The Portland daily press., 1875-03-18
SPRING FLOODS.
Great Damage along the Susque'
hanna and Delaware Rivers,
300 Houses Flooded at Port JerVIs'

OVV EAOuSCS IOVuSSn aae u W -
New YORK, March, ia Pttston, Pa.
special says at nine o CLOCK last evening tnIeo
wanna Railroad for the passage OF the trains,
and valued at $120,000, gave way and portion
of the wreck caught on the lower passenger
bridge, new structure coming directly 1nto
town. and which cost $4,000 Between this
and the railroad bridge is another long covered
bIldge, built during the war at a cost OF w.
900. -,
In West Pittston the river is making terrible
inroads on valuable property. The flood COW
cred the lower portion of the place and the
greatest apprehensions are felt for the safety
of several buildings. The loss must be very
great.
At / a. M, the ice began to move out sudden
ly and with it one span of the magnificent new
bridge. Two men were on it at the time but
were rescued, when out sprung three more
spans. This cleared the new bridge with the
exception of the east span. Within ten MIN
utes of the first catastrophe loud sounds came
from the direction of the old bridge. about
quarter of mile up the stream, aud in mo-
ment after that structure also swept out INTO
the current and was carried away The loss IN
bridges alone is not less than $500, 600.
The Barrett bridge was swept away. Inc
railroad bridge from above came floating down
with irresistible force and swept away the
bridge as is it had been reed
A Port Jarvis (noon) special says:
Over 300 houses here and in Germantown are
inundated, including the Lutheran church.
The ice is passing here at the rate of thirty
miles an hour The water has extended clear
up to Front street, covering Lumber, Thompson,
King, Pike and Brown streets for three blocks.
Below, all the railroad machine shops are I'M
der water. A large two story dwelling has
been carried away on the Pennsylvania side:
One man was seen on the roof and is supposed
to be lost All travel has stopped. There will
be but one train from here going east tonight.
The telegraph wires are all carried away at
Milford and the bridge cannot stand long
There it no telling how great loss Sthe Erie
railroad will sustain. 1t will cost over Sloo'
600 to repair the iron bridges alone.
Another despatch dated at 1890 p. m. states
that the scene at Germantown, on the river
bank, beggars description. The ice is piled on
the shore in many places thirty feet high, and
in pieces weighing thirty tons. About twenty
small buildings have been torn to pieces, and
about two hundred are filled with water to the
second story. 1t is reported that one man was
killed, -Four of the five spans, in all 622 feet,
of the Delaware railroad bridge are gone. The
piers are all unharmed. The bridge cost $l00,-
600 and was finished in the spring of 1877
Ches Engineer Channute hopes to pass trains
over on temporary structure IN week or ten
DAYS. A ferry will be established tomorrow
for conveying passengers.
The debris of two bridges caught fast on
Van Nog's Island. three miles below. thus saw
| ing the tower of the suspension bridge. The
damage to the Barrett Bridge Company Is
about $50, 900, and the other losses in the VII
lage is about 500, 900 more.
The river is now going down and the danger
is over. ,
The general passenger agent of he Erie rail-
way makes the following statement with re-
gard to the condition of the road at Port JARVIS:
There will be no interruption to through travel
on the Erie railway, as an arrangement mas
been made during the continuance OF the DreaK
Dortu Torxr 90 fhn
the Delaware, Lackawana u Western railroad
between Bnghamton and the west OF the Erie
tunnel at jersey City. thus enabling the Erie
company to run its through passenger trains
Jersey City through to Buffalo, Chicago and
Cincinnati at the regular advertised hours. Or
ders have been given to all ticket offices, east
and west, to continue the sale of through tick
cts. Local trains will run as usual between
New York and Port JerviS
Waterspouis in Tennessee.
