l&latt$mouth Journal.
VOLUME XXVII
PJ.ATTSMOUTII, XJEHKASKA, TIIUIiSDAV, .1 ULV J 1 I!07.
The Hardest Storm in the
the Oldest inhabitants
BURLINGTON SHOPS DAMAGED
Actual Loss Nominal and Will Require Much
Labor to Restore to Former Condition.
WESGOTTS AND KRAFT HEAVY LOSERS
While Business Men on Sixth and Pearl Streets
Gome in for Their Share.
HAHY SMALLER LOSSES MANY IKCIDEKTS OF THE FLOOD
l ' : .i 1 1 r i- t ii has been visited by sev-.
era! !!"!.-:, hut Mi'Vt-r before i:i the his-.
trv of i,iir city, has one visited us and j
carried with it so great a destruction of j
property. With the threatening thun-'
tier and the sultry atmosphere, and now
trd then a vivid Hash of lightening,
told of the coming f the Storm King,
which visite.l with a vengence our beau
tiful citv. At about '.:" last Saturday
evening, a gust of wind stirred the dust
i:i the street, and a few drops of rain
telling of the wrath of the warring ele
ment the:i the rain i:i a very dash of
fury, still not unlike we often s e it. it
became a :!!.
Hut gathering in terrible fei ocity. the
st'-rm in a few moments, became such
a pandemonium of hail, thunder and
lightening, wind and something in the
place of rain, which it seemed at the
time the English language would not
supply words of sufficient meaning to
give a true word painting of the situa
tion of the rlo h'.s t- our city, an.! who
had suffered loss thereby, the situation
was .ir.e "f grave conctni. and they
were apprehensive for the very worst
that could happen. And this was a time
when the pesidmist was in his clement
for all the evils which he predicted were,
it seemed destined, to come M pass.
THE FLOOD.
Alter the rain had been falling for
about fifteen or twenty minutes the
volume of water i.i the streets grew
from the well-r.I'.ed gutters n both
sid.es of the streets to the swiftly flow
ing stream reaching across from curb
to curb, the" as the sheets of water
continued t fall and. it seemed that
lakes and rivers were sent down upon
us. edgewise, sidewise. endwise and in
every other imaginable shape, until up
and over the curb the waters crept, and
not to rest until until the walks were
covered, and like the demon, that it was.
the ripples kissed the door sill then with
out an invitation or as much as "a thank
you" into the stores it ran. To many
the rising waves said., "we have come
to move your stock." and move it. they
did. whether the owner wished or not.
as for instance, in the sl-re of John S.
Hall, it cot behind some tables and
"scooted" them out of the door with
the poods on them, ami hastened to put
into practice, the water theory of rapid
transportation, for it hurried down to
the river, and started the consipnment
well on its way to the (Julf. innolonper
then it takes to tell it.
At this time all things bepan to move
ar.d in order at that. Loose vehicles
made pood time down the street keep
ing well to the middle, as long as the
buildings held the current to its course.
But with every moment of time the vol
ume of the flood was increasing until it
was coursing down the two avenues and
Sixth and Main streets like a mill race
a year and a half behind in its work.
At this time the force of the waters
was so strong that they shot with the ve
locity of a mountain torrent down Chi
nturday Blight.
t-ago avenue and Catherine momentum
as it serged along I 'earl street, to round
the corner on to Sixth and dash like a
frenzied demon against the row of one
story bricks on the east side of the
street and south of the alley. The large
JubIe doors of the blacksmith shop of
I). It. Ehersole oifered but slight re
sistance to the onward moving and ir
resistable flood of waters, and in a
moment, with a roar, they were swept
away, and onward went the stream like
a savage beast, striking the hinder walls
which yielded an.1, the roof fell in with
a crash, and it was but a twinkling of
an eye until the whole place was tilled
with' loose floating boards, boxes, wag
ons and every kind of material imag
inable. The rebound after tilling the black
smith shop, punctured the glove factory
building and took out the lower story
front and rear, which made a way for
the water which soon filled the lots in
the rear, only to strike with relentless
fury the corner made by the extension
of the Wescott building beyond that of
the one which is occupied by the Kraft
Clothing Company, tearing its way
through this, it struck the inner walls
such a blow as to topple them over and
precipitate the second story in the base
ment, overturning the counter, show
cases and shelving in such a manner
that in a very short space of time, the
stocks were mixed as well as the house
wife gets the different things in picea
iily. Y. L. Pickett and wife, who oc
cupied the upper rear portion, had a
very exciting time getting out of the
place, and one which they will not soon
forget.
