Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1862-06-19
The Floods in the Coal Region.

The coal business has never received SO seri
Gus blow since it assumed the present pro-
portions in trade, as 10y the recent food III
/ Pennsylvania. The more striking particulars
of this disaster are known to our readers. The
! rain began as early as week ago last Sunday
! in some sections, bIt the food occurred on
Tuesday and Wednesday, the waters Of the
! Lehigh Schuyikl and other rivers rising to a
! hight totally unprecedented, aud carry ug
away bridges, dwellings, boats, locks, and even
! groves of trees, with . great loss of human
| life The last and most importa1t item is yet
! very uncertain. 1t is estimated that two hun
| dred boatmen were drowned on the Lehgh,
| with taany women and children. From the
Vast mass of debris, consisting of timber, trees,
broken dwellings, fragments of bridges, boats,
and what not, swept down the river and col.
Iected iu the grove OF the Female School at
| Bethlehem, Pa , no less than thirteen bodies
| have been taken out up to the present time.
| Our present purpose however is not so much
with ths sad recOrd as to state, more accu
raiely than has been hitherto done, the dam
age to the coal interests and The extent to
which that trade will probably be interrupted.
The first 10 he mentioned, and the falthest
South, is the Cumberland bltumiuous religion
Two avenues bring the coal from these mines
TO market through Virginia aud Marylaud--
the Chesapeake and OHIO Canal, from Cum er
land 20 Georgetown aud the Baltimore and
Ohio Railroad, from Cumberland TO Baltimore
| The business here has been much interrupted
10y military movements the lines having been,
at intervals, in the hands of the rebels IN
consequence of ibis, the supply of bitaminou>
aud semI- bitumnOus coal bad already been
greatly diminished But the Harpers Ferry
bridge, which had been saved from the de
slruclive hands Of the rebels by great efforts,
yielded to the food, and the transportation OF
coal is still further delayed. Gu the whole,
however though considerable damage is done
TO the mines and to the canal aud railroads,
the prospect is that the canal will be in run.
niny order in about ten or twelve days, aud
the road, within three or fupr weeks
Coming north, and entering the Anthracite
coal dtds OF PeunSy ylvania, we find that every
avenue, with scarcely single or unlmportanL
exception, is at least temporarily closed. The
principal outlets are the SchuyIkilI Canal, the
Reading Railroad, the L-hrsh Canal, the
Lackawauna aud Western Railroad, and the
Delaware and Hudson Canal. The Schuylklll
CauaI will be repaired within three weeks, aud
the Reading Road is scarcely damaged, bat
will be delayed by the repairs necessary on the
lateral roads, which are its feeders. OF lateral
roads, the Mine Hill and Mill Greek are the
principal, and they will not be ready under
two weeks The La>kawanna Road will need
between one aud Two weeks and the Delaware
and Hudson Canal from four to six weeks
The principal damage on the former is at Port
Jervls the Lackawack Aqueduct, and tue
Ehn
The LehIgh Canal is the grea: sufferer
This COmpany'S work is an Improvement of the
Lehigh River, over which by their charter
they nave exclusive control. The Lehigh is
fed from the mountains, aud is liable to fresh.
els of the most rapid and violent character
Two great foods-one in 1871, aud the other
in lS00-had induced the Company to bulI
their locks embaukmentS, aud bridges in the
most substantial manner, aud it was hoped
that they might defy the elements But the
present treshet has surpassed in violence any
before known, and has fairly ceaued out The
canal, locks, bridges, and all, particularly
above Mauch Chunk There is little hope
that it will be ready for use in its whole length
this season. Indeed, it is believed that lhe
upper part toward White Haven, will not he
reconstructed, but a railroad built instead
The sole reliance for Lehigl coal now remain
ing is the Lehigh Valley Railroad, from Mauch
Chunk, uear which place the most important
mines are situated, to Easton This road will
not be ready TO transport coal in less than
three weeks, though the Beaver Meadow "a
lateral road, joining the Lehigh Valley at
Muuch Chunk. and upon which its business
mainly depeDds) will be much longer delayed.
The proportions of coal carried by the Ie-
high Canal aud Railroad were as follows last
year The Canal, 994. 7O5 tuns the Rail.
road, 743, 672 tuns. This coal IS thought te
have no adequate substitute for furnace and
fouudery purposes, and the cessation of ship
ments by the canal will, of course, tend to ad-