Colorado Citizen (Columbus, Tex.), Ed. 1 Saturday, July 17, 1869 Page: 1 of 2
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COLU.UDVS, TEXAS, JULY 17, 1869.
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®|c Cfllorató Citip,
F. BIRMRP, Editor.
THEn^Di
FARTHER PARTICULARS.
_ We_ publish this little strip in order
to give our readers all the news weTiave
received of the overflow in the Colorado,
Guadalupe and San Marcos Rivers, and
their tributaries.
We have heard that the report of the
drowning of two hundred persons on the
Colorado, at Bastrop, was unreliable.
Rumor says that Webberville has been
entirely washed away, whish, as it is
situated in a low valley, may be true.
Mr. Hugh J. Smith, of our town, left
Victoria last Wednesday, and íeperts
that a large portion of that town has
been swept away. The bridge across
the Guadalupe at that place was entire-
ly destroyed. Of course the damage
done to the crops is incalculable.
West of the Guadalupe, we learn that
the Cibolo has been up ten or fifteen
feet higher than ever knowi?^ We have
° *
no Tellable news from San Antonio of
tie freshet, though the Herald of the
10th represents heavy rains as having
fallen.
In our county we hear of many dis-
astious calamities, but as they are only
rumor, we do not give them. The rail-
road has been damaged greatly, and
Superintendent Nichols will_ have his
hands full in its repair.
We alto learn that the water was four
feet deep on the Public Square in the
town of Wharton.
£^rced to take a tree in the channel of the
river, where he ha¿'remained ever sinc«£
without anythingvto eat; beingim-
possible to render him any assistairco.
It is possible that succor can reachhim-
tií-day, (Fridajffl^We teuder omH^m-
pathies to thoqMjt our farmer^nouíens
who hajetthus^lui^enly be'^Klepr^ed
of their prospects for the future.
EST The dispatches state that an
election has been ordered in Texas for
the 30th November next.
From tfie Seguin Argos.
Hfiif Raim—Frwhft!
The Rive/ Fifty Feet High!!—Six
F«et Higher than the Oicerjlow of
1852—Great Destruction of Crops.
It has never before fallen to our lot to
record heavier and long contir ued rains,
an overflow unprecedented within the
memory of oar oldest settlers, and a
greater or inore frightful destruction of
growing crops and property, than at the
present time. We cannot approximate
the daxnnge sustained, with the meagre
data at our command, bat its estimate,
if definitely known, would startle our
credulity.
On last Saturday, 3d inst., at 12 M.,
the rain commenced. It rained in
toirents for about two hours*followed by
an intermission until nightfall, when
~ ifre-commenced, continuing without
céssatijn until Tuesday noon, when it
agaiu subsided. But the-vrarring ele-
ments had not ceased their strife. In
the evening huge masses of black, angry
clouds were drifting westward, tlireat-
i>ing a more terñffic deluge of rain.
Nor were they deceptive. On Tuesday
night, about 1 o'clock, thp rain came
down in torrents, and without abatement,
until Wednesday morning. For fifty
consecutive hours, up to Tuesday noon,
it poured down in such blinding sheets
of rain as we have never seen fall.
Early Monday the river commenced rising
The waters gradually rose, until Tues-
day at noon, when they spread over its
banks, on both sides, and commenced
inunduating the fields; iscieasing in
volume and breadth, until they covered
the lower belt' of bottom lands, with
their growing crops of corn and cotton.
On Wednesday morning they receded
some fivis-feet, only to be inereaseckby
those of the secohd or mountain rise,
which came down like an avalanche,
. bearing in their mad and surging coarse,
' vast rafts of driftwood, fences, mflls,
boats and the mingled debris of wagons,
buggies and houses. At the present
writing—Thursday, 10 P. M.—the entire
bottom lands are completely submerged
and then growing crop* destroyed. The
river is uow a mile in width, and when
it is considered that its natural channel
does not exceed an average width of
eighty feet, some idea can be formed of
the vast volume of water that has
deluged our valleys, and robbed labor
of its reward in the wholesale destruc-
tion of crops, fcncesand farm implements
The eotton gin of J. August Deitz;
the grist and saw mill and ferysboat of
Mrs, A. N. J>skine ; the old Wiseman
ferry-boat and dwelling house, and the
grist mill and cotton gin of R. J. Coor-
peuder, have been swept away. We
havo heard of no loss of life up to date.
As all communication has been suspen-
ded for the last six days, we are in pos-
session of no reliable data as to the
damage done elsewhere ; bat are con-
fident that the destruction of crops and
farm property has beeu tenfold greater
is the counties of Gonzales, t>e Witt
and Victoria. Las night, (Friday,) the
river fell some six ieet, and is gradually
falling.