Not alone was there enough water for
this and then only half the time, but at
the foot of Chicago avenue, it filled the
liven,- stable of James Sage to about
the horses knees. Bounding across the
street it swept away the walks which
were alone the south side of Ritchey's
lumber yard and gained the rear of the
stores of Zuckweiler & Lutz and Tuey.
shrieking as it tore through the back
doors, leaving devastation and a coat of
rich alluvial deposit in its wake, but at
a much greater cost than would be ex
acted for the bt improved farm in the
country.
The low place where the old gas works
used to stand was tilled in an instant
ar.d the sides of the stable which Zuck
weiler & Lutz have under their ware
house were crushed in. liberating one of
the three horses which they had in the
place and drowning the other two. The
water rushed into the south or Pearl
street enterar.ee of the Q. K. Parmele
barn in the Patterson building, and out
at the Sixth street door like the escape
from an over shot wheel. The basement
of the olil Stadleman house on the cor
ner of Sixth and Pearl was filled and
the pressure coming out on the Sixth
street side of the building carried and
; traded it to the east side of the street
'in partial payment for the havoc created
"U"
Rtemory
Occurred
s there only a few m merits before. In the
j old Morrow building in which there was
! being held an ice cream social, the wat-
er tore away the brick walk and pushed
! the outer or frit wall of the cellar and
I made exit from the building possible
; only from the rear, and not then until
j the water had subsided. On the north
! side of Main street the damage was not
as serious as it nas neen at lormer noons.
The basement of the Cass County Hank
which is used by the Nebraska Lighting
i company was ruled witn water, nut soon
! ran out after the floods had subsided.
' only to leave a deep layer of mud and
everything wet.
ON CHICAGO AVENUE
The conditions on Chicago avenue
were as bad for the amount ofproporty
in its wake as that lower down the
course. The Mrs. El ford house which
is occupied by J. V. Mc Kinney, was
floated off its foundations and lodged
against a tree, which held it in place
until the waters subsided. In telling
about the experience. Jim says that he
told his wife more lies during one min
ute than in all his life and still she was
almost scared to death. The Kinser
home was surrounded by water and the
basement and first story was inundated,
and Grandma Kinser went to the upper
story for safety, fearing all the time
; she would be drowned. On lower Main
'. street the walks were torn out entirely
: from the News office to Johnson's meat
market.
AT THE BURLINGTON SHOPS
At the Buriington shops the destruc
tion and peoperty loss was even greator
than it was in the city. The waters
having a great area from which to
gather, came down the creek which
passes through the shop yards in a
sewer with such force and volume that
there was no taking care of it. The
brest of water which came down the
1 west branch of the creek having its
source on what is known as the Eiken
berry, farm south of town, like the roar
of an avalanche, striking the fence sur
rounding the lumber yard, carrying it
away like foam upon the bosom of a
brooklet, at a summer freshet. The
waters were so great in volume that
they picked up and carried upon its sur
face thousands of feet of lumber in
piles as they had lain in the yard, until
it appeared as though the entire lum
ber yard was afloat. The force was
now so great, augmented by the bur
den the water carried, that when it
struck the paint shop department of the
coach shop, the walls crumbled as if
: they had been constructed of paper.
