Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1870-10-15
The Disastrous Inundations in Vir-
ginla.


The additional details which we publish
this morning, in connection with our reports Of
the last three days of the late unparalleled inrn-
dations Of the beautiful valleys Of the Virginia
rivers, from the James TO the Potomac and the
Shenandoah, give us distressing exhibit of the
losses OF life and property involved. The bulk
of the wealth of the State, agricultural and
manufacturing, is in the fats or bottom lands
of those river valleys which, between the noun
tainS or hills on each side vary from half
mile 10 four or five miles in width. These bot
tom lands of the main Shenandoah river and
its branches, for example, are some eight or
ten feet above the ordinary summer level Of
the stream, and almost every spring and au-
tumn the banks are filled to overfowing. But
when as in this late terrible equinoctial, the
drainage Of the mountains over an area OF
twenty or thirty thousand square miles, from
E7zi.=44ll of two days, <Sual to one-fourth the
average rainfall Of whole year. is poured
down into these rivers, the only wonder Is that
so many people of those narrow valleys es-
cape from the very jaws Of destruction, aud
that so fe ', with the desperate chances in their
favor, were drowned.
The heaviest losses Of property from this
unprecedented October food land food early
in October Is annually looked for from Mary
land TO the CarolinasJ have been in the valley
of the James river, between Lynchburg and
Richmond, in the sweeping away Of or dam
ages to -four mills and factories will their con-
tents, bridges canal embankments, crops,
fences, houses, live stock, and so forth. In the
Shenandoah valley, however, where they haSo
had an unexampled wheat crop 10 quantity
and quality, and a heavy hay crop, the losses
of the farmers and millers have been immense
/ for their wheat was mainly in the mills which
/ have been swept away, together with their hay
stacks in the river bottoms. Sheridans terri
! ble raid UP that valley during the war; in which
| two thousand barns and scores Of mills, with
! their contents, were burned, and all the live
stock within his reach was taken away, was
| hardly more destructive than this disastrous
! inundaton to the beautiful but unfortunate
Shenandoah valley.
The embarrassments and suffering thus re-
sultiug TO tb>>State would, however, be COM
paratiys>y easy to bear, il limited 10 the val
| ieys of the James ind Shenandoah. But the
| disaster has extended to all the rivers Of Vir-
ginia, more or less, and it may be that mis-
fortune so general and so heavy will require
some relief from other quarters. II so, we arc
sure that the rich and generous city OF New
York WILL as usual, in all cases where a suffer-
ing community calls for aid, be the first TO ex-
tend helping hand. The people of Virginia,
in their heroic efforts 10 recover from their
prostration by the war, have commanded the
general admiration Of the North. Yet it has
so happened in the mysterious dispensations
I of Providence that at the very time when those
self-reliant people were congratulating them
selves that they were fairly on their feet again
this heavy disaster has come upon them. But
| let them not be discouraged, and N the desti-
tuition calling for immediate relief resulting
from these ruinous floods is more than they can
meet, let the ie.ts be known and relief will be
given from New York and the North to our
brethren restored again to the family altar Of
/ the Union Neic York Herald.