The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1877-11-29
The food at WaynesOoro.

I WAYNESBORo, VA, Nov. 24tli 1917.
Mr. Editor:
For the second time this fall our town has
been visited by high waters. and, that too,
in less than two months. The rain that
commenced falling here on last Thursday
morning, continued to .lo so gradually until
Friday about noon, when the fall increased
in volume, accompanied with an e. ny N.
e. wind until nightfall of that day A ces-
sation of the storm occurred about that time
for few moments, but only to resume,
| with what appeared, q redoubled fury. The
wind drove the rain With great violence, and
there are very few, if any, houses in this
town, but what bear marks of the searching
character of the storm. At O'Clock on
Friday evening there was very little appre-
hensiOn of a freshet, but so great was the
fall of water that by s O'Clock p. IN. persons
living in the lower quarters of the town,
and contiguous to the town branch and river,
were apprised Of their danger by the rapid
~ rising waters. Every hour from dark
the storm of wind and rain seemed to in
crease in violence until about $50 o'clock
this morning. South River rose rapidly un
til O'Clock this morning; the water was
within six inches of the wood work of the
r. r. Bridge, and about four inches higher
than it was during the great freshet OF Sep
| TENDER 1870 when its course was marked by
such destruction OF crops and property. 1t
| would be useless to attempt 30 sum Up III
dollars and cents the losses that have oc.
Cured by this rise. but it is no doubt very
great the destruction of fences, the dam
age to the bottom lands lately plowed and
sown in grain, the soils displaced and wash
ed away from loose lOamy grounds. and the
damage to mills and other property on the
line of the swollen streams, will in the aggre-
gate prove no doubt immense. When the
water was at its highest this morning it OK
tended up NJ lin street opposite to the Post
Office. The 'sTribune'' office sustained con-
siderable damage, the water in the building
measuring four teet, and the proprietor, Mr..
Ferguson, lost all his provisions besides hay-
ing his furniture, both Of office and resi-
dence, very much injured. The lower floor
of Messrs. Smith & Patterson's mill was in
tirely submerged. destroying and injtrjng IL
large quantity of offal and corE-meal. The
road bridges across the mill race and river
were both swept away. Mr.. NJ. W. Quarles
lost consd i;lble fodder besides fencing, and
having portion of his farm submerged
Mr.. w. b. Gallaher, sustains considerable
injury in loss of fences, and possibly damage
to bottom land newly sown in wheat. Hon.
Geo. A. Bruce had his basement kitchen,
dining room, and servants quarters of his
Hotel, together with smoke-housc, stable,
and otfet buildings. more or less injured, -
in fact the water has SO much Inconvenience
his family and boarders that they have to
depend upon the generosity Of neighbors for
their rations to-day, at least, as every thing
pertaining to tile culinary art is bathed in
a flood of muddy water. That portion of
Mr.. JOS Peltcr's and Jacob Koiner's farms
lying next to the river, is entirely sublnerg-
ed, with no evidence that they were ever so
thoughtful as to erect a fence III aund that
part of their property. The frescoing in
both the MctIlodistand Presbyterian church.
es sustaine more or less injury from the
rain finding its way through the roof in
fact the character Of the storm was of such
a violent nature that it drove the rain Into
the smallest crevices and openings IN many
houses, flooding the floors, spelling carpets,
and spelling the papering on the wall.
Communication with the eastern side If
the river Will be entirely interrupted until a
new bridge is built across the mill race.
The news from down the river all tends to
prove that there has been considerable dam
age done, and reports fr@m the eastern side
Of the mountain show heavy rains and high
waters. Riyanna River r. L. bridge was
partly swept away, and the rail road track
further east damaged so as to interrupt the
running OF trains until next week. D.