There were hundreds of feet of lumber
thus carried from the yards to the coach
shop and the plaining mil's, and even
on down to the coal chutes at the lower
end of the shop yards. The entire fence
from the extreme south portion of the
lumber yard to the intersection of Lin-
'. coin avenue and Sixth street was car
ried away.
i The oil house of the paint shops was
entirely carried away, leaving nothing
but a cupboard which was fastened to
the wall. What is known as the soap
house adjoining, was completely wreck
ed but not entirely carried away. And
the bolt supply house was also carried
away. In the coach shops were a num
ber of coaches nearing completion,
among which was one being refitted for
an exhibit which is to be made up of the
products of the northwest and run
through the east as an advertisement.
This coach, Xo. 5297, was carried down
to the turntable of the coach shops and
stood partially on its end, and coach No.
3359, presented a very peculiar aspect
as it stood after the water had subsid
ed, with one end lower than the rest,
elevated at the other by the force of
the water and wedged up by the drift,
cantering the car over until it stood on
! the corner, while No. 2625 was piled on
; one side and No. 3051 on the other. No.
; 3357 was wedged . in between another
' coach and a. box cax,: while the timbers I
! which. had supported the roof when' the J
walls-went.out; . dropped on the top of
' this coach and supported the remaining I
ui
portion of that section. Th plaining
j i : i 1 1 p esented a dilapidated appearance
with thousands i feet !u rul it in it
to
.e dressed, thrown t.romisciouslv
around by the force of the currant.
the brass polishing department there
was a very sorry looking situation; the
'dipping room had nothing left of it ex
cept the roof and two walls and the dry
polishing room was piled full of rubbish.
! The turn table pit at the round houe
was full of lumber and scraps of ,:!:
'kinds, and tilled with water i:i which
. was a liberal sui.tilv of i! had found its
way. Sirocco Kutria in working with,
the fon-e who were cleaving tin's pit.
involuntary took a bath i.i the murky
liouid and in his efforts to get out, caus
ed a shout of merriment to go up from
the whole of the forreof w orkrnvii. The
actual loss sustained by the company
will be much less than the appeara;i-e
suggests on the surface, as no material
is gone, requiring only labor to restore
former conditions.
ESTIMATED LOSSES.
The following is a it of the estinat-e-d
losses sustained by the flood:
The Wescott Clothing Company. ?5,i,,'o
Kraft Clothing Company....
:,!( io
2. ono
2.000
1 , i u I
1 , 1 MM
Til M )
-lOfl
; iii
15. 1
;mu
15o
si li 1
1 , ooo
i r . .
2 Ml
.JIM
15.1
John Hall (Jroceries and Drv Coods
J. E. Tuey
Mrs. F. J. Morgan building . . . .
Cering & Co., drugs
J. W. age. building damaged...
liichey. lumber
(Hove Factory, stock at Wescott 's
at factory
Zuckweiler & Lutz
N. Schultz, trimmings
Dovey & Son, goods in cellar...
A. Hawick, residence prcperty..
I'lattsmouth Telephone Company.
in county
Nebraska Telephone Co., in city..
Water Co., broken mains, etc. . . .
I'ookmeyer & Co., stock
H. M. Soennichsen
I. IJ. Ehersole, building and stock l."oti
Otto Herold, machinery damaged "o
Mrs. Patterson, building ....... .
ii. K. I'armele. hacks and wagons
Fricke & Co., stock in cellar... .
M. Fanger, stock in cellar
I'. Sauter, stock damaged
A. J. Trility
J. C. Peterson, walk and cellar. .
Hatt & Son
L). P. Jackson, damage to st;:ck.
Phillip Thierolf
L. B. Egenberger, walk and stock
Clans Speck, stock
J. Iverson, blacksmith
H. E. Wilson & Son. paints in shop
Wm. Barclay, stock
Bank of Cass Co., building
Neb. Light Co., office
Julius Pepperberg
:,( II I
; ;i !i i
5 ii i
HI
!-'
OII
25
7-
5o
!50
.:m
Besides there were other light losses,
and out in the country there were re
ported as many having sustained some
very severe losses.
