundated. Two little daughters of John Kilgas of near Reynolds, aged 10 and 8 years, were drowned Sunday in crossing a pasture and falling into a washout. About 5| inches of water fell from Friday noon to Monday morning, and another heavy downpour of about one inch came ’ Wednesday afternoon and again flooded everything. The high water has done much

damage in taking out bridges at several points in the county and many accidents, which happily did not in any instances prove fatal to man or beast, occurred. At Jake Eiglesbach’s slaughter house the rats took refuge in the trees to escape drowning, and eighty were shot out of the trees. Snakes were driven to higher ground, and hundreds have been killed on the highway grades. The lakes east of the depot and west of Geo. O. Pumphrey’s were sights to see. The water at these points covered ten or twelve acres of ground. The homes of S. B. Jenkins, Lee Jessup, John Phebus, Wm. Frey and W. H. Stephenson were at one time surrounded with water. Andrew Kahler, living at the junction of the Big Slough and the Iroquois, southwest of town, had to move out of bis house, or up in his house, rather. The chickens he put in the hay mow, the pig he stowed away in the wagon box and he and his family took refuge at a neighbor’s. Kline started for his home at Geo. Davisson's Sunday night from Rensselaer and in trying to cross Burk’s bridge, got off the grade. He was soon in water to his neck, and with some difficulty saved his horse and himself from drowning. The bridge was entirely covered, nothing but the top of the railing appearing above water. At this writing the bridge is still covered and no teams attempt to passover it. Everett Halstead, with Perry Gwin, in attempting to cross Carpenter’s creek at the second bridge, near the old James Ritchey place, found that the bridge had been swept away, and they got into the creek with their team and had considerable difficulty in getting out. They were in a top buggy and the horses went under entirely, followed at once by the buggy. Halstead and Gwin had to dive out from under the buggy. Halstead’s feet got entangled in the lines but he finally got loose and reached the bank. The horses had to be unhitched and-then the buggy was gotten out. Two young men from Goodland, met the same fate at this bridge hole later in the day.