The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1883-03-10
THE OHIO AN OCEAN.


ton being greatly ny rayated by the fact that
they are isolated from the balance of the
world, and their distress has not heretofore
been known to the public. No railroad, no
tee graph line reaches the town, tho only
means of ingress or egress being an occa-
sional steamboat down and up the ohio, and
almost the entire population are prisoners in
the upper stories of the houses, the river
there being six miles wide land the streets
having an average water depth of fifteen feet.
The actual condition is well set forth in the
following dispatch, which was to-day for.
warded to Chicago:
NURGENT APPEAL.
sHAwNEETowN, lit, VIA EVANSVILLE, Feb.
ruarv A.-To Marshall Field Co., Chicago:
our people are overwhelmed with the most
appalling misfortune ever visited upon any
locality. The Ohio River here is five feet
higher than ever known and still rising. our
wealth has gone down with the angry waves.
Hundreds are destitute, penntless ana Suter-
ing. We must have help. The river Is from
five to thirty five miles wide, AMI carrying
utter destruction before it, The loss in tins
immediate vicinity will reach S250,00O a. least
We appeal to the charitable for assistance in
this time of need. We have been under water
for nearly three weeks and it will take four
weeks for IL to subside.
SwOFFORn BROS,
ALLEN & HNRRINGToN,
NJ. NJ, Pool,
THoS. S. RIDGEwAY,
j. w. MILLsPAUGH, Mayor.
The situation at Shawneetown is by no
means exaggerated in the above dispatch.
The inhabitants have thus far sustained them.
selves by what they had on hand when the
deluge came, but this has been exhausted,
and scores of families are
GOING HUNGRY
from day to day. One hundred and forty
houses have been wrecked or floated off, and
only thirty of the residences are now tenable
even in their upper stories. People, white
and black, are Unfortunately huddled in
the third stories of the Court house, POOLS
pork house, the Catholic Convent, the public
school house, WisehArt's warehouse and
numerous other buildings that have high
floors. A high wind has been blowing all
day, and there is great fear that some OF the
structures. many of which are weak, may give
way and fearful catastrophe occur.
Doctors Binckely and Fails, the leading ply
sicians, report that there has been IA serious
increase in the death rate. the undertaken
being called on to furnish about
THREE CoFFISs \ DAY
for the town and vicinity. The water is SIX
| feet deep on the levces and fourteen feet on
the lower portion of Main and Chur' streets,
the principal business thOroughtares, but Mt
the upper end of the town, whore many
| houses and the Ohio Mississippi and Louis.
willie 4 Nashville Railroad depots are situated,
! it is twenty five feet deep. Up to six o clock
! this morning the river was stll slowly rising
! ut the rate of two inches Il day, daily in
| crease which has been regularly maintained
| for the pnst week. While the river Is falling
| above, at Evansville aud below at Cairo, 1T is
! yet on the rise at Shawueetown, a cirCum-
! stance which is due to the mighty Volume
| which pOurS in Just above from the wabash.
and the fact that at Caseyv;lle, just below, it
is only half mile from bank to bank, where
| lima oil mn IN hot
| sides OF the river and form a sort of narrow
! funnel for the ocean of water to rush through.
The river from Evansville to Shawneetown
has an average width of five or more miles
For fifteen miles, beainn ng mt the point
| called Bald Peak on the indiana shore, ia
Round Pond Hill, on the Illinois side, there is
a width of ten miles and opposite Union
| town, Ky, near the confluence OF the Ohio
! ind Wabash, there is an inland lake
| ..." FORTY MILES WIDE.
| North of Shawneetown land can be rea he'd
within two miles, but to the west and norh
west there is an unbroken sheet of water fol
| nearly twenty miles Two thirds OF Gallatir
| County, in which the town is situated, is I'M
der water. Thus It will be seen that Shaw
| neetown is surrounuedby moving re which
can not be emptied into the Mississippi ioI
| weeks to come, and that month will proba
bly, elapse before even her streets are aga Il
| visible.
| Mayor Milspaugh and Mr.. NJ. NJ. Pool
| leading banker, said day that shawnee
town would be lucky il her STR cts wer" cleal
| OF water IN uNe Weeks. Inere Is not Il UOIh
in the Town Treasury. EN-State Treasurer
Ridgewav, of the FIRST National Bank hore
ha- thus far assumed all bills for orerics anC
food furnished to the poor. Tn" committed
nov en- route to Springfield will ak the Leg
islature to appropriate 100000, one fourth o
which will go to buy food and clio hing for tht
needy and the other three .foui tbs 10 ebuilC
and heighten the le"ees that formerly sur
rounded the town. som" aid. however, Is al
ready on its way to the sut eling inhabtants
The steamboat sabel left here this evenlns
having on board four carloads OF provision
Donated by the indianapolis Board of Trade
Mr.. George T. Branham, of that city, ha
gone down in charge of the cargo, and he salt
that indianapolis had plenty m IRE to send.
A Big River at Cairo. .