The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1879-04-24

ending,
| then shall see Thee, and be satisfied.
Correspondence New York Observer.
The Destruction Of Czegedin.
Since the earthquake at Lisbon. Nov. l.
1855, or the burning of Hamburg, from May
5 to s, 1912, there has been in Europe ne
destruction by the elements to compare will
that which befel Czegedin about O'Clock
early in the morning of March y in this
year.
A. great part Of the inner city of Hamburg
in all 4,3l9 buildings In IS streets, and
among these three churches and large
number Of public buildings, with 100 lives
were lost, Yet the credit of the republic Oh
free town was not affected, and the streets
rose up out of their ruins more beautiful
than ever. It is otherwise at Czegedn. The
whole city may be said to have been des
troyed. OF its houses, amounting to nearly
10000, scarcely 60 remain habitable. Above
1000 lives have been lost. Not only are
the people reduced to what may be called
beggary, but it is possible that the destruc
ton of this the second city in the kingdom
of Hungary may, in the present complicated
state OF finances, bring Hungary itself to the
verge of bankruptcy. The loss OF property
may be estimated at about ten millions of
dollars. Aust iaand Hungary have suffered
of late to an unusual degree from convul-
sions of nature. The dread OF the plague
| H. = loako fho, Sho mi,
ter left behind sur h sudden melting of tn
| snow that very serious consequences follow
| ed. First of all, the water broke into the
coal pits at Dux and Teplitz, and into the
great salt works at wielicska. In the first
OF these, % persons were killed, and at Iep-
| ltz the mineral waters refused to flow. A
second calamity was the fall of two terri
BILE avalanches on the mining towns of Blei-
berg, at Vilach, by which houses we're swept
away and 3S persons killed and others in
jured. Now comes the most serious of all,
the destruction of Czegedin by the waters of
the Thesis.
The river, which is called in Hungary
Tisza (also the name of the President Of the
Hungarian Ministry, and by the Slavs lisa,
is the Tissus, Tsa, or Parthissus OF the an
clients, which was the bounding rive OF Da-
cia. 1t is not the Hibiscus that is now
ca lied Temes. 1t is the largest of all the
rivers flowing into the Danube, end next to
this the largest stream in Hungary, the hall
| of which and nearly the whole of Transyl-
vania being drained by it and its tributa-
rles. As in most other places, there was a
very heavy fall of snow on the Carpathian
Mountains this winter. A strong southwest
wind caused such thaw that the Thesis and
two OF its tributaries, the Maros and Xoros,
all Of which flow through Hungarian plains,
began as early as the first week of March to
over flow their banks, and soon formed an
expanse of water that might be said, with
out much exaggerafion to have presented
the appearance of an ocean, covering more
than 60 square miles, in which separate
towns, which were vel provided with
dykes, ooked like islands in the vast ex-
panse of water. On the 9TH of March,
about twelve English miles north Of Czege-
din and up the river, an embankment gave
way. For years considerable mass of wa
ter had been collecting on it's north side and
gradually undermining it. The floods which
rushed through the opening poured rapidly
on to the sout', united in their course with
other waters, and covered the low plain for
miles, until on the evening of the Sth they
surrounded Czegedin on the north and west.
ri, &c, oe tbn oit l;u;J
ing it from the new Czegedin, it can be
clearly seen that Czegedin itself was now
surrounded on three sides by water. OF late
years the railway system OF Hungary has
been . good deal developed, and the alleys
in many places ale crossed by lines on banks
which have been of course built up high
enough to keep the rails out of reach of the
foundations. The banks defend to some ex
tent the valleys, which arc in some parts
shut in and surrounded by them. But they
! have this disadvantage, that when the water
once breaks through a railway embankmert
into an enclosed plain it has no way of get
ting out. and must either have way cut for
it in another embankment further down,
or be pumped out by steam. Czegedin was
unfortunately in this position. In the in
undated territory between the Koros and
that of the Moros, there lie near one anoth-
er the four populous towns of Ssongrad
| 100000, Szentes 100000, Vasarholy 100000,
aud Czegedn $4,000. The three first con-
tended successfully with the flood. Engi-
neer troops and the inhab tants wrought
day and night repairing and raising en-
bankments around their respective towns
With Czegedin 1t was otherwise.
The people OF the place seem not to have
fully realized the greatness of their danger.
inst above the town the Maros flows into
the Thesis, and that not merely almost at
right angles, but rather so as to partly meet
the water which it joins. When both rivers
are low, even this causes no alarm, but
whenever they rise there is double danger.
THIS was pointed out in 1916, and it was
urged that new channel should be formed
for the river, SO that it might enter the
Thesis below Czegedn. The people, how
ever, succeeded in preventing this work be-
ing carried out, thinking it would cut off
from the town the trade Of the Moros. When
the question was being discussed in 1865,
the government inspector said, with a dis
cernment almost prophetic 'When it is
considered that in some years the highest
Maros waters might meet those of the Thesis
when also highest, one Of the most popu-
lous, diligent and flourishing cities of the
land may he exposed to dangers and catas-
trophies which only he can rightly estimate
who knows how low three-fourths of the
city lies, and Of what material its beautiful
houses are built" Buta worse mistake was
made eleven years after by the people, On
March 10, Tisza, the President of the Hun
garian Ministry, sta tedthat after the dan
ger Of 1876 it was determined to surround
Czegedin with a circular embankment in
order to it pesriect safety. The plans were