, 1866-03-05
FRESUET AT OIL GREER.
The Recent Tee Gorge and Break Up
Serious Destruction OF Property
Warehouses and Boats swept away
Imminent Peril OF the CIty-Two Lfves



Serious Destruction OF Properly
warehouses and Boats swept away
lmnllncnI Peril OF the CIty-Two Lfves
Lost.
From the Reno T1mes 1.t.I
On Saturday morning the ice In OIL Greek
and the Allegheny, which had become loosen
ed by the previous thaw and cousc4uent rise
In these rivers, burst It's barriers and came
down with immense force. The first rush
passed Oil City about 1850 q. M, and did lit
lie comparative damage. as the day pro-
greseed the streams kept swelling, and the
ice breaking its Vay gradually downward.
The eecond gorge was formed ut OIL City
about O'Clock In the afternoon, and the last
and most destructive one shout 10 p. N. Dur
foundations were torn from beneath large
new wooden house situated on the western
side Of the creek, . few yards above the bridge
and leaving 1t In = most precasions position.
The basement had been occupied as school
house and store-rootn. The second floor Was
N. T., and used as aonr and iced store. The
first shock left the building with the floor
greatly inclined towards the water, and the
leoring was detaehed from the walls. The
corr, ,oat and potato bins we're thus aal emptied
over the side Of the wharf upon which the
building was erected. NIB. had recently in
creased his stock, aud nearly or quite 1.500
y
tatcd into the water. The Ice and water hav-
ing vastly accumulated meanwhile, the second
charge was made about o'clock p. m
During this second trial of its strength, Its
fury Ia said to have exceeded description.
The entire body of the stTeAm was tiled by
Immense blocks Of Ice. These ,nasses were
atill as hard and arm as in the midwinter,
and had been torn, not melted, from their
places. In starpcd cornered, massive blocks,
ysryipr from siI to thirty feet across, they
were lifted and crowded rpon tho banks.
wlaryca and the roads, The breakup was
earlier than Was anticipated, most Of the
owners had neglected the usual precautions
two-thir1s Of the whole number on Oil Creek
were swept away and crushed to pieces.
Broken and whole, here . bow piece, aud
there gunwale, down they came with the
ice, grinding, creaking and breaking as they
were driven along now lifted high above the
water On hinge masses of Ice, and again loaded
with the pieces I'LL they sank beneath the sur
the flood, had accumulated at every inter.
ruption and became more and more frTeststt-
bic as 1t approached Oil City, not less th,n
halfof which at one time seemed devoted to
destruction. The road on the western branch
~1or mile above, was Mled with loose emasscs
eicks between It and the stream almost with
ont exception, and crowded high up against
the bank with such violence, that large
masseses Of rock were detached aud came
down to mingle in the rutus~
The already leaning hense Of Messrs. Ar
buthnot d Co. was swept away in moment
the bridge was lifted from It's foundations and
whlrlcd onward with the Ice. The new rail-
road bridge which h4d been IN process Of con-
struction, little below, disappeared to be
seen no more. The water had risen so that
the cattle and horses were swum from the sta.
bles to higher land to Eave them from drown
ing.
II WAS not until about ten o'clock TINT the
last gorge was made and the work Of destrnc-
tion completed. This WAS more disastrous
than any Of Its predecessors, involving not
only the ruin Of more property, but also the
loss Of Life. A tuE boat named the Gen. IT.
win had been laid up for tho winter on the op-
poslte side Of the Allegheny. The caapthin
and several Of the crew were on board, Ire.
pairing the boat for spring, when the jam OF
Ice struck It. r
4 considerable amount OF uncertainty, oW'
Ing to the darkness of the night and the gen
era1 excitement, envelopes the subsequent &C
cidentB. It L. stated that the engineer and IN
assistant, both colored men. were carried out
and sunk with the boat, while others affirm
that their lives were Lost In attempting to
reach the shore. The captain narrowly e.