INCIDENTS OF FIRE AND FLOOD
Don't be discouraged. No one can con
trol the elements.
There was a windmill blown down at
the county farm and badly damaged.
We have been hit pretty hard but it
might have been a great deal worse.
Strange to say, no lives were lost dur
ing the flood, although reports were
circulated to that effect.
Cloudbursts are just as liable to strike
one place as another. This was not a
flood caused from an average down
pour. The barn of W. L. Thomas, west of
town, was torn from its foundation and
.carried some distance away. One horse
was killed.
At Joe Wiles' west of town, the hail
did a great amount of damage, and the
wind blew down a windmill, rendering
it entirely useless.
Never in the history of Plattsmouth
was a celler ever known to fill up in high
places. Some cellars on the hills con
tained two feet of water.
The man who fell into the man-hole
created by the flood in front of Cory's
old restaurant, felt like he had a good
bath after he was rescued.
W. H. Warner and Will Sehutz, from
northwest of the city, were in with some
machine repairs and were compelled to
remain over night as the washed con
dition of the roads were so that it was
dangerous to travel.
Whatever you say, don't forget to say
a good word for the fire laddies. Their
heroic efforts to save the Boeck block
deserves the praises of every citizen.
No city of the population of Plattsmouth
can boast of a more efficient tire de
partment. The cry of "lost boy" Saturday night
created some excitement on the side. It
was occasioned by a kid falling into a
hole, filled to the brim with water. But
he was soon fished out. looking more like
drowned a rat than any other comparison
we can make.
Andy Hawick's residence, on Chicago
avenue and Granite street, was com
pletely surrounded by water in so short
a time that it was impossible for
them to escape until the water had sub
sided. The house was moved slightly
from its foundation.
After the rains had stopped, a car
riage load of people came down south
Sixth street and were met at the inter
section of Sixth and Pearl streets by
(Continued on 3d rajre)
In!
another
i
I
Explosion in Basement Causes Fire and De
struction of Boeck Block, Corner
Sixth and Main Streets.
QUE MAN KILLED AND ANOTHER INJURED
Ed Grassman Killed and Several Othres Narrowly Escape
from the Burning Building.
After a night of susper.se and tense
excitement, with the appalling s.enes
of the day to follow, and under the
strained ' on, lit ion of the peoples' feel
ings, it was with mm h misgiving that
our citizens heard the warning '-all of
the r':re alarm, when it announced thn
tlie- demon, lire, had began it.-
n-k
Sunday afternoon, in addition to what
damage the ;!ods had wrought the
night before. An explosion, resembl
ing somewhat the mutiled report of a
cannon, was the first thing t. tell of
the lire, which was to claim the life of
one of our l est citizens, the burning
and maining of .-mother citizen with the
loss of iiis stock, and the wrecking - .1
one of the best blocks in the citv.
JPWl3Xa. 3101 f'Vfu ; '
Boeck Building Looking South on Sixth Street. During Fire
i Pi. 1 . !.;. ;!-., !.
E. A. Wurl who occupies the lower
floor in the Henry Boeck building, for
a general stoic, had the basement
filled with water, and after it had
drained off, he. writ the owner of the
building, and his clerk, Mr. Ed. irass
man, Fred McCauIey and Harry Beal,
went into the basement to investigate
the cause of the cistern not draining as
it should, and Mr. Crassmar: went :
down into the cistern, in order to ascer
tain what the trouble was when he was
handed a lighted candle by Mr. Wurl,
and the explosion occurred, which .sho.:-:
the whole building and a!! those in the
neighborhood: shooting great tongues
and sheets of flames throughout the en
tire basement, and immediately com
municating them to all parts of the
building. In the explosion Mr. Crass
man was killed and Mr. Wurl burned
very seriously. Mr. Boeck was also
humeri about the face and neck, while
the. force of the exdlosion threw
Fred McCauley and Harry Beal out of
that portion of the basement, an 1 al
most out of the building. It was with
difficulty that Mr. Wurl got out at all, and
after they had gained the first story it
was impossible to again enter the base
ment. PROMPTLY AT THEIR POSTS
The lire department responded imme
diately, and were in a very few mo
ments throwing water in three streams
upon the building in an endeavor to
check the flames. The building being
constructed as it was. beirg so we!!
made, rendered their efforts almost fu
tile for a time, as holes had to be broken
in the building in order to get at the
fire, which had passed from the base
ment to the second story, carried hy
the gas formed in the room, which nt
the explosion was communicated to '.l
parts of the building.
