The Annual Rampage of the Columbia
High water levels cause flooding and excitement in White Bluffs as the river reaches 1913 flood stage benchmarks.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The old Columbia is on her annual rampage. On Wednesday, the high-water mark of 1913 had been reached and the river was still rising. Ordinarily, the high-water mark is reached before the 10th of June, but an exceptionally backward spring, combined with the excessive amount of snow last winter, postponed the date. On Thursday, water was running into the street in front of the Boag livery barn and had filled the slough back of the old Spokesman location nearly full. A great quantity of driftwood has been running, and everyone with spare time has been laying in a supply. Some have caught enough to last two or three years.
“The old Columbia is on her annual rampage.”
Before the construction of major hydroelectric dams like Priest Rapids, the Columbia River's seasonal flooding was a defining, and often destructive, force for riverfront towns like White Bluffs. Residents today would find the 'annual rampage' of 1916 unrecognizable, as the river is now highly regulated by modern infrastructure.
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