Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1862-06-16
The FIaoa b. lIs, ,II.shIgh ,ypIIey..Lo.. Or
[From the Philadelphia Inquirer.l


A great storm has passed over Eastern
Pennsylvania In its wake are ruined
fields Of grain, stranded boats upon three
great rivers, tottering and deserted houses,
and at least one hundred dead bodies, DASH
ed by a wild current against mountain
rocks or floating logs. The works COM
pleted by the joint efforts Of labor and cap
/ ital in a long course Of years, have been
| swept almost out of existence in q single
night. A score Of iron furnaces have
ceased to scatter their sparks into the air
hundreds Of sturdy laborers have been
| thrown out Of employment, and the scenes
and incidents which marked the great food
of 1841 have been repeated upon an en-
larged scale in June, 1862. In no section
has the loss been as heavy as in the valley
Of the Lehigh, although the Schuyll1ill and
Delaware wed with each other in their
rage.
The head waters Of the Lehigh were the
first to feel the heavy rains, but no effect
was visible until Wednesday night last
The extreme northern dam, 1t is believed,
then gave way, at or near White Haven
The flood of water poured southward, car
rying everything before it, and receiving
new force and acquiring new impetus as
it overcame each obstacle. Dam after dam
was destroyed, until scarcely three remain
/ ed between Mauch Chunk and White
Haven
The alarm spread along the river. The
water actually rose fifteen feet in ten min
utes A canal boat drifted down, now in
clining to one side and dipping its deck
into the river and again reversing its po-
sition On it were six men. Their shouts
could be distinctly heard, but no aid could
be offered. The brief interval in which
they passed the gazers was one Of horror.
The boat struck rock at the head of an
island, near Bethlehem, and split asunder.
The men clung to the wreck, and finally
managed, with one exception, to secure a
resting place until TIE morning Of Thurs
day
There was high canal lock at Mauch
Chunk It was veteran, and stood the
shock Of the freshet Of l64l without trem-
bling. When the rush came last week its
good reputation made the quiet water be-
low it a harbor for scores of boats, the
crews looking over the river, as well as
the darkness would permit, at their less
fortunate companions, and blessing their
luck Many Of them went to bed. The
lock gave way. The boats were engulphed
in the torrent, and of the sleepers it is be-
lieved that at least fifty awoke to find
themselves struggling in death. A num-
Der Of women were among the list.
On the low land above Bethlehem stood
house occupied by a family whose name
was Hoffman The frame structure was
swept away, and a woman and two chill.
dren were drowned.
A sad incident was the passage down
the stream of a child in its cradle II
was alive, but the frail fabric was every
momentin in danger Of being upset. 1t was
seen at .Easton. The fate of the child, il
it should escape drowning and die of star.
vation, is too horrible to contemplate.
The Beaver Meadow railroad lost many
cars, but saved the locomotives. All the
bridges on this road, and all the bridges
over the Lehigh river are destroyed
At least fifty canal boats were destroyed
at Maueh Chunk. Their average cost, ex.
elusive Of cargo, was $500 each.
The stoppage Of iron works was general
Among those which stopped were the fol
! lowing Lehigh Iron Company Furnace
! Carbon Iron Works; COOper's Furnace
and Lehigh Valley Works.
The Allentown Works and the Thomas
! Iron Company still continue, but may have
to stop for want Of coal
. It is almost impossible to imagine the
I devastation caused by the freshet. Every
town in the valley situated near the river
| was more or less injured. No details as
| to the financial extent Of the loss can b.
given.