Rensselaer Union, Volume 6, Number 47, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 August 1874 — The Cloud-Burst at Eureka, Ney. [ARTICLE]

The Cloud-Burst at Eureka, Ney.

The Eureka (Nev.) Sentinel gives the following graphic account of the recent calamity which befell that town: About one o’clock in the afternoon the rain again began to fall, and this time with redoubled force. Hard and fast the rain poured down, mingled with hail. The black clouds closed down upon us, the lightning grew nearer and fiercer, and calculations closely made proved a period of about one and a half seconds between the flash and the following thunderbolt. (This established an elevation of less Ilian 1,500 feet, and our surrounding mountain-peaks are at least 3.000 feet above our level.) A few minutes before two p. m. two horsemen came galloping down Main, Spring and Buel streets, warning the startled people of the approach of the mighty flood. Most thought only of their lives, and saved themselves regardless of their, effects. Others stood stupefied at the threat of an approaching, undefined danger. Too many clung too late to their houses in a vain endeavor to save their property by removal to higher ground. sClose upon the heels of the warning horsemen followed the torrent. And such a torrent! Over the entire ridge extending from Pinto to Ruby Hill the heavy clouds had broken. Toward the summit there was no rain, but a deluge; down Railroad, Eureka, New York and Goodwin Canons flowed the water at an almost inconceivable rate of speed, gathering strength and fierceness in the descent. From the Richmond to the Jackson furnace, where these canons unite, and where our valley approaches a quarter f a mile in width, the entire ground was covered by a terrible, seething mass of waters, at least three feet in height, bearing heavy timbers, the wrecks of cabins, and even masses of rock, in its angry, headlong career upon our devoted tpwn.„ As the valley narrows toward the center of the town the current increased in fierceness and power; The entire town was aroused. Great and certain destruction of property was evident, and manfully did most of our citizens struggle to save what could be saved. But even up to this moment none imagined the fearful loss of property and of human life which followed. For over half an hour the water rolled on. One house after another toppled and fell, and the angi*y billows beat upon the wreck and dashed it to pieces. Many houses (some of them dwelling-houses and with families inside) were lifted bodily up and carried down the mighty stream. The sight was magnificent in its terror. The Eureka Hall, a building 100 by 25 feet, was early carried away, and added to the horror of the scene as it came crashing down along Spring street and through to Buel street, in the rear of the International Hotel, carrying away with its massive weight many buildings already tottering. As the housea succumbed to the swelling stream many of them would rise grandly from their foundations, and like stately ships turn gracefully headforemost into the current and sail on an even keel until wrecked against the first debris. Here was seen a two story house, to one of the shutters of which clung a man with the energy of despair, as he drifted to almost certain death. Then, in a cabin, rocked and tossed upon the waves, were seen a man and wife struggling to escape. Here was seen the detached roof of a house beating from side to side of the stream, and, desperately clutching the ridge, a man striving for deaf existence. Close upon this heart-rending spectacle followed a heavy wagon and team, the massive structure tossed like a chip, and the poor dumb beasts screaming in their mortal agony. The loss of property was immense. The loss of life was great. Up to the present writing twelve bodies have been recovered. To estimate theJosspf life and. property in time for this issue is simply impossible. The entire staff of the Sentinel has been during the day and night, in common with all good citizens, engaged in hard labor, saving life and goods, and succoring the distressed. Among the saddest of the sad occurences that took place was the drowning of Mrs. Broy. With- her husband they were in their house when the seething torrent burst in its fury on them. They endeavored to escape, but in vain. The support to the house soon gave way, and with the others it floated down the stream. Rushing from the doomed house, they made one frantic effort to reach a place of safety, but the rushing waters met them on every side. Locked in each other’s arms they were carried on until the relentless waters separated them, bearing her lifeless form down the canon. Mr. Broy was rescued by some Chinamen near the Eureka Consolidated furnaces. But a few short weeks ago they were married; a happier couple did not exist; to-day she is dead, and he, crazed with his loss and suffering from severe injuries, is not expected to survive. Their wedded bliss was brief; their happiness short-lived before being broken forever. A New England paper gives the following account of a curious church dispute and its termination, It says: “Connecticut people are proverbially smart, and the following incident is no except tion to the rule: A religious society in one of the towns in that State was afflicted, as many other societies have been and are, inasmuch as the pew-owners had - a real estate right in the property. Some of them would not give up their right, nor sell it, norjeonsent to ahy action by the garish which could be legally resisted. [ere was a case of tyranny. In a free republic an oligarchy ruled the majority. But invention is the offspring of necessity, and Connecticut is its home: At a parish meeting of the society it was voted to floor over the tops of the pews and build anew. The real estate remained peacefully intact below, and the unyielding owners found themselves literally floored." ' v-c.'-t» ■ ».t The kid glove for full dress now comes within three inches of the elbow and has the unusual number of fifteen buttons.