San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1883-03-01
AWFUL FLOOD.
six'y.nvs Feet Four Inehss Of Water 10 the Ollie
81 GinsInnAti-GrsatD sstrueilen OF
Property.
Chicago Times.


The Indian may have witnessed such
volume of water in the Ohio, but his
white successor never before saw such
flood. IL has not come upon us with
rush, or this rich, beautiful valley
would become wilderness with its
subsistence, but has slowly swelled from
fair river, useful servant, TO silent
yellow sea that has sent ITS waves into
the marts of the city, and with their
quiet tapping put q stop to business, to
manufactures, to traffic, sent thousands
and thousands adrift without shelter and
without food, and in the aggregate in
fiicted damages that may directly and
Indirectly amount to millions of doll
lars. Within a space of twenty
miles tributary to the city, thousands
of people are houseless, many of them
as destitute as when they were
born, at least for the time. If they stay
in their houses, they are isolated, and
must depend on chance for succor. If
they leave, host of river pirates will
despoil the deserted dwellings. The
Ohio river flows west between Cincin-
natl on the Ohio side and Newport and
Covington opposite; in Kentucky, the
latter cities divided by the Licking
river. A mile and n half below the
Licking river Mill creek empties into
the river on the Ohio side. The Lick
ing has been swollen by its tributaries
to raging torrent. Narrow and deep
and swift ordinarily, it is now out Of its
banks for miles, covering points OF
ground never before reached by the
floods. Along it's banks are many fac
tories, large and small, rolling-mills,
and furnaces. All these are flooded,
their fires out, and their workmen idle.
Mill creek forces it's way to the river in
the western part of the city, flowing
through wide valley, along which for
five miles are not only dwelling, but
pork packing houses, slaughter houses,
divers manufacturing establishments,
and hundreds of market gardens, to-
gether with several railroad tracks.
All these are under water, and while
the gardens are ruined, great damage is
also done the factories, packing-houses
and contents, but to what extent is SIM
ply impossible to even approximate.
The front of Cincinnati for several
streets is low. Here is done the heavy
whole sale. business of the city, and
there are located many large
factories of all sorts, machine
shops, coal yards, etc. All this is under
water from few inches to several feet,
while cellars for two OF three streets
further back are flooded. In some OF
these streets steamboat could make
it's way without particle of trouble,
On Second street the current runs like
q mill race. Where there is but little
water, if the business is of kind to
warrant it, clerks and porters wade
about in rubber hip boots but most OF
them are simply in charge OF watch
men. Most of them have removed their
good to upper stories OF higher ground.
In streets back and higher hundreds
of hogsheads of tobacco, sugar, ETC.,
are piled on the sidewalks from the
flooded districts. In the upper portion
of the city, along the river bank, live
many poor people and most of the law
less class of the city. They are drowned
out, and perforce invaded the central
portion of the town and the fashions
BILE streets, so that the crowds were
more diversified than ever before. The
works supply both this city and
Newport has been, shut off, and their
fires were put out yesterday afternoon
with only slim nights supply on hand.
To-day the lamp stores drove such a
trade as never before, and candles were
as common as 100 years ago in the CEN
} trail city of the Union. Three hun
bred thousand people are cut off from
their regular supply sof gas tonight.
, The streets are in darkness save for an
, occasional electric light. Theaters and
, other halls had to supply themselves
7 with electric lights, oil lamps or can
3 dies. and the audiences blinked their
| ewes under the unwonted light, and
2 we're hilarious and jolly, as they could
} not have been otherwise. The water
/ works have about five days supply il
g the reservoirs. Under the most favor
!. able circumstances the works canno
/ resume in time to more than keep con
: sumers scantily supplied, and, shoul'
: a great fire occur, the result is disheart
e ening to contemplate. Should it occu
: in the overfowed business district, tn
: department would be simply powerles'
6 and the flames would run unche ckeC
e Only one railroad, the Cincinnati, Ha
: milton and Dayton, is above waite
n There are ten feet of water over I'll
b track leading into the new Union De
y pot, and on the lower ground the wat'
y runs over the tops of some freight CA
N that were left on the track.
.e