The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1875-03-31
The Flooded Valleys.

Inc fl00Q6Q Valleys
The valleys Of the Delaware anc
Susqnehanna have not been stran
gers to such visitstions as those re
ported during the past week BY
reason of their peculiar situation
and because Of III. mountainous re
gion which surrounds them, they arr
every spring subjected to more oil
less serious oyerhows. At diiferen'
points along the line of the two rlv'
ers the inhabitants have, to certain
extent, become accustomed to this
and those living in houses on the wa
ter front expect as matter OF course
that some time during the spring
their cellars will be overAowed. This
wear. however, these annual vista
tions have assumed a most alarming
aspect. 4 greater extent OF country
has been flooded than ever before,
and the losses resulting from the in
undations have been the largest re-
corded within the memory OF old IN
habitau,s. These losses have been
occasioned not only by the destruc-
ton of houses, bridges, lumber, and
o.her property, but indirectly by the
detention of passenger and freight
traiDa At Port Jeryis, n. Y, Port
Deposit, Md, Harrisburg, Pa, and
other points, hundreds of cars have
been detained for many hours. The
interruption to the coal traffic has
been particularly great, and many
large companies will suffer very seri'
GUS losses in consequence.
BEFORE TIE FLOODS.
For the past three weeks serious
foods have been apprehended, and
every possible pseeaution has been
taken TO prevent the threatened de-
struction Of property and loss of life.
BY careful watching and timely
warnings the latter result was OBJ
tained, thus far only two deaths hav-
ing been caused by the freshets. The
first serious trouble occurred at Port
Jervis, New York An ice gorge of
unusual magnitude formed just above
that place some three weeks ago.
Competent engineers, seeing the dam
age which would result to the village
should a sudden thaw occur, sugges-
ted that a channel be blown through
the ice by the use Of giant powder.
Deep holes were bored in the mass,
and charges Of powder varying from
one to three pounds placed in them.
The discharge, which would have
blown huge rocks into fragments, only
had the effect of forcing out three or
four square feet Of ice. Subsequent
experiments with nitro-glvcerine were
more successful, and on Tuesday,
the 10th inst, huge ridge Of ice
which formed O dam in the river was
blown partially away. Before the
blast was made the water in the chaa-
mel below the dam formed an eddy
by which the broken ice was prevent
ed from passing down the river.
When the barrier was broken away
tae water above it burst through the
small opening with irresistible force
and great volume, carrying the
masses of broken ice with it. BY
the sudden rush of waters the chan
mel was deepened. In the opinion Of
engineers the breaking of this pas
sage saved tho town from ruin, for
on the next day, Wednesday, the
18th inst, the ice broke in the river
above and the .pent-up waters came
flowing down upon the lower ccun'
try.
TIE FLOOD OF THE DELAWARE.
The ice in the upper Delaware
broke on the evening of Tuesday,
the 10th. The town of Deposit, Is
miles west OF Pert Jervis, was the
first place injured. Below the town
in the bend of the river five huge
RATS of lumber were lying. They
were frozen In last fall When the
food came these RATS were forced out
Of the bend by the rushing ice, and
becoming damned" across the stream
formed a complete dam. In few
moments TIE accumulated water rose
above the banks of the river and
flowed back into the streets of De-
posit. Many stores and houses were
flooded to the depth Of several feet.
A number of frame buildings were
moved from their foundations, and
the lower part of the place vas
abandoned by the inhabitants, The
water rose rapidly, but the town was
saved by a sudden change in the
course Of the river. The loss to
property at and near Deposit is esti-
mated at $4,000. At Hancock, some
thirty miles below Deposit, the water
rose ten feet in ffteen minutes, anu
G,000, 900 feet Of manufactured hem
lock lumber were carried away
Three miles below Hancock the ice
damned" again. and immense cakes
and blocks of il were piled up to a
height Of seventy feet The dam was
Lalf a mile wide. When il broke
the water tore up aad carried with il
every tree, fence, ard building FOL
6fv feet en- either side of the river
The track Of The Erie Railway wa;
inundated, ties washed away, and
not Que telegraph pole left standing
between lIabcUck ard Stockport Al
the latter plaee million feet OF lum
Der were swept away, and at Equi
neck fifteen lumber RATS, which were
living in bend, were crushed tC
atoms, and carried off Each raft
contained so, 600 feet of timber Tie
suspension bridge at Lordville mar
rowly escaped destruction. The
piers of the long wooden bridge at
Basket were swept away, and car
ried with the food as far as Han
kens Continuing to increase IN vol
ume and fJrce tire river rushed pass
ed Cochecton, Narrowsburg, ant
other smaller places, sweeping away
fences and lumber RATS. Reaching
Port Jervis on Wednesday morning
| it o, erfowed the Germantown fats
driving hundreds Of families from
their homes. Numerous building'
were badly damaged, and the Erie
Railway Bridge, and the Barrett
bridge completely destroyed. a
/ Port Jervis the food seems to have
spent its force. Below that point nj
serious damage was done Numer
-, nall lncsce. however will foo