(From the Star of May 23, 1891.)One of the heaviest rains that has ever visited Comanche-co., began to fall about 6 o'clock p.m. on last Friday, May 15. The windows of heaven seemed to open and let the water down in torrents. The rain was accompanied in places by considerable hail, although the hail area extended only over the country to the north and northwest of this city. It appears that the hail did not extend any further south than the railroad track. The hail was a destructive element and stripped wheat fields and gardens in its path, and even killed many jack rabbits and birds. The rain continued to pour down all through Friday night and on Saturday morning the roaring waters of Cavalry Creek could be very plainly heard for a mile or more. The creek was half a mile side in places, and swept bridges, fences and everything that came in its way. Kiowa and Bluff Creeks, in the northwest and western parts of the county, were also on the rampage. The Kiowa is said to have been four miles wide in places. Mule Creek was also on the boom. Along all these streams cattle and all kinds of stock were drowned, in many places, and crops and fences were washed out. One of the peculiar features of the flood was the changing of the course of the Kiowa. That stream left its channel one mile north of Protection by cutting through a huge bank, and then took its course southeast of Protection, instead of running west and south it its old channel. It now empties its waters into Cavalry Creek a short distance southeast of Protection, instead of into the Santanta, as heretofore. Near Protection, along the course of the new stream, about half a mile of the railroad track was washed away, the waters carrying the ties and rails for half a mile or more.
Joe Sherman and his family resided on Cavalry Creek, south of Protection and, at the time of the flood, there were 11 persons at his home, viz: Mrs. Charles Sherman and two children, Mr. Sherman's mother, aged 73 years, all of this city, and a nephew, Geo. Sherman, besides Joe Sherman's family, consisting of his wife and four children. The house was located near the creek, and consisted of three apartments, the main room being built of sod, and just above the sod house was a sleeping room built of lumber and covered with shingles. There was also and addition built to the sod house of lumber. About 12 o'clock Friday night, Mrs. Joe Sherman, who was sleeping down stairs, was awakened by what she supposed was water dripping into the adjoining room. When she first stepped out upon the floor the water was about a foot deep, but before she could cross the floor the door burst open and the water rushed in to the depth of three to four feet. She gave the alarm, and all who were sleeping down below made haste to get into the upper story, but before they could get up the steps the water was four or five feet deep in the lower rooms, and, in their haste they all forgot a little 2-year-old baby that was left in a cradle below. As quick as thought, Mr. Geo. Sherman started to the rescue, and, lo and behold, the water had raised within 18 inches of the ceiling, and it was dark, or course, as there was no time to think of light. The cradle was floating and the baby was safe, and Mr. Sherman rescued it by swimming for it. The waters were rising rapidly, and already the floor of the second story was covered. Joe Sherman was at work in the meantime knocking the shingles off of the roof for an opening to get out on the roof, and making hand-holds for all to hold to when they were forced to the roof. They were soon forced out, however, and each of the grown folks and a baby to take care of, and to hold onto to keep them from drowning, and, by the way, there were two babies, aged respectively 4 and 5 months, and tow babies each two years old. An eddy formed in the creek where the house was standing, and the party had scarcely gotten their holds on the top of the roof before a wave came and swept the house from its foundation. Of course the sod part of the house was left, and the roof and frame addition began to float off in the fast swelling current. About an hour and a half elapsed between the time Mrs. Sherman was awakened and the building broke anchor. The night was very dark, and nothing could be seen or heard beyond the rushing of the water as they passed down Calvary toward the Cimarron. All of a sudden there was a crash. The addition to the house had broken loose from the roof. This let the side of the roof that the party was on into the water, and the other side of the roof came to the surface. Then there was a scramble for the other side, and, by holding of breath and keeping hands over the mouth of the children, the other side of the roof was reached by all the party, after considerable struggling and strangling. And now comes the most miraculous part of it all - the house floated down the creek four miles, and finally struck anchor and stopped in the shallow water ten feet from the Cimarron river. If it had gone 10 feet further, all would have gone over a 6-foot falls, and undoubtedly would have been shaken from the roof and drowned. It was a miraculous escape all round. It was some time after the roof anchored before the party were rescued from the waters which surrounded them, and finally after having been in the water from 12 o'clock at night until 2 o'clock the next day, they were taken out, one by one, on horseback by a son of S. S. Smith, who lives in that vicinity. The whole party had been submerged in cold water, mixed with hail, for 14 hours, with nothing on but their night clothes.
The above facts were given to us by Chas. Sherman, whose wife and baby went through the ordeal, and we can vouch for the correctness of the statements.
Among the heavy losers from hail near Coldwater were A. Darroch, W. G. Clark, E. W. Black, Dan Hase, Harry Allderdice, Bob Kirk, John and Ira Hadley and Mr. Rivers. I. G. Howard, who lived near the head of Mule Creek, was also a heavy loser. The railroad lost heavily. All along the line bridges, culverts and tracks were washed away. The bridges where most damage was done were at Wilmore, across Mule Creek, near Coldwater, at Calvary Creek, and near Protection on Bluff Creek. Much of the track was washed out at each place. Fully half a mile of track and roadbed were washed away this side of Protection. Iron rails, weighing from 300 to 400 pounds, were washed half a mile from the roadbed. Over 100 men have been at work during the past week repairing the damage.
On Wednesday and Thursday of this week another heavy rain fell almost five inches in all. While much damage has been done by the flood, great good will result to the growing wheat.
Also see:
George Nelson & Emma Sophia (Dewees) Sherman "George Nelson Sherman, son of Joel and Harriet Sherman, was born near Charleston, Illinois, July 3, 1869. He came to this county in 1891 and went into the cattle business with his uncle Joe Sherman, south of Protection. He was living with them that spring, when a flash flood on Cavalry Creek swept away their sod house. He, and the ten other people living there, escaped drowning by riding all night on their wooden roof, nearly to the Cimarron River, until S.S. Smith and his young son, Frank, rescued them."
James Frank Smith "In the spring of 1891, a neighbor stopped by the Smith's around noon and mentioned that another neighbor, the Shermans, had been seen around midnite on Bluff Creek, floating downstream on their roof of their house. The Smith's found the Shermans caught on some debris where the Bluff Creek empties into the Cimarron River. J. Frank was sent into the water with a rope around his waist and leading a horse in order to help the Joe Shermans from their raft in the water. It took several entries into the murky and swirling water to rescue this cold and very uncomfortable family of eleven. Six were children, all under the age of 6, and a grandmother over eighty. The family was taken to the Stephen Smith and A. H. Baker homes for food and dry clothing. The community was so enraged at this man named Jeffreys, who didn't get help for the Shermans sooner, he finally left the country."
Thanks to Shirley Brier for finding, transcribing and contributing the above news article to this web site!
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