New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-02-08


AIYzFp-TREMENDoUs Los Es.
fry TELEGRAPH TO THE rRIBUSEI
,,,,r,,Yc w Va. Feb. might has again
fallen upon day crowded with horrors py oo'n
g. and wafer. One-half of the city is submerged,
onv bonses 10 the caves of the roofs while quite
Iorge nuruber-how many cannot yet be ascertained-
have been turned over or carried away Inc 1eaTs
Of our citizens last night, that to-day wouio us
close full catalogue of horrors have been more
than realized and althou gh then the full extent oi
.ho awful catastrophe that has befalen us will not
he known for several days, enough is apparent 10
stamn It without parallel on the upper ONO.
The stories of the oldest residents of the ravages OF
tbe waters of 1882, and again In 1852, had
never been duplicated within the
recollection of the thousands who
have grown up here in the last three decades buV
the food of last night and its results nave iar
exceeded those of either of these noted years. ana
the narrator of these fables who was OF some con-
sequence Yesterday to-day hid his diminished ne"u
in shame. An average of the best estimates gives
over tifty-two feet of water in the river,
A NIGHT OF HORRORS.
Last night was dstinctively night OF horrors
The terror that a fire inspires is something a"luI;
but that inspired by the uncertain huctuatlons ol
an angry flood is far greater. 10 add u ',o
misery of the situation the gas works were SUD-
benceforth pursued in Egyptian darkness intensified
bva heavy fog that hung over the water like pail
At the windows of every house were men, women
ond children who hailed passing skins and boats,
and in,ulored aid The plunge of heavy logs OF woou
through the windows of deserted houses inc CRASH
ing and crushing of blocks of ice, the surgmg Oh
drift-wood the displacement of outhouses ana
other small buildings, the floating fencing ana
dwellings. the shriekng women and crying clll-
dren. ali served TO make scene that one wants 10
see Int once in his lifetime. All this was intens1-
fed by a steady downpour of drenchlng raln'
which only added to the awful gloom.
4 SCENE OF FEARFUL DEsoLATIoN.
The scene from the suspension bridge at dawn
was impressive and the first gray streaks of light
revealed thousands of people lining the banks anx-
iouslv looking for missing relatives and friends, or
watching with deep anxiety the rising tide. Huge
bon6res had been lighted at various points during
the night and scores and hundreds of volunteers
engaged in the work of rescue Many streets were
rorCed twenty feet high with miscellaneous mass
of logs ice trees and broken and twisted buildings,
and after the subsistence of the waters, the work
of opening some thououghfaTes will be the work OF
weeks.
HUMAN PERIL AND DISTRESS.
As the morning wore on, the steady rise of water
Seepened and intensified the excitement and
and people in peril and distress. People ran hither
and thither, wildly inQuiring for skffs to rescue
inperiled friends while the relief parties, headed
by Mayor Miller, brought hundreds to shore who
had remained in their houses over night. During
the night over hundred people were ferried to the
church. on what was once the island,
many of them hungry and insuificiently
clad: and these We're rescued about o'clock.
From Thirteepth-st., in the business part OF the
city to Forty-eightn-st distance of three miles,
there is almost an unbroken sheet of water i'll some
places twenty feet deep; and the water has pene-
trated from the river front four five squares east
ward on the line Of Sxteenth-St. Dozens OF blocks
of bui1nps in the east end are also inundated. In
fact the northern end of the city is about the only
part remaining dry.
COUNTLESS FACTORIES INUNpArED-RIIIEF MIA-
sUEFs.
ALout the railway stations only the tops of the
locomotive smoke-stacks can be seen. Along
Wheeling Creek, inside the city, soap factories
boiler wards machine shops, saughter-5ouses, the
gos works the city 2ost-housc, central glasS-hous'
breweIies and all manner Of industries are out
of sight. Late reports from south Wheeling say
scores of dwellings are overturned ana carried
away. The loss of live stock by drowning in this
REGION is enormous Dozens OF houses and barns
have passed down from up stream points Regard
ing the loss of life all is uncertainty. dozen are
believed TO have been drowned.
A citizens meeting, TO devise relef meas
urcs, assembled iu the City Hall at
H,Pr p: Miller and So. 600 we're subscribed in
thirty minutes. Large additional subscriptions are
coming in. An executive cOml1Ittec of large
nnmLer of men and women LaS been formed, and
distress is being Systematically relieved as far as
possible.
To add to the horrorsof tle Hood disastrous fires
have occurred in surrounding towns. At Beilaire,
the gas house was fired by Stacking hne and par
TALLY destroyed. The loss is sail to be heavy.
The Buckeye glass works were fired from the same
cause, and partially DESTROYED Ihe Bridgeport
plass-hOuSe gnied this afternoon and is said to be
total loss. In this city, the cheese FAC
tory of Rothlisberger x GeTher 6Go IS IS, totally
loss from all causes will probably be 81 100000
or So 600 900. Surrounding towns are sald to he
in dep,orable condition. but nothing definite can
he obtained. There must be heavy loss OF life in
All river towns No business can be transacted for
several days possibly a week The water works
are flooded and destructive fires may ensUe.