The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-02-12

many of these buildings, some of which are al
ready topping and swaying to and fro in
the mighty torrent. TO be added to these are
the many large factories, number of the larg
est in the city, and barns, stables, out-houses
and fences, and the picture of devastation is yet
to be greatly enlarged The scene is one of the
widest but most fearful grandeur, on account of
the destruction that is inevitable. But the pain
fulness of the situation is heightened by the eman-
ner in which the refugees from the torrent are
packed together-men, women, and children in
all sorts of buildings, large and small, cleanly
and dirty, damp and il-ventilated, or open and
prey to the elements 1t is the best that can be
done for them, however, as there are some thou
sands to be provided for, and the number is now
hourly augmenting. Our citizens and authori-
ties are struggling nobly and generously with
the emergency, but the time will come when
their resources of help will be
exhausted, and then the suffering will
be very great. To-day the City Council held a
special session and adopted additional measures
of relief 1t was determined that all who desire
to work be offered work by the city on the
streets, at $l.25 per day. payable at the close of
each days labor. Hundreds have gladly ac
cepted the offer, but as the city has only street
cleaning and repairing to do this will be speed
lily completed, and then the sufferers will have
to be supplied out of the city and county treas
uries. 1t will not take long, with the great num-
Der to be looked after, to exhaust these treasu-
ries of supply and yet the flood swells and the
danger grows hourly more menacing. This is
not cheerful condition of affairs
To-day w. c. De Pauw, Jesse J. Brown, Nor
ris Mcdonald and Postmaster Hurley tele
graphed the Indiana delegation in Congress to
join other States in the Ohio valley in the pas
sage of relief measures by Congress for the suf
ferers in the Ohio valley the mayor and Council
as a body, sent similar dispatch The Indiana
representatives and senators answer they will act
promptly Extra police We're appointed to-day
to assist in protecting exposed property from the
thieving gangs already at work in the flooded
districts.
The river rolls with vicious current through
that part of the city lying on the first bottom
Its resistless tide has commenced sweeping the
soil from the rich river bottom garden farms
west of the city. Houses and outbuildings will
suffer on these farms, and wooden fences are al
ready afOat. AS far as the eye can reach west
ward there is only to be seen the onsweeping
flood, carrying destruction on its tide There is
five feet of water in the DePauw American
Plate glass works, and in some of the other fac
tories from ten to fifteen feet. The Ohio Falls
Iron Works, one of the finest merchant and
bridge-iron rolling-mis in the West, is flooded
to a depth of twenty feet in some parts of the
large buildings; the New Albany rail mill
and Barth & Companys large tan
merry are nearly as deeply flooded, and
still the flood is rapidly swelling All steam
boats have stopped running on the lower Ohio,
they can nowhere find landing place Two
of the New Albany ferry-boats are making trips
along the river below the city to rescue farmers
and their effects.
The steamer Rainbow arrived to-day from
Evansville Her officers report all of Newburg,
parts of Rockport and Cannelton, all of Tell
City and Troy, and the greater part of Derby,
Leavenworth, Mauckport and New Amsterdam,
Ind, the greater parts of Lewisport, Cloverport,
Hainesville, and Brandenburg, Ky, under the
food. There is great suffering already at all
these towns and large loss of property Many
farms are completely covered and much stock
and farm implements and produce lost. At all
points passed by the Rainbow the river was
rising fast