St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-08-01
MARYLAND FLOODS.
Some of the Terrible Results of Their
Rayages During the Weeks
[special Telegram to the G

BALTIMORE, July 31.-Reports from
| Georges creek valley in western Maryland
show that the recent floods were most disas-
trous in their results. All the mountain
streams were swollen many feet higher than
ever known before. Georges creek, the
Potomac and Cheat rivers spread far out over
their banks. The valley along Georges creek
is wrecked for miles. Not less than fifty
houses were swept away. Fifteen persons
are known to have been drowned. How
many more will be added to the list cannot
yet be told. Trees, masses of timber, frag-
ments of houses, rocks and debris of all
kinds were swept past the mining villages by
the waters, carrying away dwellings, ami
mails and persons.
No trace is left of the house of Thos. Isen-
berg. 1t foated from its foundation before
the family of six persons could escape.
Henry White, an iron founder,
lost his house, furniture and money,
aggregating $4,000. Stephen Fuller, Of
Piedmont, lost several buildings. Judge
Harnell suffers heavy. Trestles, bridges
and long stretches of track of the Cumber-
land 81 Pittsburg railroad were washed
away. superintendent Burnett of the Cum
berland 81 Pittsburg road places his com
pany's. loss at $50, 900. The West Virginia
Central road is all right. The damages about
Westernport will reach $4,000 more, not
counting those of the railroad. Telegraph
communication interrupted. The little
town of Barton was flooded and its residents
could not reach them. The coal mines of the
Franklin, Maryland, Union, and other CON-
panies were damaged to the extent of
many thousand dollars. Hendricks of
miners, many of whom have lost their homes,
are thrown out of work.
The correspondent of the GLOBE went over
the road from Piedmont to Boston on horse
back. The scene was one of the greatest
destruction. The water, though much lower;
was still surging over masses of timber, wood,
railroad ties and huge rocks, many of the
latter of the heaviest weight having been
carried from their places of starting. The
sound of these rocks striking against each
other sounded to the people ON Monday
night like fearful explosions
At the Cumberland and Pittsburg shops,
just out of the town, long stretch of track
was gone. The abutments and trestle of the
Franklin mine of the Maryland Uuion Coal
company, owned by James Boyce, of Balti-
more, had vanished. Between Fran kiln and
Phoenix / ZOO feet of track was lost. and at
the little settlement of Phoenix, where there
is another of Mr.. Boyce's mines, the bridge
was lost. At Morrison's there was a break
of 500 feet, and the side track and road
bed were gone. A little further in a
country bridge was seen suspended over the
angry flood, held up only by the iron across
it. sgs
Byascending high mountain the little
town of Barton was seen with the surging
waters churned into foam, rushing all around
1t. The Potomac mine of Black Sheridan
and Wilson, of Baltimore, is here. They
have been two years in the business and this
is their first stop. They employ 200 men,
and had just made large improvements to
their works. The abutments and
bridges of their track were lost and new
track is being constructed. The
water undermined the track and threw
some huge hoppers into the chasm which
detected the course of the stream. At Bar
ton 1000 feet of the Cumberland & Penn
sylvania track was carried away, and such
was the force the stream that it dug new
channel over piles of the largest rocks. Rocks
were everywhere. All things considered, it
was the worst storm that ever visited this
state.