Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-04-17

dons freshet. The river is rising very ra-
pidly, and the creek near the depot is fear
tully swollen. StegalIs slaughter house
was swept away yesterday morning, and the
water is already vert the first aOor Of Me
dearls q Co.'S old factory building.
The PlddSki Citizen states: aThe heavy
rains have pushed the streams clear over
their banks, and even railroad travel is i'm
peded- Richland and every other creek be
tween the Tennessee river and Nashville is
literally booming Yesterdays North and
South bound trains on the Nashville and
Decatur division were delayed from three
TO four hours by a bend of the trestle over
Fountain creek at CulleOka. No trains
Were sent out from Nashville or Decatur
last night. As the train from the latter
point passed the Santa Fe bridge over Duck
river, about two miles beyond Columbia,
yesterday, the water was within a foot Of
the road-bed and rapidly rising. The
bridge has probably gone ere this
With regard to the storm at Waverly, we
clip the following from the Journal Of yes
terday:
sOne of the seyerest wind storms that
ever visited our town, passed through it on
Wednesday night las, between the boms of
ii and y o'clock. Sad havoc was done to
the fruit, ornamental and shade trees. while
the fencing was swept away generally.
Nearly every fruit tree on the premises of
Mrs. Marable and ChaS. II. Ball, was blown
down. The stables Of James Martin, Mrs.
MeCollum and Charles Ball, were entirely
demolished. The roofs on the Jail and
church were swept away. The Academy
was lifted from its foundation and carried
some twelve or fifteen feet. The roof of Mr..
Rudolph's blacksmith shop was partially
carried away. The dwelling house of Allen
WHY, COL, was blown down, while the roof
onthe house of James Russell, col, was taken
off. Nh. Rudolph's family made a narrow
escape, a large tree having fallen just i'm
mediately in frOnt of his house. The sta
bic Of our junior was likewise carried away,
the timbers having been carried by the
wind some twenty or thirty yards. Light
ming rods were twisted and bent, while
nearly every chimney in own was more or
less damaged.
Joseph Massey, living about two miles
southeast Of Waverly, had the roof on every
house he had, except his dwelling, swept
away.
The storm travelled in an easterly direc-
ton, and was several miles in width. II
was accompanied with rain and hail, and
lasted about thirty minutes. So ineessant
and vivid was the lightning, that the whole
town seemed 10 be wrapped in a sheet Of
IRE. Stock was running in every direction
seeking shelter and protection wherever it
could be found. The night was one Of the
grandest, but most terrible we ever beheld,
and we trust We may never see its like
again.
FORMER FREsHETs.
The high tide in the river, the highest
we have had since 1871, has caused some OF
our old citizens to refer 10 former freshets
in the Cumberland at this point. Our re-
porter undertook, yesterday, to collect some
facts about the former freshets, and is en-
abled to lay before Il readers the fol-
lowing:
A great freshet occurred here in the year
1S0S, and again in 1926, both of which
caused a great deal of suffering and sub
merged many houses. A vast amount Of
road, fencing and produce was swept away
by the latter freshet, as well as a number
of frame dwelling houses.
In 1872 another freshet occurred, and in
March 1871, there was another which was
tw0feet higher than the rise in 1912, and
five feet three inches lower than hat of
1926.
In December, 1871, there was still an
other freshet which was the greatest that
has occurred here since the settlement Of
the country by white men. The river rose
that time fifty feet above the low water
mark and was twenty inches higher than
in the freshet of 1926. The water COM
meneed rising on Thursday, 18th of Deem
Der, 1877, and continued to rise for upward
Of a week, the weather being cold and snow
falling alternately with rain. The water
extended sup Broad street to MessrS.
Pllcher X POrterfield's store, and covered
the lower floor Of that building. The front
lower floor Of MeSSrs. johnson & Smiths
warehouse, corner Broad and Market
streets, was ten inches under water.
This building has been occupied by Car
seY x Son as a tobacco and cotton ware
house until yesterday, but fearing that the
water would reach them, they concluded to
move out. At 6 o'clock yesterday evening
the water only lacked eighteen inches OF
being TO their store.
Two steamboats, were floating within 20
feet OF Messrs. Yeatman & Armstead's
warehouse at the time the river was so high
IN December, 1871. IL was during this
freshet that a steamboat in ascending the
ElNtE. paS>tu DNtI the Gdll1llA PIKE DclOuu
the old bridge. After the river commenced
falling, trhee men. in attempting to pass
over to what is now Edgefeld, were wash
ed ON the pike, fully one hundred yards
from the bridge, and two of them were
drowned.
The large amount Of corn, cribbed In the
Cumberland bottoms for expectation, was
shipped without bills of lating, being swept
Off with stock, fencing and outhOuses. The
damage done by this freShet was immense.
All bridges ON turnpikes leading to Nash
vile, and within a mile or two Of the city,
were submerged except two. A good deal
OF distress among the poor Of this city fol-
lowed this freshet, and the Mayor (Alex.
AliSGnl aud Aldermen were KEEP. busy at
tending the suffering and homeless people.
When il IS said that more than one hun
dred families were compelled TO leave their
homes, and to seek refuge wherever they
could, the reader can fOum some idea of the
suffering that resulted from this memorable
freshet.
Several high rises in the Cumberland
have occurred at different periods since,
but none that would at all compare with
that of December, 1S4T, taking into con-
sideratiOn the population OF Nashville at
that time. The freshet Of 1862, although
the bridges on Front, Market and Cherry
streets were submerged, was not so disas-
trous as that Of 1917 or the present one,
and the destruction Of property during the
rise OF 1862 was comparatively small.