The Fifteen-Year Flood That Cut Puget Sound Apart

The water in the lowlands of the Puget Sound country is subsiding, although much of the land is still submerged. The storm badly crippled the Northern Pacific. At Eagle Gorge, and at a point just after reaching the western slope of the Cascades, from one-half to one mile of track and trestle has been either covered with landslides, washed out by mountain torrents, or otherwise blocked, impeding the progress of trains. An immense force of men has been sent to the scene, and everything possible is being done to repair the damage and again make the track serviceable. All business from the east is transacted by the N.P. road by way of Portland, but trains will be running over the Cascades tomorrow.

The water has been higher in the Duwamish country than it has been known for fifteen years, and the farmers have sustained heavy losses in garden truck. The damage to county bridges in King and Pierce counties will reach $40,000. Both towns of Slaughter and Kent, in King County, were inundated.

With a view of preventing future washouts, a new channel will be either dredged or blasted out where the Puyallup River flows into the tide flats at the head of the bay at Tacoma. The new channel made by throwing a dam across at the St. Paul and Tacoma mill has not proved entirely satisfactory. While in a swollen condition the current of the river in the new channel washes the banks of the river to a considerable extent. Yesterday a block of lots, valued at $1,000 per lot, were washed out into the bay, and unless an additional channel is constructed further damage is feared. For the damage already done and for the proposed new channel the Tacoma Land Company and the St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company will probably settle after adjustment.

Owing to this suspension of traffic on the Cascade division, wheat receipts are cut off temporarily, but local wheat shippers are amply prepared for this contingency. The total bulk of grain now stored in Tacoma amounts to 1,000,000 bushels, which would meet all ordinary demands, even if there were no receipts whatever, until December 1. There are now loading three ships, which will carry away about one-third of the visible supply here.