The River Rose Thirty Years High—and Took a Logger With It

THE FLOOD ON [SKOKOMISH].

Union City, Jan. 18.—Special.—The highest water on the lower Skokomish known in thirty years came last Saturday and Sunday. Snow to the depth of about twenty-eight inches fell the previous week, which had settled somewhat because of a cold rain. It was deeper farther up the river and on the hills. This went off with a three days' rain, beginning on Wednesday night, and raised the river from six inches to a foot higher than has been known for twenty years. A few cattle and horses have been drowned. Bridges were carried away, and a third of the approaches to the new bridge across the [Skokomish] near its mouth were carried off. Government property on the reservation has been damaged, and a jam has formed in the river about five miles from its mouth. Men have been at work clearing out the logs in the river for the past few weeks, so as to run down the logs which were cut up the river last summer and jammed before. But this came so suddenly and fiercely as to make it worse than ever. The worst accident of all, however, was the drowning of Mr. Matthews last Friday, in the north fork of the Skokomish. He and a partner were coming down the river in a canoe when a new log crossed their way. Before they could do anything to save themselves the canoe struck the log and broke to pieces. His partner escaped and barely saved himself, but Mr. Matthews was drowned. He was a Canadian and not far from 31 years old. He had been logging on the river for the past two years. His body has not yet been recovered.