Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1883-02-21
AN INDEscRIBABLE SCENE.

AN INDESCRIBABLE SCENE.
The scene last night beggars de-
| ription. The people who were bliss
fully sleeping in foolish confidence that
| the embankment would shelter them
were rudely awakened by the fool
coming into their houses. Some
were even surprised in bed when the
stroke came 1t was like lightning
In the darkness and cold they fed
| from their watery death half clothed
carrying nothing with them except the
children and the helpless. No scene of
a broken dyke in Holland can be more
terrible and thrilling With an awful
roar and shrieks of the terror stricken
people, as without warning they hur-
ried TO higher ground, leaving homes,
| furniture and all to the mercy of the
water A large part of this city has
constituted itself into relief commit
tee, with the Mayor at its head, and
all that can be done is being done to
lend helping hand.
UTTER DEsoLATIoN.
There are thirty-fve squares under
water. The situation may be briefly
summed up All the points are under
water and the country beyond the cut
off, comprising $50 houses known as
Bonneville, is flooded Half of Port
land and all of Shippingport are in the
waves. All day long stream of peo-
pie passed up and down the Short
Line track to look Mt the ruin wrought
by the river. Tho outlook is appal-
ling. Houses are overturned, and
some on their sides, some almost on
their. roofs. Other buildings are
crushed to pieces. The most of the
houses are small cottages of frail con-
struction, and perhaps third of those
in the flooded locality have been swept
from their foundation. Doors, Win
dows, sashes and pieces of furniture,
lumber, deift-wood and shingles are all
! floating about in confusion. In the
lower hollow of the bottom lands the
water is within foot or two Of the
roofs of the houses.
THE SUFFERING PEOPLE
The entire neighborhood is doing all
it can to succor the sufferers. There
were cases of extreme individual suffer
ing last night, which the public may
never know Mothers hurried through
rising waters with babies in their arms.
In some cases sick people had to be
taken through windows and carried in
skiffs to places of safety. Several
were rescued from trees into which
they had climbed. Along the wharf
the river Is still rising at the rate of an
inch an hour, with few inches over 80
feet in the canal, 36 feet s inches in the
chute on the falls, and 81 feet inches
| over the rocks Business is entirely
suspended on the wharf from First
street around to Portland avenue.
The river last year reached its highest
mark at 81 feet 10 inches in the canal,
but this year it has reached 3S feet,
with an additional inch or two. The
| houses along the wharf are in miser-
cble condition, as the water is in the
| second stories at Fourth street, and
the people are moving higher to escape
the water.
SITUATION AT NIGHTFALL.
The river continued to rise slowly
all day 1t is now about sixty-six and
half feet at the mouth OF the canal
and forty-one feet at the head The
weather is warmer, a light rain falling,
with indications of increase during the
night. The rise is now an Inch above
the food Of lS47 and eight inches be-
low that Of 1882 On the point where
the disaster occurred last night the
food extends over space of over
quarter of u mile wide and more than
mile in length.
SOME SINGULAR INCIDENTS.
To-day Mayor Jacob chartered the
steamer Matte Hays and with corps
of men traversed the submerged dis
trict, taking off number of persons,
and by means Of boats supplying food
to those who remained in houses above
water. Many were in this way sue
cored as not all the houses were en-
tirely submerged, the upper stories of
some still being habitable and the
owners remaining. Singular incidents
occurred during this trip. One man
was found cIinging to tree. AS the
men approached him he cried aut, "Go
over to that house there is o woman
and several children over there. | will
hold here until you save them" The
house was forty yards away. The
men starred, bat before thep reached it
the house was turned over and carried
away in the rush of aters. No noise
was heard and nothing is known
whether the people were rescued or
not. The information was that the
family was still in the house The
man who was clinging to the tree was
afterwards rescued and declared that
woman and several children were in
the house when It turned over The
man did not know the names.
A family named Watkins, living in
the hollow near Adams street, had
been importuned to move out of the
house but the mother was sick and
they did not believe that the water
would come over. When the break
came IN the cutoff Gil the water rush
ed down upon them filing the lower
floors of the house and rendering es-
cape except by skiff impossible. The
house was frame, moved from its
foundation and rocked to aud fro in the |
water At the moment when the
danger came the woman was in pains
of parturtion In this condition the !
bed was taken up, put in skiff and the
woman removed The excitement at
tending removal was such as to throw
her into spasms Her recovery is
doubtful An old colored man named
John Adams, living alone, i'll with
rheumatism, probably lost.
LATER REPORTS OF DISTRESS.
The Ohio river is still rising at Mad