The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-08-11
aver Oo.ervs,sons Z and ROOD rred'e

he DAN6ER-LiEE OK THE onhA' ,,y,nr | q
nr rus nousrRY-How THE SIGNAL ssRVioh !
roRsrkLLs FRrsHETs. Q
rReported for the Baltimore SUM- h
The system otteIegraphing tnroue vr.";na, t
oun,ry the rise aud fail OF tne rus ~. b
,ycrs Of the West was starred aui.ns ~ d
,ear 1872. Before that time no ona chin.
,ars and those interested sometimes expe-
.;orced orea, difficulty, because boatmen' oS
n interested motives, frequently gave
lie rsnorts and In many instances caused
liz or advance of shipment to be held
= - or grounded on shoals, While re
o o giving the Information took che
ppanefit OF the kno~ledge. There y "a no
.rorma,ion In time Of foods. Var Gus com.
=, srciai associations urged these .as,s. when
the chief signal officer, with thu, approval of
the Secretary Of War, estab. .,sh.d gauges at
the regular signal-statlors located on the
rivers, and commenced. reporting toe height
of the water above tow.wster MARI. These
reports have conhnued daily at 3 p. NJ.
During freshets observations are taken and
reported evecy few hours. Tbese reports
are daily becoming more valuable as the COB
dition Of the rivers is better understood
and il Is Of frequent occurrence at st. Loais,
New Dtleaas. Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh, for
the prics of freight to rise or fall consideTa-
| DIV, according to the condition reported
! c1rlzss OBSERVERS.
| The Hnportauce OF this work having Oeen
established, the services of some twenty citl-
zen observers located At different points have
been secured, and tbeae send reports at DAN
sersus SEASONS. An effort is now beng mace
through the mayo or other proper authorl'
ties in each village upon the western rivers
to establish gauges, and report All iacts 10
reference to the different interests ct the VII
lagos or places at which gauges are estaol'sn.
ed. or in the vicinity endangered oy over
6o,v. This wosuId combine the iecal and the
, cen,ra, or national agencies in the same way
tha, the militia and the regular army and
navy form the national defence IN time OF
need.
THE DAEGBR'LETH-
The studv of the rivers, made necessary
, hv frrsbets and ovcrhows, required to be
ests bIisbed for each portion OF the river.
courses certain level or depth OF water, o
, rise or fail above which il held to be danger.
, ous IN river interests. A usneer-leyel''
had TO be established, based on minute ex
animation of the different rivers. The data
collected gives the danger-point on the
gauyes as follows: st. Paul, IA feet Inches
Mt this height houses and crops on lower
; ground between St. Paul aud La Crosse art
foodei; La Crosse, l8 feet, bottom land:
overlooked between La Crosse and Dubuque
= Davenport, 15 feet-thiS rise endauger:
u buildings at Buffalo, MuscatlDe, lows, anC
y kcithsburg, H.; Keokuk. IA feet g inches
, Injuries Government dams and improve
:, menis at the foot Of the rapids; Warsaw. Ii
feet. oyerflows some bottom lands, which il
Increased in extent very considerably bJ
another foot of water; Alexandria. iowa
would suffer at nineteen feet on Warsa"
J., gauge; St. Louis, 80 feet-at this point water
D commences 10 damage buildings in the city
any sudden rise endapgers mercnandise on
the leyee; at Evansville. Ill.,. the adJacen'
country from the kaskaskia to the MisslssIp'
. pi floods at 30 feet ST Louis gauge; Com
7 merce, Mo-, the Mississippi oveThows
u western banks at twenty-nlne rect on
ar. Louis gauge: Cairo, Ill.,, ~
Il feet. overfows couatry back Of Cairo
) forty-one feet overfOTs country IN hen-
S tucSy. opposite; forty-fve feet overhows
tcountry from twenty miles up the OHIO to
Columbus, ky., aud extending three miles
: hack from the river. At forty-seVen feet it
{ commences OVERLOOKING the Missouri banks,
u and at that stage is dangerous to leyees
;, around Cairo Point Pleasant, Mo-, floods at
81 feet on Cairo gauge O. ceolo, Ark, floods
At about IL feet on Cairo gauge Memphis
dauger.linr, 81 feet, overf1ows country oppo.
site: 81 feet Z inches e rods Memphis and
, Little Rock railroad; Helena, Ark, 40
reet-leyets show weakness at this point.
When water falls 10 four or five feet
above low water it endsBgers navigation.
Vicksburg, Al feet; danger on levees
commence. The Northern Louisiana and
Texas railroad overt wed and ceased run.
ming at 1885 on Vicksburg gauge; Grand
, Gulf, Miss, Ievre broke at 1906 feet on
Vicksburg gauge. At New Orieaus the zero
of the gauge is hgb-"ater mark OF 1874
and the :. dangar-llne is two feet six inches
below. At I.50 feet below il creates great
alarm. Belle CbssSe, Greenwood, aud Point
In Hache creyasses occurred at o. feet or
gauge.
The Missouri river Omaha, "dsnser
line" l6 feet; at ID feet smokestacks o
steamers may strike bridge; Platsmouth
Neb., 16 feet I inches; to farms on cas-, side
of river, Leayen ortb, kan., 81 feet; dan
ger confined to farms, Kansas City, 81 feet
t CamdeusssMo., IS tect on Kansas City gauge
The st. Joseph and Lexington railroad vii
2 suffer at 81 feet on Kansas City gauge; u N
: ipgtoD, Mo-, 81 feet. Twenty. four feet six
; inches will drive out settlers between Cam
: den and Crooked river, aud p fect VIII ii Iod
D out all bottom farms between Lexington auC
s Brunswick. Brunswick, danger-line | feet
/ damage TO farms. Boomvllle, Mo. 90 feet
5 damage TO tarms, Jefferson City % leet. A
I fall of the river to one foot on gauge endau.
D gers navigation.
r Ohio river-Pittsburgh, danger-poiut 90
: feet floods lower part of city; lowest known
water is nine inches. A sudden rise OF either
| riy isf IN ha nfI IN hn nj
2 Marietta, Ohio, 30 feet. danger to farms; "A
feet will cause steamers to lower smoke
stacks when passing bridges. Cincinnati
danger. line 80 feet. At so feet the water
commences to overflow lower part of city.
A sudden rise OF ten Q0) feet or more at any
stage of water endangers merchandise on
banks; danger to property slight. Louis.
vile, Ky, "a feet, the danger OF boats strlk.
) ing bridge at or near high water is coaside.
rable-the bridge being only one hundred
feet above low water mark. Three feet Of
water on falls is equivalent to eight feet in
channel. Evansville, Ind, 81 feet zero is
six feet above bed Of river. Over 81 feet
,, causes heSvy damages to farm. flooding II
to ID miles back. Paducah, Ky, 40 feet
damaging farms.
At New Geneva, Pa, the daDger.lne is IS
feet. at which point property on banks ia en-
dangered- Oil City, Pa. one foot six inches
on this gauge Is equivalent to one foot six
inches Of water on Il Charles Rifle" the
; tsh1lowest point between here and Pitts
hurgb. Ccnfuenee, Pa, danger.liue Is feet
inches, property on banks endangered.
Freeport. danger-line IL feet; Nashville,
Tenn, A. feet eudangers buildings in Nash.
vile anu Edsefeld. Any rise over one foot
per hour is dangerous. Shreveport. La ,
dapgcr-point So feet on gauge. FROM bed