The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1879-10-31

Graphic Account of the Recent Terrible
Floods-Awiui Devastation and Destruc-


Full news has been brought to the
papers of the terrible floods that have
devastated the valleys of the Mundo
and Zegura in Spain. Rarely has a
more terrible story been narrated in
modern times. Murcia is little known
to travellers in Spain, for the Mediter-
ranean steamers touch at Alicante, to
the north OF it, and at Catagena, to the
south of it, and the capital of the
ancient kingdom and modern Murcia
lies inland on the Segura, half way be-
tween them. 1t lies in huerta plain
dotted with coy farm houses and green
with dropping palm trees.
The present summer has been unusu-
ally hot there; this torrid region had
known no such heat for generation.
For months not cloud has been seen;
not a drop of rain had fallen. Blood
red skies blazed like a procession of
torches. The very dust had not had
power to raise itself from the road.
The river had been, as the Spanish
say, bled, and to such degree that its
life seemed extinct. Carriers drove
along its empty bed through banks of
tall bamboos, and the bridges they
should have passed over rose above
them like triumphal arches. Tartane's
coaches stopped quietly ON the road,
the horses in them stopped, drivers
slept, the people inside them, too.
1t was about o'clock when the APP
proach of the "mistral," cold, biting
wind, was felt from the direction of
Cartagena, the sky clouded over in an
instant, there was gathering up of fans
and mantillas, and the crowd turned
hastily homeward. The plaza was de-
serted. Meanwhile the storm was howl
ing over the town and amid the streets,
and tore through the houses. 1t in
creased in violence every minute. The
rain seemed to be falling in broad
sheets of water. No such tempest had
ever been seen within the memory of
living man. Shortly after midnight the
Serano Waterman was going his rounds
fighting his way through the
binding downpour, when, as he
passed over the bridge lead
ing to the plaza and dividing
the town into two portions, he saw a
black stream of water rushing between
the arches; he found that the river was
rising rapidly. 1t had already over
flowed the banks, anu was steadily
climbing over the stone parapet which
protects the frontage. The Waterman
knew that no time was to be lost. He
buried to a clock tower, which gives
signals of fire or of other catastrophes
to the suburbs by the water side, and
at once set the huge bells in motion.
Their warning was heard over the roar
of the thunder. Instantly the inhabit-
ants rushed into the streets. Few of
them had time to do more than
snatch up a little clothing. Down
the main street, the Gale Dell Ca
balleros, rushed affrighted women in
fery-red petticoats. Through the fash
ionable casinos, the club-houses of the
town, swarmed bands of swarthy git
amos, armed with their knives and
seeming opportunities of plumber.
Peasants in their blue velvet jackets
stood helplessly in the Glorieta, "the
principal promenade" too frightened
to heed the violence of the storm.
The authorities at once proceeded to
organize assistance Tor that part of the
town which was already lying beneath
the level of the flood. "As we walked
about" said one.of the sufferers, "in that
dark night, amid that deluge of rain, we
could hear the distant roar of the water
tearing past in the Segura, until low,
rumbling crashes told of the inundation
breaking into the streets" Suddenly all
the gas lights went out then everybody
knew that the food was advancing.
From street and square, from balcony
and house-top came the cry, "The
water is rising" 1t was fearful
moment. The confusion was unpar-
alleled. Through gardens, vineyards,
and mulberry groves the people were
pouring in compressed, struggling
mass, all with the one idea of quitting the
town and outstripping the flood. In
the suburbs of San Benito and San Lo-
renzo, before half the people could get
out of their beds, they had the water
over the lower floors of their houses.
The church doors were soon forced
open by the food, which went on it's
way laden with broken stools and altar
ornaments, with vestments of priests
and red tunics of choristers. 1t invad-
ed the nunneries and hermitages, the
oratories and converts, sweeping from
their inches the carved images of saints.
1t poured into the cavalry barracks,
where the soldiers could be seen run
ming up and down stairs with their reg
imentals under their arms. 1t skirted
the great episcopal palace and the col
leges of st. Fulgentius and st. Isidore.
Many of the public buildings and in
stitutes it spared as it swept on to the
railway station. Here it extinguished
the light and lamps that were burning
on the bare ground outside, and carried
away the small open-air Bullets where
fruit, drinking water and anisette were
sold. 1t tore up sheds and embank-
ments, breaking up rails.
When the day broke with gloomy,
overcast sky, the people almost for
got the horrors of the night as they
gazed on the vega-plain-which the
day before had been a lovely tropical
garden. AS far as the eye could reach
was level expanse of water, where
palmetos waved their fan-like branches,
and pretty, white villas lay amid bowers
of orange trees, swollen, muddy stream
went hurrying along, carrying the