The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1875-07-15
ELEMENTS OF DESTRUCTION.

The French Floods and Other Disasters
Terrible Holocaust of Life and wide
spread Destruction of Property.
The floods which caused such vide
spread devastation In the South and
East Of this country in the early spring
seem to have been repeated In the South
of France with additional destructive eff
fects, causing an unprecedented loss of
life and destruction of property in many
of the towns AID villages along the river
Garonne. This river, which takes its
rise III the Pyrenees, near the Spanish
frontier, is flooded nearly every spring
by the melting of the mountain ice and
snow, but this is the first time that it
has occasioned any serious disaster by
It's overflow, showing that the winter
must have been marked by excessive
rigOr In France, as it. was in this corln-
try. The principal scene of disaster
seems to have been at Toulouse. a city
of 100000 people, situated on the Ga
rome, at the confluence of its branches,
the Lens and the Arriege. The city is
principally built upon the right bank.
A portion of it occupies an island in the
river, and the remainder, known as the
st. Cyprien quarter, In which the
destruction was greatest, is built on the
left bank. In this quarter the ravages
OF the food were so terrible that it has
been found necessary to destroy it by
bombardment, so as to prevent danger
from the crumbling, falling walls left
standing after the flood. In this quar-
ter about 300 people were drowned, and
IN the whole city 900 persons persisted
and 2, 800 houses were swept away.
The whole loss of life in the Valley of
the Garonne is stated at 5000, and the
destruction of property at sixty or seven
ty millions Of dollars
At Verdun, where the river separates
into five streams within the town. the
loss of life was also large. At Tremoul-
let, on the Arriege, one of the branches,
but five houses were left standing out of
400. At Moissac, ITO houses were de-
stroyed. In the district of Fax, two
villages We're entirely destroyed, and
great damage was also done at Bagneres
de Bigorre and Agen, the river rising 80
feet at the latter place. The total loss of
life is now set 5000. The flood seems
to have spent its force at Bordeaux,
without occasioning any serious catas-
trophe at this important city. The prin-
cipal disaster is in the Department, of
Haute- Garonne at the base Of the Pyre-
nees, and, as the industries of this de-
partment are mainly agricultural, Tou-
louise being the only manufacturing point
of any Importance, the suffering is In
tense. All the crops were destroyed,
and thousands of people, 10000 in the
envifons of Toulouse alone, are without
the means of subsistence. The French
people and the government have come
nobly to the relief of the sufferers, but
inasmuch as an appeal has already been
made to England for help, it shows that
the catastrophe has involved an extent of
suffering beyond the ability of home be-
nevolence alone to alleviate. The disas-
ters during the month of June were not
confined to France. Four days after the
French flood, terrible foundations oc-
Cured In Bohemia, Moravia, Corinthia,
Beriat, and the Tyrol, not DESTROYING as
many lives as i'll France, but drowning
thousands of cattle and running the crops
in several districts. The day after these
foundations, a thunderstorm struck the
CITY VI OCIAst, LII L 0Sbll, accompanied DV
an unprecedented fall of hail, which
covered the houses and hills with ice two
feet thick. The foods were Embossed
and numerous torrents swept through
the city with such fury that men and
vehicles and everything movable were
swept into the river. It is estimated
that 500 people were drowned and 100
people killed by the falling walls. By
curious coincidence, on the same day
fearful tempest broke upon the CHILEAN
coast, destroying numerous vessels and
sixty lives, and cyclone struck Hong
Kong, wrecking hundreds of vessels and
junl6s, and killing over 100 people.
There seems to have been a general adj
vance all along the line of the elements
OF destruction, the world over, during
the month of June. Floods, cyclones,
hail and thunder-storms, tidal waves,
earthquakes, and volcanoes united their
destructive efforts in every part of the
globe, except Africa, and resulted in
terrible holocaust of life and widespread
destruction of property. 1t is probable
that in this month of June, which has
just closed, nearly $4,000 lives have been
lost by these destructive agencies alone.
The damage to property it is impossible
to estimate. Chicago Tribune.