The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1874-07-29
Heart-rendlng DeiaiIs Of the Great
Flood. s-..,ss-vc-s.ss,,

Heart-rending Details OF the lGreat
E Flood. 5,s-.-.,,-y,s.-,s
|. SCENES AND INCIDENTS, sc.
/ We take the following extracts from the
Pittsburgh Dispatch concerning the calamity
which visited that city on Sunday night:
/ All the hood-gates of the heavens were
opened last night, aud vast volume OF
water was discharged upon the city. During
The day heavy showers took place, out tney
proved only preparatory to the deluge Whlch
came down upon US between 8 and 8 O'CLOCK
in the evening. The rain was accompanied
with vivid lightning, and for over an hour
the storm was fast and furious, driv-
ing pedestrians to shelter with much
precpitatiop, in fact, making every
body aud thing "moye on" with
more alacrity than is ever infused into them
by any of our energetic patromen. The
winter came down in sheets, which fairly
gistened as the flashes oflightning fell upon
them in quick succession, aud nature was
never grander in spectacular effect. AS will
be seen by the reports below, terrible dam
age was done in every part of the city, and
the full extent can hardly be known at the
present writing. A fearful loss of life is re-
| ported from Allegheny, and pecuniary loss
beyond that caused by the late destructive
coplagratiop. Half million dollars will
not cover the damage to property, and the
sum may be much greater.
| SERIOUS RESULTS IN MANY QUARTERS.
The water came down Seventh avenue
with fearful velocity. 1t seemed as though
1.-The food.gates of some tremendous aque-
| duct had been let loose. The water in its
rapid course carried with it immense piles
Of rubbish and stone. Soon the foot OF the
street was filled with debris and the track of
| the Birmingham passenger railway was coy-
| cred and made impossible. Plank and cob
| BILE stone came down the hill to be piled up
in heaps at the corner of Grant street, but as
| the flood increased the water at that point
! had attained the height Of from four to six
| feet, and the stones and lumber were orce
more cast adrift. Cellars OIL this street W ere
/ flooded, and the amount Of butter and YeSe.
tables spoiled Will count up something, bow.
eyer not marvellous.
| THE TUNNEL AND UNION DEPOT.
| The tunnel of the Panhandle railway was
| flooded with some four feet of water, and Of
| course became impossible for trains, and traf-
| tic for the time being on that road was sus.
pended. The yards of the same corpora
tion were also thoroughly inundated, and the
| track of the road covered clear to the inter-
| SECTION with the yards of the Union depot.
From Seventh avenue and Grant street the
water had made itself course to the Union
deE0t. and here it gave Colonel Unger plea
SAINT (!) "reminiscences of last years flood.
The water here had level OF from two TO
fha ,l,ts frnn Of no hIIlI
and had forced itself into the cellar and fur
nace.rooms, putting out the fire and ere
ating havoc generally. The bridge in the
rear of the elevator was partially washed
away, but further than damaging goodly
amount of commiSsary stores in the Union
DEPOT hotel no other damage was done here.
| THE HILL DISTRICT.
The water came down Wylie avenue with
| a terrific roar. It seemed mad to fury. In
| its course it seemed 10 take everything with
it. Huge cobblestones and bricks came
down like paper boats in the mighty tor
rent. Everything passed before it. At a
corner pile Of rubbish would be raised,
only to be swept with greater force, soon to
land at some pile of greater proportions.
The same was tie case on all the other streets
running across from Webster to Fifteenth
| avenue.
/ FIFTH AND OLD AVENUES.
At the junction Of Old avenue the food
seemed.to have gathered entire. In this (the
"Hard ScrabbIe") district every house had
its cellar thoroughly flooded. In one alley
the water bad risen to the-deptb of ten feet,
and two women were with great difficulty
/ rescued from drowning. They had got into
the newly-made basin, but their shrieks
ntI n,,1 fnnf hni
lives. McEnulty's stable, as we'll rs De-
vore's, next door, running from Filth to Old
avenue, were flooded. The water rose in
was with great difficulty that the horses were
taken out and escaped drowning. The har.
nesscs in many places were completely sub
merged, and the water was almost up to the
ceiling. Every house on this street was
flooded on the first floor, and the inhabitants
were compelled to seek shelter from their
neigbbors or on the second floors if they
could. The excitement in this vicinity was
very great:
THE FLOOD IN ALLEGHENY-FoUR PERSONS
| DROwNED-GREAT EXCITEMENT.
The storm last evening was no less violent
in Allegheny than in this city, and while the
rain fell in binding torrents, the heavens
were luTlU Will nc ShCoIeSt
damage done was on Spring Garden avenue,
ia the Seventh ward, where Variable proper
ty, as we'll as life, was destroyed. The sew
ers had not the capacity to carry off the i'm
mense quantity of water that poured into
them, and being INSTRUCTED, the water rose
to the height of numerous dwellings along
the tboroughfare, tumbling many of them
l down, and, so far as is definitely known at
present, drowning four persons. The entire
strip of land from Madison avenue to Troy
Hill as far out as Gerst's brewery, was food
ed, and the contents Of tanneries, slaughter
houses, and other buildings, were washed
away.
/ FEARFUL SCENES on BUTCHER RUN.
The water rose with fearful rapidty,
and before the occupants of the numerous
dwellings and other buildings could escape
to high land they were cut of, and re-
NAMED in great dread Of the result Of the
) inundution. In most of the buildings the
water filled the lower stories, and seve-
raj were carried from their foundations
and lie wrecked upon the bank of the run,
and in some cases well up in the street.
On Concord street two houses with their
occupants were swept away but fortu-
nately all the human beings were saved. Al
Spring. Garden avenue and Chestnut street
the case was sadly different. In one tavern
number Of persons, among them Consta-
BILE Henry Hess, were seated when the
water commenced to rise. Hess thought to
Il - hy ont fbonph