Wilmington daily commercial., 1873-08-22
FIRST EDITION.
FLOOD AND RUIN.
A GREAT CALAMITY DOWN THE STATE.

IN THE CANAL AT sr. GEoRaEs-vEssEIs LYING
HIGH AND DRY ON THE MAIN LAND a DOZEN
PERSONS SUPPOSED TO HAVE persisted TWO
HORSES K1LLED-A TERRIBLE HOUR OF RUIN, sc.
No more fitting or perfect illustration of the
terrific force of water, when swollen to torrent,
is to bs seen anywhere than along the line of the
Chesapeake d Delaware Canal. Wreck and
ruin lie strewn in all directions and the work of
years is az completely buried from sight as if
some besom OF destruction had swept over it,
without leaving one stone upon another Giant
embankments which one would baye thought
capable Of withstanding any amount Of water
have crumbed and fallen into yawning chasms
or been swallowed up in one common ruin. The
solid earth even, as moulded and fashioned by
the Creator, is as literally removed and trans
f,rred to another location as il the work had
been accomplished by great bodies OF men with
picks and shovels and beasts of burden. The
Diamond State was never before called upon 10
witness such catastrophe, nor, indeed do We
recall similar work of destruction in the history
of any other State in the Union The descrip-
ton of the wreck of the storm which we pub
lished yesterday, terrible as it was and full of
all the particulars then known. fails to convey an
adequate conception of the real damage, or OF
the nature and extent of the destruction which
has been wrought. COMMERCIAL represents
tive visited the several scenes Of the disaster yes
terday afternoon, and obtained all the facts
which it possible to Gull soon after the abate-
ment OF the storm. But even now we are not
able to state the full extent OF the damage, az
several days must elapse ere all ID known.
THE STORM TRACK
Seems to have been confined to narrow belt
extending not quite 30 far North az Now Cas-
tie aud South only as far as Townsend From
Kirkwood to Townsend it seems TO have been
the most severe, and property of all kinds with
in this limit from bay to bay, has sustained
serious damage. About Middetown, not a sim
gle dam breast is left standing aud in the coun-
try West of this many are reported to have been
involved in the general ruin. But the greatest
sufferers by the Hood are tue Delaware Rlllroad
aud the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal Cos.
Many persons of Intelligence believe the latter
to be paralyzed, and seriously intimate that it
cannot recover from the loss it has sustain ed,
The i. W. & Is. II X. Co., as operators of the
Delaware r r. have also lost heavily, but they
are already at work repairing the damage.
THE cHAsM AT THE CANAL CROSSING.
The most serious damage to the Delaware II.
r. is at the point where it crosses the cana
Here not only the embankment which was
thrown up twenty or thirty feet high, was washed
away, but yawning chasm is left open under it
not less than fifteen feet deep. OF this embauk-
ment and earth about 400 feet were removed or
all between the brow of the hill which overlooks
the canal on the North side. and the railroad
bridge This structure is still standing upon it's
two central massive stone piers aud south abut-
ment, but the North abutment was overt urned
by the force OF the current which swept through
the chasm The bridge il intact, although to
the width OF the draw it prof jects over the chasm;
but tins projection is the draw itself, and is bal
anced upon the draw pier At this point Presi-
dent Hinckley, Superintendent Kenney, and As
sistant Superintendent Smith were present. yes
terday. personally experimenting the wcrk OF
k..nt. aA.a Ltr fIFan uN
about one hundred men. 1t il proposed to span
this chasm with trestle for the present, aud its
erection will require several days.
THE cULvERTs BELOW.
The culverts on both sides the canal between
Bear Station and Townsend are badly washed.
In most OF them the masonry is left standing,
and the filling-in over them swept out. All those
north of the canal have been temporarily rebuilt,
and construction trains pass them with SAFETY,
conveying lumber, &c to the canal, which lum-
Der is loaded in this city and Pot Deposit The
breaches IN the emblnkments beo8 the canal
are some Of them very serious, The worst,
probably is at Willow Bridge. where ID feet are
said to have been washed ont This bridge Is about
~ miles north OF Middletown. AT Beastons,
also this side of Midlletown, an embankment ~
or II feet high is broken from 20 to % feet. The
cuvert at 'FrogpOud, near the old Fores Pros
byterian Duiyiug ground just this side OF Middle
town was broken. Below Middletown the St.
AuQ Il CulNert Is gone, lills bOWbNbI lf hpb tho
ono which has already been swept ont several
times before, this year. bat is just this
side Of that one and vents the same
stream These are the most seriously
damaged. but there are other smaller ohes, OF
which we have no definite account. Up to -four
o'clock, yesterday aft jrnoon, the full extent OF
all the breaches in these cuiverts was not known
General Agent Mills, of the Del Il K is at work
upon these breaches with a force of about 51.
men.
THE RESUMPTION OF TRAVEL.
Superintendent Kenney hopes to be able to
resume the running of trains over the Delaware
r. r., some time tomorrow. Great difficulty
is experienced in obtaining timber, with which
TO build temporary trestles in the breaches
luth Of the clnal as all that is necessary mu 1t
be obtained down the road at Seaford Salisbury
Nc. The impassi5le cJndltion OF the Iad AZ the
canal makes 1t impossible to send lumber from
this end II this lumber can be secured, pas
sengsr trains will be aOe to come ~ Tar Nlrth
al the canal by tomorrow it is thought, aud
here an exchange will be m lde and commlnica-
ton thus maintained until the breach at the canal
h filled with the treste. Tine road bed Is great
ly washed all the way from Now CASTLE to
Townsend, and in some places, at the county
road crossings, for instance, great holes are
washed underneath the track leaving it and tho
ties upon which the rails are laid suspended Ill
mid-alr.
THE DAMAGE TO THE CANAL.
The Chesapeake AZ DelhWhre Ohlhl ls oHe VI
the most seriously damaged works of interIil'
Improvement which it has ever been our privil-
Iege to look upon. Along the whole line serious
breaches and washes were made, but the rrinci-
pal points of damage are three in number-at
fummit Bridge or the deep Cut" at the Rail
road Crossing ana at st, Georges To look upon
il at these places the damage.seems to be irrep-
arabe-at least for this season. Navigation
cannot possibly be resumed before cold weather
sets in aud we may safely state that no more
boats will pass through before next season Ihe
total loes to the canal will excede @lOOO OOO and
| il the damaged vessels claim compensation Tor
their losses and delays, as some people seem to
think they will, the aggregate Will DO enormous
ly swolled.
In times of heavy rains, this locality has al
ways been more or less trouble to the Canal
company. 1t is here that the deep cut is made
and down the lofty decliyities rolls sand and
debris which finds Judgement in the bottom Of
| the canal. Bat it has never undergone such a
/ disaster as befel it night before 6st. Whole
/ trees were washed down into it, and the filling
/ up was 30 great that only about three feet of
] water is sft in the canal at this point. tug
| was caught among the~noatlng debris, and by
land slide or in some other way, turned upon its
side, But the damage here is tritling, when con-
trasted with the sad appearance of things at
THE RAILROAD BRIDGE.
For about quarter Of mile at this point, un-
dar and on both sides of the railroad bridge, not