Windows were broken and doors wc-re
forced in, and the hose were soon play
ing on the inner side of the building,
but as the gas had found its way to
every crevice and corner of the whole
structure and all parts of the building
readily showed, from the heavy smoke
coming out, evidences of the fire; the
efforts of the firemen, all of whom
worked like the heroes, that they are.
were not rewarded with the success
they had expected in the way of stop
ping the flames. In the second story
there were a number of rooms and - the
partitions were a source of hindernce
to the boys' who were putting forth
such, strenuous efforts to quell' 'the'-fire.1
ALAG3ITY
de-moii. The ladders of the department
were used and the building scaled, and
holes chopped in the cornice and roof, i.i
order to get at the lire 1o put forth
what efforts they could in getting the
tire under control in one- part, when it
seemed to show up mure fiercely i i
another, until th" accumulation of gas
and heated air between the upper ntory
and the roof caused another explosion,
which threw brick and mortar all o.t-i
t he lavement below. After this tla
boys had a be-tte- opportunity to get at
the lire, and from this on succeeded in
overcoming the llame- very p-addy.
But it was not until about nine o'clock
that they felt that they had the toe en
tirely subdued. And it was one o'clock
the foilov. ing morning before 1 he re
mains of K, (Passman, which had lain
in the cistern in the basement until this
time, and a very sorrowful sight tra-y
presented when found, as from the
force of the explosion his head was
crushed and one eye gone, also several
teeth broken off, the face and ha-l
blackened and charred, and one arm and
both legs broken.
Four broken hydrants and mains caus
ed by the flood of Saturday night drain
ing the stand pipe and a disabled boiler,
caused, the Water company much troubl"
in keeping water for the fire, but they
finally did, fis they had most of th'
time three hose plying water.
Among the boys who distinguished
themselves by their hard work at th"
fire were:Earnst Tuey, who was knock
ed down by the hose once as ho was en
tering the door, in demonstration of the
stuff that he is made of, he jumped u;
and grabbed it again though cove-red
with mud and nearly stunned from the;
blow which he had received from the;
nozzle as it jerked from his hand.-:. Jesse
York did good service and kept at it.
whatever happened. Vic Anderson did
good work; aiso Russell York was a hard
and persistent worker on the- roof. Cus
Swanson kept .going though a bar which
fell and ut a gash in his face that bled
profusly. Lester Burris wa- thrown bad;
by the gas and overcome so he '-nr.i''
near being unable to got out again; it
was a long time before he was able- t
get around after he- had gotten to the
air. J. C. York s.t the- boys an example
of how to fight the lire by getting i.nP
the midst of it. Much consternation
was had when the second explosion cam-
as to the safety of the boys, but nora
of them received any injury from it.
Mr. Boeck carried .1-7M insurance 0:1
his building. The way the building has
been rlamaged it will require a good deal
to put it into shape again. E. A. Wurl
carrier! insurance on his stock to the
amount of .(KjO, and from the way the
water and fire played havoc with his
stock, it looks as though the loss would
be fully that much.
As we go to press Mr. Wurl is rest
ing as easily as could be expected he
would under the circumstances. His
face, head, ears, neck, hands and arms,
as high as his elbows are very
severely burned. The worst place being
his ears and fingers, which were burned
in trying to render assistance o Mr. .
: I- -,i :' : .
- .' .'0!i!.il.t.cl,4l -'l"'-4',''4 .. .
I