A half-column account of the flood appeared in the March 23 1881 addition of The Journal
Robert McPherson's house was three feet in water, and several small farms in the neighborhood were entirely submerged. The bottom between the Loup and Platte river wagon brides was covered with three to four feet of slush ice. Guy C. Barnum's family moved out at 2 o'clock of morning of March 21, going to Jackson.
Sam Rickly and Joe Miller came in from the ranch (between the Loup and Platte), and related some of their experiences during the flood. The water was so deep for most of the time that they hoisted their bed to the ceiling and for four days and nights they lived on top of their hut and in a tree. Sam said that after the waters subsided, and the stock had dry soil under them, they would skip and jump about in wild fun, evidently relishing the change in affairs, and Sam acknowledges that he was a little tickled himself.
Saturday, March 19, the Loup river broke up with a flood the like of which had not been seen since 1867, when the waters covered the bottom south of the city. Abundance of ice two feet thick. Early in the flood the middle spans of the Loup river wagon bridge were seen to loosen and quietly float down stream. Eight spans of the Platte bridge had been swept off when the stream broke up. George Spooner's dwelling was taken several squares, and set down again in good shape. Mrs. Hamer's building was considerably riddled. David Anderson had about $100 worth of hogs caught and lost. He was not at home. The U.P. bridge between Duncan and Lost Creek stations was very considerably damaged--all the superstructure gone and perhaps half the piling, with a considerable amount of track out of shape. John Haney, not having had the least warning of the flood, had two hundred and ten head of cattle swept off, recovering only fifty of them. Only twenty-eight were as young as yearlings, and were worth considerably more than twenty dollars a head. Mr. Haney thought he could have saved his herd if he had had ten minutes warning. The school house near Mrs. Barrows' residence was moved about a mile by the flood, and placed very nearly the center of the district. Mr. Chambers of the A.& N., Ora Shannon and others went down the track on a hand car, and their attention was attracted by a signal waved from Mrs. Barrows' dwelling, which was quite a distance into the water. The party returned to the city, and, taking an engine, flat-car and a boat with them, returned and rescued Mrs. Barrows, her children and Mrs. Dykes, who was stopping with them. Large trees near the house probably saved it from being swept away. Henry Binder had upwards of 200 sheep drowned.
The above article was taken from Platte County News, "Many Years Ago". You can read it by clicking HERE
Photo from History Of Platte County located HERE
