Complex sentence: Numerous steamboats were wrecked on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain, and much of the Pontchartrain Railroad was flooded or washed out, with damage estimated at $100,000.
Split into simpler sentences: Numerous steamboats were wrecked on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. Much of the Pontchartrain Railroad was flooded or washed out, with damage estimated at $100,000.