The daily gazette., 1883-02-14
THE RUSH OF WATERS.
SWEEPING CITIES AND TOWNS!
ALONG THE OHIO.
AND THE END NOT YET COME.
The Greatest Flood for Many Years,
Causing Suffering, LOSS OF Life and De-
struction OF Property.

O'Clock tonight is wavering between 65 feet
one inch and 05 feet two inches. There is q
tremendous amount of Of water above, and
| the indications are that rain storm is about
to enter the Ohio Valley. There is therefore
NO hope Of the water receding for two or
three days, and the prediction is frequently
| heard that 1t will go from to 10 inches
| higher. The river is now II inches higher
than has ever before been known. Tonight
| there is light rain falling, and except
where electric lights have been put up
the city is envcloped in inky darkness. The
militia are doing police duty. There Is but
one railroad track entering the city that can
| be used and that one is two feet under water
| at one point. The trains which have arrived
aud gone out are furnished with another
engine after running through the water, as
the flre in the first engine is put out and
barely steam enough remains to pull the
train to dry ground. The last train over
the Little Miami came in from the East this
morning. AT Columbia the watsr covered
the tracks and switch becoming misplaced
the engine jumped the track, but no serious
damage resulted. The passengers were put
on fat-boat and taken TO dry land and
many got wet during the transfer. Once on
shore, the passengers had TO either walk it
to town or wait for conveyances to arrive.
disaster occurred this morning at the
Southern Railway depot, from which, ac-
cording to the early reports, 25 lives were
lost. This was great exaggeration. There
may be somebody buried under the ruins
and flood, but there is no one reported as
missing. The track in approaching the de-
pot runs parallel to Mclean avenue. Both
avenue and the railroad track are on a high
fill. Mill creek is ON the west and there was
deep cut on the east several rods in
width, the opposite side being formed by
made ground, upon which residences have
/ been Duils. The DrasRure from fha Hp0d In
Mill creek became so great that the grades
| upon which the railway track ran and
which formed the avenue gave way. Part
| of the depot was carried off and
part OF the freight house. Several loaded
| freight cars went down in the flood.
| The whole thing happened in a
| tWinkling and where the track and avenue
were there Is now 20 feet of water. The floor
of that part of the freight depot which was
| not wrecked has been invaded by the water
and boxes of merchandise were floating
thickly over the water in all directions. If
no one was drowned il was a miracle, for a
j large number of persons were about the
/ depot but few minutes before. Ryan's
restaurant went down about a minute be-
fore the depot fell. The noise had attracted
/ attention and people were running toward
the restaurant when the depot accident oc-
Cured.
Skitfs are as thick as drays and wagons
| were there week ago The police patrol
their beats In boats. Some of the build
lngs there are very old, and it is not un-
| likely that some OF them may suceumb to
the dissolving power of the water, aided as
1t is by strong current in places. What Will
| be the damage should this occur no man
can foretell. Hundreds of thousands of
dollars could be lost in an hour In that
| manner, but, as has been said repeatedly,
most firms prepared by removing their goods
Taifh tn htnln II
/ nearly all the inhabitants are gone and
must be provided for-some for quite
/ time.
Business here is about paralyzed. The
deprivation of gas is the least feature of the
disaster. That can be remedied, but water
famine is imminent, and If fire should
break out the supply of water would be
shortened and the department might not be
| able to control it all If surrounded by the
water. 1t is proposed to place steamers on
barges to meet this contingency, but nearly
all the coal yards are submerged, and al
most every factory in the city, unless speei-
ally lucky or specially pushed, is at stand
still. Hydraulic elevators have had to stop.
The slaughter-houses are mostly in Mill
Creek Valley, and fresh meat will soon be a
rarity with many. Provisions, especially
country produce, are going up in price.
Farmers cannot get to the city at all, save
In one or two directions. In short, the city
| OF Cincinnati is visited by such a misfortune
as the widest evil prophets would never
have predicted, and the end is not yet, as it
will days before things, under the most
favorable circumstances, can resume their
old situation.
The police service, aided, as it is, by
regiment of National Guards, is inadequate
: to guard the great territory now at the
mercy of the maraaders who can command
skiif Nearly every business house In the
bottoms has one or more guards, with loaded
shot guns, ready for water pirates.
TOWNS SUBMERGED.
Newport, Covington, Lawrenceburg, New
, Albany, Hardentown, Ottawa, Point Ship
pingsport, Portland, Evansville, Madison,
Milton, Jetfersonville, Shawneetown and
other places along the river are more or less
submerged and the inhabitants are fleeing
from their houses by hundreds by every pos
sible means. AS the river was still rising
; at last reports the losses along the Ohio
/, valley will aggregate millions of dollars.
No steamboats, are running and many places
are entirely isolated from the rest of the
world.
/ DAM BURSTS.
The reports from Louisville, KY, are
]. almost as diseouraging as those from Cincin-
4 natl. A dispatch IRON there last night
9 was there such a scene of woe and misery
y y AS burst upon her last night. The eastern
3 end of the city was protected from the river
8 by an embankment 25 feet high and shortly
70 after midnight this dam suddenly gave way,
z and wall of water Is feet In height swept
down on the unsuspeeting Inhabitants,
most of whom were asleep in their
!. beds. In half an hour 5000 people were
left homeless and square nile Of Louisville
= was buried beneath the water The scene
was awful. The night was dark and stormy,
e a heavy rain falling In continuous shower.
When the wretched people sprang from
!, their beds they could see nothing about
! them but the water, filling the air and rush
d ing through the break In the levee with a
rear that could be heard for miles.
+ Houses were swept away or tnmbled
9 down, boats and barges awere sunk, and the
l cries of help from the women and children
l. were most heartrending. Strange to say, but
: few lives have been reported lost as yet.
= Hundreds were taken from the roofs ef
their houses, aud clinging to boards
and trees. This morning all the
churches, hotels and public build
l. ings were thrown open to these people.
st The sufferers are the poorest of the poor,
It and many of them, when they lost theil
. homes, lost everything. The falls are now
g, buried under 40 feet of water. Disaster
he meets the eye looking at every corner of the
g | comnasa for TouikyilIe ia more mereileeslY