This spring Canadians can hardly turn on the television or radio without hearing about the devastating floods in Manitoba and Quebec. As local residents watch the water levels rise, many can’t help but think of the floods of 1950 and 1997, both of which are still very much alive in popular memory.

Fewer people, however, are familiar with Manitoba’s historic floods. This article, originally published in a 1950 edition of The Beaver, recounts the events of the record-setting 1826 flood. The account is taken straight from the journal of Francis Heron, a clerk at the Hudson’s Bay Company, and provides a vivid look at the relentless flood that ruined property, took lives, and almost destroyed the Red River Settlement.

You can read more about Manitoba’s historic floods, click here for an account of the 1950 flood.