Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1862-06-20
Great Flood in Pennsylvania.
Loss OF OVER ONE HUNDRED LIVES.

~ hAAouGiphi" ftE"1S' mas oN'iAS
particulars of the loss of life in the
Lehigh Valley freshet, vaguely reported
in former accounts. 1t says:
"A great storm has passed over East
ern Pennsylvania. In its wake are ru-
ined fields of grain, stranded boats upon
three great rivers, tottering and deserted
houses, and at least one hundred dead
bodies, dashed by a wild current against
mountain rocks or floating logs. The
works completed by the joint efforts of Ia
Dor and capital, in long course ofyears,
have been swept almost out of existence
in single night. A score of iron fur
naces have ceased to scatter their sparks
into the air hundreds of sturdy labor
ers have been thrown out of employ
ment, and the scenes and incidents which
marked the great food Of 184l have
been repeated upon an enlarged scale in
June, 1862. In no section has the loss
been as heavy as in the valley of I.ehigh,
although the Schuylkill and Delaware
wed with each other in their rage.
There are MANY islands in the Lehish.
The soil is generally fertile, and they
are nearly all well cultivated. This was
the case with the one opposite Allentown.
A covered bridge led to the main land.
During the night great crash aroused
the three families living upon the island.
Their only means of escape had been
carried away by bridge which formerly
had spanned the stream above, and the
two fabrics were now on the way to the
Delaware. There was no boat, and even
if there had been, the chances of safely
rowing through such swift current were
but slight. How the families passed the
night Of Wednesday and the morning of
Thursday we do not know. But when
morning appeared they found many acres
of grain and garden transformed into a
barren waste. The rich loan had given
place to white sand, and fences and barns
had disappeared as if by the touch OF a
magician. For their own safety they
were indebted to Providence and solid
brick walls.
There was a high canal lock at Mauch
Chunk. 1t was a veteran, and stood the
shock of the freshet of 1S4I without
trembling. When the rush came last
week its good reputation made the quiet
water below it a harbor for scores of
boats, the crews looking over the river,
as we'll as the darkness would permit, at
their less fortunate companions, and bles-
sing 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 find themselves struggling
with giant whose touch annihilated the
world before the days of Noah. The
names of these victims will never be
known They were, of course, strangers
at Mauch Chunk, earning their living by
travelling from place to place. A num-
ber Of women were among the lost.
On the low land above Bethlehem
stood house occupied by a family whose
name, we believe, was Hoffman. The
frame structure was swept away, and a
woman and two children were drowned.
Below Bethlehem the corpses of two
persons, man and woman were found.
The woman was hanging upon a fence
, in semi-nude state.
So great was the force of the water
that the thickest trees we're uprooted and
twirled around the cork. Boats loaded
with coal were landed high and dry on
the sides of the mountains. The Grey
Eagle, with over one hundred barrels of
liquor, was found on the Lehigh Valley
railroad, half way between Allentown
and Bethlehem.
Five months will not repair the dam
age to the Lehigh Canal. The embank-
ments are ruined for miles. The locks
are broken and boats are wrecked.
The loss of these boats falls heavily
on the owners. The loss of the horses
and mules is borne by a class of men
particularly untitled TO sustain it. The
stables were generally upon the banks
of the canal. They were all swept
away.
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 danger of being upset. 1t
was seen at Easton. The fate of the
child, if it should escape drowning and
die of starvation, is to horrible TO con-
template"
It is estimated that over one hundred
/ lives have been lost.
IN 4 -. i - L.,