The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1870-10-03

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the same time, the water rapidly arose. it
was evident at about noon that the bridge
must go. AT quarter-past II the part over
Manchester creek parted company with the
rest, and it was followed in few minutes
| by all that part of the bridge, two or three
hundred yards in length, on the south side
| of the island. The precautions taken by
the police authorities were so effective that,
notwithstanding the great anxiety OF the
crowd to expose themselves to the danger
Of being washed away, nobody was on any
part of the bridge when it f1oated off.
| Mayo's gone, all eyes were turned to-
ward the Danville bridge, and It hardly
seemed possible that it could long With
stand the rising current. But its powers Of
endurance, aided by measures carried into
effect by Superintendent Dodamead and
his assistants, proved fully equal to the
occasion. About five feet of weather.
Hoarding was knocked off the lower part Of
| the bridge to allow the water to pass
through, and a still more efficient means OF
keeping it in place was the loading Of q
ming them on the bridge. The tide crept
up to the very floor Of the massive struc.
ture. and the drift-wood was fercely hurled
against it without intermission for, hours ;
but the bridge remained unshaken to the
very last.
The Petersburg railroad bridge was
never thought to be in danger, and it did
not disappoint the expectations OF its
friends. Trans ran over it when the wa
ter was doing it's worst, and the passengers,
knowing its condition, felt as safe rs on dry
land.
| ROCKETS AND TuEREABoUTs. ss.
Rockets suffered perhaps more than any
other part of the city. The river, rising
! above the wharvcS, spread itself over whole
blocks. and an idea of the height Of the
fresh may he obtained from the statement
that only the peaks of the roofs of the
steamboat sheds were visible. Gillic' screek
was swollen to the dimensions of 4 good
sized river, and Bloody Run was for while
4 foaming torrent. The James River Steam
boat Company's sheds were swept away
quite early i'll the action, and after bump
inc against several houses and knocking
down 4 street lamp, departed in pieces.
The people in dwelling-houses, vainly
hoping that the flood would soon subside,
were driven from floor to floor, until finally
they and their furniture had to be taken out
of the garret windows and carried away in
boats to the houses of hospitable neighbors.
Among the places Of business submerged
we hear of Fl. W. Tyler's feed store; the
shops in Tyler's row, on Nicholson street {;
Capt. Ira Bruce's bar-room; Frederick
Miller's toy and confectionery store John
Romer's grocery: VIM. Parrsh's grocery ;
DR.. W. r. Farrar's drug store; GilPs har-
ness shop; and the Southern Fertilizing
Company's warehouse. Mr.. Gill was a
Woodworking mechanic, who, after several
years Of steady application to business, was
beginning to show evidences Of prosperity.
His shop was swept away, and its contents
are a total loss. Morriss's sugar refinery
Isulered severely. The second floor was
! |riDpcd up by the flood, and all the ma
chnery was precipitated into the cellar.
The new sheds of the Virginia Steamship
and Packet Company were considerably
damaged. The amount OF the loss in any OF
the cases above enumerated cannot yet be
estimated with any degree of accuracy.
Desiring to 60 to Rockets, and not caring
to 90 by water, the shortest land route for
our reporter lay by way of Oakwood Ceme'
terry, Blakey's mill, and Wickersville. This
road had to be taken by all the charcoal
men. marketmen, and others, who, caught
here by the freShet, wished to get out on
the river road. The circuit necessary was
not less than three miles.
! THE VALLEY.
As the river rose the back-water grad.
ually made its way up Shocko Creek until
it obtained 4 considerable height above the
keystones of the different arches spanning
the stream at the street crossings. The
bridge in rear Of the Lancasterian school
house was carried away, and the houses on
both sides OF the creek as far up as the loot
OF President Hill, consisting mostly Of small
framed dwellings, were inundated. Some
! of their inhabitants moved to the upper
stories, but the greater number, with all
their worldly goods, abandoned their homes
and struck for a higher position.
| THE GAS WORKS. ....
The river never before rose high enough
| to iniure the Gas Works very seriously, and
the superintendent had no reason to appre-
hend such state of affairs this time. w hen
the day hands came to work in the morn
ing the water had not made headway
enough to cause any alarm. But it soon
began to rise within the enclosure with
such rapidity rs to make it necessary for
work to be abandoned. At O'Clock Z. Nj.
the fires we're all eXtineuished by the flood,
and the water was five feet deep In the
retort-house. The engines were entirely
submerged. ss
| We were told that there We're 900 feet
of gas in the holder-enoueh to last private
consumers for day or two but very few
persons enjoyed gas-lght on Saturday and
Sunday nights. The superintendent, how
ever, early notified citizens Of the condition
Of the works, and before dark almost every
body was supplied with candles or kero-
sene. OF course we had to dispense with
street lamps. We know of only one that
was lighted. 1t was on the corner Of Cary
and 17th streets, in the midst of the flood.
IT will probably be several days before
Richmond will again enjoy the luxury OF
gas, as, after the water has left the works high
and dry, even if everything is found in or:
der, it will take thirty.siX hours to get up
the cheats" The damage sustained by
the works is not known. 1t is feared that
the retorts may have been injured by the
contraction consequent upon sudden cool
ing, and that the coal has been rendered
unfit for early use.
THE wATER-wORKS.
We visited the pump. house about 7. M.
on Saturday, and found the Superintendent
on the spot with his force, ready for any
emergency that might arise. All of the
tools, &C., had been removed from the tool.
house to higher ground out of danger, and
the house Itself, to guard against possible
washing away, securely fastened with large
ropes to the surrounding trees. a small
wooden building which had been lately
erected at the west end Of the main build
ing and was not completed, had been car
ried off by the flood. Work was stopped on
Friday, and, as precautionary measure, all
of the feed-gates were tightly closed. The
water entered the main building from the
river front, and rose rapidly until it had
gained an elevation of four and half feet
above the pump tloor-four feet higher than
il was ever known at that point before. The
machinery was submerged, no part of ii
being visible but the upper portions of the
wheels and the air-boX.
SCARCITY OF WATER.
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