The Democratic press. (Eaton, Preble County, Ohio) 1860-1865, 1862-06-26
The Flood in Ga 1l|1 valley.

A great stoi'ih W passed over
Eastern PehnsylYanI Ia its wake
are ruined fields 81 hi, stranded
boats upon three ale5l rivers, tot
tering and deserted ||5uses, and at
least one hundfed Head bodies,
dashed by wild e9llsat against
mountain rocks og Ioating logs.
The works couFlptY by the joint
efforts 4of labor and III, in a.
long course ofssyes ase been
swept almost OUT of existenGe in a
single night. A score Of iron fur
naces have ceased to scatter their
sparks into the air; hundreds of
sturdy laborers have been thrown
out Of employmtnt, and the scenes
and incidents which marked the
great food of 1841 have been re-
peated upon q large scale in June,
1862. In no section has the loss
been as heavy as in the valley Of
the Lehigh, although the Schuyl-
kill and Delaware We'd 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 ex-
treme northern dam, it is believed, =,
then gave way, at or near White
haven. The flood of water poured
southwark, carrying everything be.
fore it, and receiving new force
and acquiring new impetus as it
overcame each obstacle. Dam after
dam was destroyed, until scarcely
three remained between Mauch
Chunk and Whitehaven.
The alarm spread along the river.
The water actually rose fifteen feet
in ten minutes. A canal boat
drifted down, now inclinlng to one
side, and then again reversing its
position. On it were six men.
Their shouts could be distinctly
heard, but no aid could be offered.
The brl # interval in which they
passed the gazers was one of hor-
ror. The boat struck a rock at
the head of an Island, near Beth
lehem, and split, asunder. The
men clung TO the wreck, and final
ly managed, with one exception, to
secure resting place until the
morning of Thursday.
There was a high canal lock at
Mauch Chunk. 1t was a veteran,
and stood the shock of the freshet
of 1841 without trembling. When
the rush came last week its repu
tation made the quiet water below
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 believed that at least fifty
awoke to lind themselves struggling
in death. A number of women
were among the list.
On the low land above Bethle-
hem stood o house occupied by Il
family whose namo was Hoffman.
The frame structure was swept
away, and q woman and two chill
Aren were drowned.
A sad incident was the passage
down the stream of a child in its
cradle. 1t was alive, but the frail
fabric was every moment in dan
ger of being upset. 1t was seen
at Easton. The fate of the child.
if it should escape drowning and
die Of starvation, is too horrible to
contemplate.
The Beaver Meadow Railroad
lost many cars, but saved the loco
motives. All the bridges on this
road, and all the bridges over the
Lehlgh river are destroyed.
At least fifty canal boats were
destroyed at Mauch Chunk. Their
average cost, exclusive of cargo,
was $500 each.
The stoppage Ct iron works was
general. 1t is almost impossible to
imagine the 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 be given,-PhH. ENQUIRER.