The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1884-02-16
THE OHIO DELuGE,

THE OHIO DELuGE,
The papers have been filled Tor two
weeks with accounts Of the tremendous
flood in the valley of the Ohio river. Never
since its settlement by the white man has
il been dcsolated by deluge approaching
the present in magnitude and destructive
ness For years, the great flood OF 49,
when the highest point reached was 6lo
inches above low water mark, was referred
To as the great extreme, beyond which II
was thought the waters never again could
20: and indeed il was not again until 1885
over halt century afterwards, that that
limit was reached, when the food went up
to 6G3. or two feet higher. The city was
not prepared for such an inundation, ana
the suffering and loss of property was IN
consequence enormous. Forewarned by
that experience, however, at the present
rise the city was better prepared, and as the
waters, foot by foot, went up 10 G6, the PEG
pie were ready for it and To that point the
loss and suffering were comparatively
light; but when the waters went beyond
that extreme mark, up to 81, ~, 6D, 40 ana
finally reached the extreme point OF 'lit.
a inches, no wonder The people were terror
stricken and ready to despair. AT the last
named point, however on Thursday even
| ing, the river came Ia a stand, and two
| 4 T,,l k,lf inch and
since then has been receding at the rate OF
| 10 an inch an hour, so that the crisis, so to
speak, has been passed, But in spite even
of this enormous rise, Cincinnati is much
less "A sufferer than she was last year her
greatest loss being from the interruption of
business.
Other points on the Ohio were apparently
less provident, and at PittSburg and ALE
ghahy city the damage was greater than
ever before; and SO at Wheeling, which
had never before experienced Il calamity
comparable 10 the present; while al the
loss and distress of which the papers gave
such narrowing accounts II year ago, at all
the towns below Cincinnati, such as .jetfer
sonville Lawrenccburg, Maysville, Shaw
neetOwn, NC, &c, were more than repeated.
For nearly the whole length of the Ohio
valley the waters extended from bluff 10
bluff, the country on both sides beinga vast
feet deep, the tops of the houses alone be-
ing visible To the flood below Cincinnati
on Tuesday night was added destructive
wind storm, which broke many houses loose
from their foundations or moorngs, and
proved disastrous to parties in boats, of
whom several were drowned
OF course the losses have again rendered
hundreds destitute and the public are ap.
pealed to for aid. Congress, to meet i'm
mediate wants, has appropriated 100000,
but where the calamity involves many mil
lions the congressional pittance must neces
! sarily fall far short of the demands Of the
occasion.
The extreme rise stops short of Cairo and
Metropolis, as there is no corresponding
rise in the Mississippi,
Fuller details of the flood will he found
in the dispatches on our 2d page
| The question recurs, are these floods to
continue year after year, and is each snc-
ceeding freshet in the valleys of our great
rivers TO swell higher and higher? Such
at present seems to he the inevitable ont
look As cities along the river increase in
wealth and business eXigcncies, the natural
channel is entrenched upon 10y wharves,
! levees &c, and made narrower; then rs
the slopes and hillsides along the river and
its tributaries are denllded of their forests,
additional obstacles to the floods are remov-
ed; besides which every slough, marsh and
pond that formerly served To hold back the
waters is being drained more and more
each year. 50 that Of necessity causes of
higher floods are on the constant increase.
The levees which an insane policy is build
ing along the Mississippi river are operat
in the same way, only damming the river
above raising its bed and subiecting the
country below to greater foundations. Ad
ded to which, as the great Northwest at the
head of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers
is being brought under cultivation and it,
marshes, sloughs, ponds and lakes drained
to make more wheat land, the surplus wa
tiers are being turned into the rivers, only
to cause year 10y year more maddeninl
floods
The meeting of the Illinois Republican
State Committee at Chicago on Tuesday
to settle upon day for holding the mex
State Convention, was made the occasion