The only individual instance, con-
nected with the flood, worthy of special
mention, is that of Mrs. Erskine's fer-
ryman. He clung to tfie boat until
Tuesday night, when the wild rash of
•yater broke its tu coring*, and he was
From the Gonzale^Jnquirer, of the 10th.
Dcitractivc Fmhet ir nB~Bnadairipe and
San Marcos Rivers.
Immense Damage Done to Property.
It is our sad duty to record one of the
most destructive freshets that has ever
occurred in this portion of Texas. The
oldest citizens do not remember to have
witnessed anything to equal it in duration
and extent of damage of property.
On Saturday evening, the 3d inst.. at
6 o'clock, it commenced raining, and
continued with scarcely a moment's
intermission until the following Tuesday
morning, when the surface of the coun*.
try presented a show of mud and water
that would have done credit to February
instead of July. Every creek, bayou
and lagoon was swimming, and all com-
munication with the outer world com-
pletely cut <fF. Both the Guadalupe
and San Marcos rivers rqgeaat a rapid
rate, and by Wednesdayjaaorning were
entirely out of their barilc^&id^spreading
rapidly over valleys and farms. By
Wednesday night the water, it was
thought, had exceeded the -high water
mark of 1852, and was still rising at
the rate of five inches an hour. By
this time every farm on either bank of
ihe river was more or less submerged,
and cotton, corn, fencing and negro
cabins swept away by the velocity of
the current.
It is impossible to form anything like
an estimate of the damages sustained
by the crops. The loss will undoubted-
ly be immense, as not only every farm
was inundated to a greater or less extent,
but thousands and thousands of rails
washed away which canuot uow bs
replaced.
Many negro families living on the
banks, were ninounded l-v the flood.
Flood in the Colorado.
We have frequently spoken jestingly
of the river being on a tight, a tare, a
rampage, &c. Now we called upon to
recoil a sad reality—a great misfortune.
From a combination of causes, the Col-
orado has attained a height unprece-
dented, in. the knowledge of the oldest
i Mi abitan!.
Friday evening the river crossed the
second-banfe, and broke over into our
main streets and the public square.
There was much hurrying to and fi#,
and great confusion and consternation.
Many goods and groceries were lost
that could have been saved, had there
not been a persisteut faith that the river
could not rise any higher. We give
the losses of some of our business meu:
stores.
§100,
150,
150,
100,
500,
600.
2000,
250,
200,
200.
50,
200,
at
and had to be rescued with boats. I t is tnicket to "itreimraenSe toss sustamecHiy '
reported that seven negroes, four miles
above town, were seen on the rout' of a
house floating off, and it was /eared tliey
had perished. Two Mexicans «.tempt-
ed to swim a dis'ance of a nulo to their
relief, but bad their horses drowned. ami
they themselves had nut beeu heard
from at last accounts. There are many
flying rumors of negro families being
lost, but we think they arc unreliable.
All of Wednesday night cri- s of dis-
tress from negroes were heard ou several
farms on the San Marcos, but it was
impossible to render them any assistance
as boats could not be procured.
The water was two feet deep ou the
floor of the oil factory ; the furnace was
undermined, and about one hundred
dollars worth of cord-wood floated off.
The Mayor of our town, Mr. Schwing,
assisted by several of the citizens, was
untiring in his exertions to rescue those
who had been cut off by the flood. He
had procured the only boat that was on
this side of the river, and it is doubtless
owing to his unceasing efforts, as well
as to those who assisted him, that the
lives of several negro families were
saved.
We have been for a week cut off from
all communications with the towns above
and below us, and consequently are
unable to ascertain the extent of the
damage sustaiued elsewhere; but we
fear that it has been fully as great, if
not greater, than in this couuty.
Later.—As we wri'e ou this (Friday)
morning, the river is receeding rapidly,
after rising about a foot since yester-
day. The Mayor, accompanied by Mr.
De Jones and Mr. Tyler, started up the
San Marcos yesterday with the boat in
search of the 6even negroes aud
Hill & Bradshaw,
Farley & Gregory,
Shaw & Adkius,
J A Van Alstyue,
A Glober,
A Kirsch,
A E Willenberg,
H W Steinle,
W Umband,
A Brandt,
A Haschke,
C Praetorius,
Streithoff& Scbuhmachcr 200
M Weller, 20,
J Wertz, 1000,
C Fink, 6000,
J Meyenberg, 500,
L Schiek, 25,
B Zander, 200,
J H Carter, 300,
A Alexander, ] 000,
Trousdale & Holloway, 1500,
A Rosen field & Co., 250,
S Alexander, 1000,
A Meerscheidt, 400,
G Pauli, 100,
E Richers, 1500,
Williams & Harrington, 150,
H Schultz, 500,
G Freidberger, 150,
Leslie Price, 50,
T Schmidt, 200,
A Testard,
Norton & Fitz, 4000.
