Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1884-02-06
GENERAL NEWS.
An Unprecedented High Stage
of Water at Pitts.
burg.
Grave Fears Entertained
and Great Damage
to Property.
Danger Of q Railroad War Of Some
Magnitude.
An Iowa German Murders a
Widows Daughter and
Kills Himself.

-s~Sso.ASN
Kills Himself.
Good Prospects for Another Flood.
Cincinnati. Ohio, Feb. 6-The rain
continues and the river Is fifty.eight feet
and rising at the rate of five inches per
hour. AL the small streams throughout
the country IRE at flood height. Reports
from up river points are that rain is still
falling aud the river is rising rapidly.
Portsmouth forty-eight feet; Trenton
forty-6ve feet seven inches; Huntington
forty.two feet; Wheeling forty feet. and
rising six inches per hour.
Cairo, Ills, Feb. 6-There has been
heavy rain since four p. m. yesterday.
The Ohio river is rising fast and is now
thirty.seven feet six inches on the gauge,
having risen over three feet during the
last twenty-four hours. Tue Mississippi
is also rising slowly.
Pittsburg, Feb. 6-The river is thirty.
one feet and rising eight inches per hour
at eleven this morning.
The men who yesterday were unwill-
ing to admit that last years flood would
be duplicated cannot be found to- day.
There is no longer any doubt but that
the water will reach last years height.
On the contrary, with rain still falling
and the weather mild, the only question
now is by how much will last years
food be exceeded. The most alarming
feature OF the present situation is how
rapidly it will rise. Last year when the
river had reached this height it
was rising less than one inch
an hour. At noon to-day the gauge
shows tifty-niDe feet. This is an unprec-
edented high stage of water and shows
what a prodigious rainfall there has been.
With last years experience merchants
and manufacturers will lose much less
than then. No time is now wasted in
pumping the water from cellars. Every
available man and team is employed
where the water may encroach, in placing
the goods on higher floors .or removing
them to higher ground. Business is
completely suspended throughout all the
lower part of the city; the Grand Cen
trail railroad depot is abandoned.
The Ohio aud Mississippi
railroad has its eastern
terminus at Aurora, Ind, and will run
steamers between that point and Starts
Station, thence by omnibus. Cincinnati,
Washington and Baltimore trains will
use the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton
depot. This can be used until the water
reaches sixty-six feet and then trains will
have to stop at the stock yards. The
Bee line trains will make that their ter
minus tomorrow; the Pan Handle and
Louisville and Nashville can use their
depot until the water reaches seventy.
Six feet. The Cincinnati Southern will
not be troubled in reaching
Mclean street depot until water gets
higher than it was last year, but 1T can.
not reach the sidetracks to do freight
business. The Cincinnati, Indianapolis,
ST. Louis & Chicago bids fair to be shut
out altogether, unless arrangements can
be made to reach the city via Rushville
over the @. 81. & d. road. The Cincin-
natl, Northern, Toledo. Cincinnati, & St.
Louis is the only road that cannot be
reached by the floods. This morning the
warehouse of Duckworths distillery was
undermined and fell into The water,
causing large loss. Soon after the
cattle pens. capable of feeding one thous.
and head of cattle were swept away.
They had removed the cattle yesterday
or the loss would be heavy.
The schools in the first and fourth
wards are closed. On Duquesne street
the water covers the Office and furniture
of the Robinson House, and is within
one foot of the first floor of the Duquesne
depot. Merchants on Water street have
moved their goods to the second floor, a
precaution it was never necessary to take
before. Railroad traffic on all the river
lines is greatly retarded, and the B. & o.
'P. & L. E. road, the Pittsburg l. Western,
the Pittsburg, McKeesport and Yough,
the West Pennsylvania & Allegheny
Valley railroads have suspended entirely
or will be compelled to before evening.
So far there has been no individual
losses here and the damage is confined
exclusively to the flooding Of property.
The river at this point passed the dan.
ger line last night, and at noon to-day it
reached thirty-one feet six inches, the
highest stage since 1852. Dispatches
from the head waters of both rivers re-
port the water still rising, while here it
is creeping up into the streets at the
rate of eight iuches per hour. Miles Of
property in this city and on the south
side and in Allegheny ls submerged and
hundreds of families we're compelled to
vacate their houses. All the mills and
factories on the banks of both rivers sus-
pended operations, and connection be-
tween Pittsburg and Allegheny by street
cars is entirely cut off.
The greatest suffering and damage re.
ported in this vicinity came from the
Yough region. where the mining hamlets
and portion Of tho towns lying on the
lowlands had been inundated. Hundreds
of families have been forced to desert
their homes and fly before the coming
food. In some places it was found nee.
sssary to anchor dwelling houses to
trees and rocks to keep them from drift