New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-05-11
A DIRE CALAMITY.
The City of Enterprise Submerged-Loss
Forty Thousand Dollars.
lI2.n..a C+..r-. L,,tni -r.risn NJ
Prom the Star of Enterprise, May ,. |


Forty Thousand Dollars.
| Prom the Star of Enterprise, May 81
| The heavy rains which we have hat
through the spring seemed fully to saturat.
| the ground and to sustain a high river. ant
| have much retarded farming operations il
| the surrounding country, but ON last Wed
/ nesday afternoon and night it appeared "a!
| if '.the windows of heaven were opened. ,
and dawn revealed the certainty of the
river coming out of its banks. Early in
the morning boats were in requisition ia
communicate across the fiat to the bridge
and the water arose steadily throughout
the day at the rate of about one foot peI
hour, and in the afternoon it was over the
business portion of the town, nor did II
arrive at standpoint until Friday at mid
day, when it had attained ii height above the
recollection of .'the Oldest inhahitant. "
a height of four feet above the great freshet
of 1863, and three feet above the point to
which tradition says it reached in the, until
now, unprecedented flood of 1888. Be that
as it may arriving at and going above the
highest point known to our citizens, it took
them by surprise, and showed them that
they had unwarily depended too much upon
precedent floods, and caused them to bestir
themselves during Thursday night to ele-
vate their goods; but in the night, with a
scarcity of boats, and with the water to the
top of the counters, this was slow work,
and the consequence is that severe losses
have been incurred, losses shared in by all
of our merchants and dealers, to q greater
or less degree
And while the individual losses have
been heavy, our city has suffered severely
in having bridges carried away, sidewalks
washed off, etc, damages which, in the
present condition of the community and the
exhausted state of the city treasury, will
be difficult to repair. Not to mention the
bridges at railroad crossings, on roads, etc,
our fine corporation bridge across the river
is the most severe loss, and one that the
good of the community requires should be
at once repaired, say by pontoon bridge,
formed with the many small boats on hand
for pedestrians, with aferryboat for wagons,
for the present.
But notwithstanding the dire calamity to
our town, it is in the country, with its com
munications cut, its mills gone, and on the
farms that the loss will be principally felt.
The merchant, with his store, possesses a
recuperative energy and ability, not pos
sessed by the farmer, who sees his fences
gone, his growing crop drowned out, his
land washed in gullies, and all the top soil
gone or else covered with RATS of timber
and debris, requiring months to get again to
rights and TO pitch another crop, with labor
scarce and dear, and provisions and proven
der to great extent consumed. With such
a prospect in view and ahead, the stoutest
heart is apt to be appalled,, and the only
help is the ready assistance of the merchant,
which ours, at this time, are toe crippled to
give; but let us remember that in punion
there is strength" and that stout and brave
hearts, with mutual help and forbearance
can overcome all difficulties.
In going among our merchants on Mon
day morning we found the stores like bee
hives, with the occupants hard at work
getting TO rights, and no signs exhibited of
detection. The water level was about six
feet above the sidewalk at Levy's store,
which is somewhat lower than at the ex-
tremities of the row of business houses,
consequently the middle stores of the row
suffered more severely than those at the
north and south ends, where the water
barely reached the counters, with the ex-
ception of Hampers, who was particularly
At the Shropshire House the water stood
four feet deep in the diningroom, and being
over the stoves in the kitchen rendered an
issuance of cold rations unavoidable.
The waters abated very slowly, and it
was opened and our mer-
chants could get dry shod in their stores.
The losses within the corporate limits of
the town are detailed by the Star, but we
publish only the aggregate-about forty
dollars.
The Star continues:
The Mobile and Ohio railroad has also
sustained great damages; no trains are
jassing and we are cut off from all commu-
lication both from above and below. At
he Okatibbee railroad bridge, two miles
iorth, the earth at each abutment was
washed away for a considerable distance,
md this side of it an embankment for
lbout fifty or sixty yards was entirely
washed away, bus at the present writing,
Monday afternoon, the damages have been |
epaired and it is expected that train can |
Don come from Meridian. We can net as |
ertain what damages to the road are sus- |
aimed below, but fears are entertained of |
he Chickasahay bridge below Quitman, |
nd the trains from Mobile are only coming |
S far north as Waynesboro at this time. |
10 train has passed town since Wednesday |
light of last week, and the Mobile train on
thursday night reached within three miles
+ town and put back to Quitman.
But there seems to be no cessation to the
ain to allow work to proceed, it is now, 4
;. M, raining in torrents, and yesterday
Sunday afternoon and through the night
ne rain fell in seemingly inexhaustible
uantlty; and we have reason to fear that
ne river will be again upon us. A severe
all storm passed east of us in northerly
irection, on Sunday afternoon, on the east
IN outskirts of the town, with very little
lin falling at the time no wind, and with
ailstones as large as hen eggs, fell quite