These losses are but a drop
HOME.
$
1000
1000
2000
2000
50
500
800
200
200
1000
2000
2000
650
1000
600
300
in
1000
500
the
the sweeping away of fences, corn-cribs,
stables, bams and houses. And agaiu
the loss of all these is small in compart
son with the immense loss sustained by
the destruction of the finest corn aud
cottou crop that has ever grown in the
valley cf the Colorado for years.
We fear the greatest loss is yet to
come. The flooding of the couutry;aud
the rank vegetation rotting in the hot
sun, is almost certain to produce disease
and death. There is much distress and,
we fear, there will be much more as the
results of this overflow. We hope ever
for the best, but we fear uuder the cir-
cumstances, that the best wiil be bad
euongh.
There will be another source of great
loss that will beer heavily upon our peo-
ple. Hogs, sheep, cattle and horses that
were in the bottoms on the creeks and
rivets wero almost all drowned- They
bccame bewildered aiid went off with the
cuirent; and again, while making des-
perate efforts to get to the hills, they
became entangled in the trees and vines
and wero drowned.—La Grange Neio
Era, of the 16th inst.
Mexicans mentioned above. They re-
turned last night and inform us that
they succeedfed in rescuing from the
trees tfte two Mexicans and three of the
negroes, the other four—a woman and
her three children' were drowned. It
eeems that the bouse roof to which they
were clinging, struck a tree and separas
ted, those on one half taking to trees,
whilst the others weie thrown into the
water and lost by the other half of the
roof turning over. Mr. Schwing and
Mr. Jones had their boat to capsize and
get away from them a mile from land,
but by bard swimming succeeded in
securing it, and thus probably saving
their own lives. They heard cries for
help proceeding from the San. Marcos
and Guadalupe rivers, which they sup>
posed to be negroes lodged in trees, but
night coming on they could render no
further assistance. Mooney's bridge
across the San Marcoj river, was all
right as far as the water had receded
from it yesterday incraing.
The freshet ou both prongs of Peach
Creek was equally destructive. Peach
Creek itself was four feet higher than
ever before known. All of the farms
were under* water, aud an immense
number of rails washed off.
An Indian Duel.—TheHelena(Mon-
tana) Herald describes a duel between
two Indians, which shows that the red
men are often as punctilious of their
honor, and liave as much cool bravery
as white men. Some Indians were at
Holter's saw mill, near Helena, when
one of them displayed his revolver, and
boasted so highly of his extraordinary
skill in its use, that another brave of the
party exclaimed, -"Ugh! you can't
shoot," aud denoanced him as a brag-
gart, at the same time saying that he
two I could put him to sh^me at his own game.
New Name.-
female or hen
styled by a
Cluckers."
—The members of the
Conventions, are now
Western paper " Q
Note for dull people—B sharp.
A bad omen—to owe men money.
A sky lark—going up in a balloon.
Gallopping consumption—dinner at a
railway station," *
Whereupon native No. 1 proposed a
test of skill, giviug his oppouent the ad-
vantage of a rifle, his favorite weapon.
This was at once.acceded to, aud im-
mediate preparations were made for a
duel iu their own peculiar style. By
this time about twenty warriors had col*
lected, and the party retired to a spot
near by, where they marked off about
forty feet—the distance that was to
separate the dusky duelists, who mean-
while, stood by manifesting the most
stoical indifference. When all was ready
the two warriors took their positions,
standing with their heels on the mark,
back to back, one with revolver and the
other with his rifle. The Indian who
had been selected to conduct the affair,
waved a spear two or three times nbóve
his head,gave the terrible warwhoon, and
on the instant the two savages wheeled
and fired. Both fell, one shot through
the brain the other pierced to the heart.
A little six year old boy was asked
by his teacher to write a composition on
the subject of water, and the follow i r.r
is the production: "Water is good
drink, to in swim, and to skate on, win 1
frozen. When I was a little baby tho
unrse used to bathe me every mornio^
in water. I have been told that Injuns
don't wash themselves but once in teu
years! 1 wish I was a Injun !" .
As the sweet south wind calls forth
the beauties and blessings of vegetable
life, so the cultivated mental power of
woman, when united with the uplifting
graces of pure and holy feeling, devel-
ops the best and highest enorgiet of
nvstiit-—
-
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Barnard, F. Colorado Citizen (Columbus, Tex.), Ed. 1 Saturday, July 17, 1869, newspaper, July 17, 1869; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth177640/m1/1/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.