Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1881-02-16
Rain, Flood and Snow.

/ uhpiOhtn anu ooNOiCOOitt WYNN hS"'J S-N'"
Jack Frost's corner in winter weather has
been broken. All the rivers and streams
that have been operating in ice margins,
and all the hill-tops that have been holding
snow for rise, are experiencing the fate
that sooner or later overtakes all spectators
who place unnatural restrictions upon the
course of natural laws, whether of trade or
commerce or meteorology. A grand break
up is only question Of time. Ruin and
disaster always follow in the train of an ar
bitrary diversion of the forces Of nature as
well as Of trade, and especially perilous is
any tampering with the January thaw. The
latter is a sort of meteorological safety valve
Load it down so that it is imperative, and
that will happen in the weather department
which happens to steam-boiler under sim
liar circumstances rivers burst their
banks, sweep away bridges, dams and build
ings, interrupting travel and causing gen.
eral arrangement Of human affairs.
In other sections Of the country, south
and north, great floods and serious loss of
property have resulted from the injudicious
management of belated and uncomfortable
January thaw. The Delaware and the Sus-
quehanna, with their tributaries, have been
on tear, creating much disturbance with
railway bridges and with canals, raising ice
gorges and inundating the country which
they drain. The railroad bridge near Tren-
ton, New Jersey, was saved by loading it
down with twenty-seven cars, each bearing
eight tons burden. The Pennsylvania shore
was covered with water as far as the eye
could reach. Up the course of these great
streams and their tributaries to Harrisburgh
| and Binghamton, and at many other points,
similar scenes of destruction by ice and
floods are described. The Allegheny and
Monongahela were on the rampage, working
great damage in the valleys of these rivers,
and uniting, contributed to swell the great
torrents which were rolling down the Ohio
from its tributaries along its course on
either bank, each of which had its special
chapter of mischief in the way Of submerged
farms and villages to recount. At Cincin-
natl it has rained almost necessarily during
the week, and Saturday night a severe
thunder-shower was experienced. 1t is
thirty-eight years since such floods have
been experienced in the Ohio valley. The
Father of Waters has apparently been
lobbying for an appropriation for his i'm
provement, and, with this end in view, has
spread himself pretty generally over the
country beyond the levees on either bank
and treated five square miles aud fifty thou
sand people of New Orleans to an involun-
tary bath,-the water rising to the height of
three or four feet and doing the house-clean-
ing more effectively than judicously in the
first stories of many dwellings. The Poto-
mac has also joined in the mad revelry, sub
merging a portion of the city of Washing
ton, including Pennsylvania avenue, carry
ing away section of the long bridge, and in
hicting great damage on the wharves and
shipping. An immense ice gorge extends
for long distance below the city, and when
this moves out the damage to shipping and
property along the river front, already ex-
ceeding 100000, must be largely increased.
Communication with the south is greatly
interrupted by the disaster to the long bridge.
The Maumee overlooked the railroad grounds
and portion of the city of Toledo, Ohio,
carrying away section of the new iron
bridge of the Pennsylvania company, sweep
ing the lumber yards and stores on Water
street through which the river rolled, and
causing damage to the extent of over half
million dollars. From every southern and
western city come similar tidings Of devas-
tation. While the river god has been run
ming rampant in the more southern lati
tudes, the snow fend and the terrible biz
card were scourging the northwest. Iowa
and Minnesota dispatches tell of terrible
storms, of snow blockades and drifts OBJ
securing the telegraph poles, of trains snow
bound for days and weeks, and the general
suspension of travel and business. The
area of storm and destruction seems to be
as general as the country ITSELF each sec.
ton developing its own peculiar features
and incidents
In this section the beautiful appearance
of winter land muffled in glistening snow,
field, vale and mountain cleaning in the
frosty air beneath the clear winter sun or
the only less brilliant moon, was transformed
by the rising temperature into scenes of
mingled slush and nastiness. Bare hill.tops
have appeared for the first time since the
last of November, but, beyond rendering
some of the hill and less frequented roads
impossible, owing to their "slumpy" condi-
ton, no inconvenience but rather great ben
eft has resulted from the thaw. The great
northwestern snow-storm sent raiding de-
tachment here on Saturday and Sunday,
laying fresh veneering over the impaired
sleighing. Monday and Tuesday by sun
light and by moonlight were brilliant and
bracing with the stalwart charms of Ver-
mont winter -