A Nashville special to the Herald says that a
waterspout, which fell at Fayetteville Sunday
evening, caused an immense overflow at Norris
Creek, which swept everything before it. A
small village was suddenly and completely in
dated. A house in which man named Arm
strong lived, with blacksmith shop and all its
contents, were washed away, the family barely
escaping. The steam saw mills of Belts were
lifted up and carried down stream. Cragie's
dstllery is gone, and also several smaller es-
tablishments. The damage is estimated at
$780, 00 The waterspout continued for about
half an hour AS hail fell it CONCEALED into
Jumps as large as nail kegs and in this way
floats down stream
Another waterspout fell near Lynchburg,
carrying away two dis,ileries with an immense
amount of rails and many out houses. Han
stones killed the poultry. The hail stones fell
SO thick that the surface of the stream looked
lice mass of ice. Hundreds of cattle were
drowned.
The Tennessee river at Jacksonville is higher
than in 1867. The stream is sweeping over the
iron bridge at Nashville, on the Northweste I'm
railroad. Johnsonville is completely inund at
ed.
WILKEsBARRE, March III P. M.-The ice
still remains stationary here, and there has
been no perceptible fall of water since alter
noon. Cellars of houses on River street are
filled with water, aud the gas works have seve-
raj feet of water in them. The whole city is
in darkness, candles and lamps furnishing the
only lights. Travel has stopped between here
and Kingston SINCE last night, the flats being
entirely submerged and it being considered I'M
safe to cross the bridge. The three bridges
which were swept away from Pittston are jam
med in the gorge three miles above here. At
Nantcook dam, eight miles below, the ice be-
gan to move to-day and the river was cleared
for a mile above that point, but from there to
island gorge, at lower end of Wilkesbarre. 1t IS
as solid as ever The weather has been gradu-
ally growing colder and everything will bs froz-
en- solid tonight This undoubtedly prevented
the bridge at this place being carried away,
and should gentle thaw follow. the enc rmous
mass of ice may go down without further dam
age, but if the thaw should be sudden the de-
vastation will be all the greater.
WILKEsBARRE, March 1.-THE ice in the
Susquehanna river became gorged for miles
above here between 10 and IL o'clock last night
and the breakwater flooded PittsOn and caused
great amount of damage. The water was two
80 |, sl,a s.,1 on1 do
and feLces and flooded houses in West Pittston
street. At 1,30 this morning the rise began to
break and move along this city, but gorge
was formed at the island mile below and the
river raised five feet in ten minutes and kept
coming up until ice touched the bridge. Then
1t stopped and remained stationary till day
light Since then it has fallen over foot
Cakes of ice over four feet thick are piled up
against the bridge and place that structure in
great danger. This morning the two wagon
bridges at PIttson were carried away, the rail-
road bridge having gone early in the evening.
The ice below the gorge at the island is not yet
broken at all, and should the one above w likes
barre, which caused the submerging of West
Pittston give way first the danger here would
be great. Weather grew colder this morning,
and all the small streams are frozen up.
B1NGHAMToN, March 17.-Tne ice gorge in
the Susauehanna river at Hooper, eight miles
west of BiDghamton, is over four miles long
and twenty feet high. The valley is overflow
ed and the bridge at Union is in danger. The
gorge at Great Bend is threatening the bridge
there. Weather cold and river falling.
W1LLIAMsPoRT, Pa, March 1.-THE river
here is falling slowly Ice commenced moving
20 miles below here, but gorged between Mil
ton and Lewisburg. No trouble is anticipated.
The north branch is very high, and fears are
apprehended that the bridges at Northumber-
land may be damaged by the bridges coming
down from above. About half of Sudbury is
in danger of being flooded.
DANvILLE, Pa, March 1.-THE bridge over
the Susquehanna at this place has been carried
away The water is higher than in 1865, and
is rising. There is an ice gorge between here
and Sudbury. Railroad connection is cut off.
The bridges at Plymouth and Nanticoke are in
great danger.
ST. PATRICK'S DAY.