Histories: Trempealeau Co. Historical Accounts:
"History of Trempealeau County Wisconsin, 1917":
Chapter 23: More Historical Papers
The Flood of 1876
-As transcribed from page 901
The great flood of March, 1876,
marks an important epoch in Trempealeau County life, for while there
were no casualties, and only a few serious injuries, old pioneers date
all the events of the early days as happening "before the flood" or
"after the flood."
The flood was ushered in by a severe rain. Soon every river and
creek was flooded. In the Trempealeau Valley, where the Green Bay
had caused a number of new villages to spring up, the damage was the
worst. Some of the millers in order to save their dams, opened
their sluice gates, and this made the condition in the lower valley all
the worse. The villages and hamlets were flooded, the people had
to go about in boats. There were a number of thrilling rescues,
amusing stories are told of people taken from wood piles and box cars,
and even of one adventurous cow which made its way with its calf up a
pair of stairs and was found the next morning safe on a stair landing,
many feet above the raging flood. The flood was followed by
severe cold, some isolated families had to burn furniture and laths
from their houses to keep warm. Vast tracts of water froze
shortly afterward, making the valley one great ice field.
Many thrilling scenes were also enacted in the Beaver Creek Valley, especially at Galesville.
The saddest affair was at Independence. It began to rain there in
the forenoon, and continued most of the day. The ground being
hard frozen, the creeks were soon roaring torrents. Toward
evening four boys - Lee Fay, Fred Hill and two Schmidt boys - went on
the railroad bridge across Elk Creek to watch the ice break up.
So intent were they in watching the ice that they did not observe that
the track was covered with water, and they were unable to get off and
had to cling to the truss of the bridge all night. As they had
told no one where they were going, their friends were unable to locate
them and when found next day they were in a pitiful condition.
The physicians called concluded that immediate amputation of the feet
was necessary. The operation was performed by Drs. George N.
Hidershide and Frank L. Lewis, of Arcadia.
The experience of Dr. Geo. N. Hidershide in this connection throws an
interesting light on the life of a physician in the early days.
Word reached Arcadia of the tragedy at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, and
Dr. Hidershide, crossing the raging river in a skiff, secured a saddle
horse from a farmer and started on his errand of mercy. At the
Two-Mile Bridge he was forced to take to the hills. At every
valley he had to go nearly to the head of the stream, as all were too
swollen for crossing. All that terrible chilling night he toiled
on his way, and it was not until 5 o'clock the next morning that he
reached his destination at Independence, only nine miles from
Arcadia. He made the boys as comfortable as he could, and then
returned to Arcadia. Later he and Dr. Lewis performed the
amputating operation.