The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1886-05-19


ness ana terror It is grateful to have
light and sun, but what an awful
scene they reveall Homes laid waste
and property swept away, and, worse
than all, the Wholesale destruction Of life.
About eight o'clock last night mighty rain,
wind and electric storm came up, which con-
tinued with undated fury for funy three
hours. The wind came in o continual gaze,
with continual gust which would down trees,
loosen shutters and do other damage. The
rain fell in sheets. while the sky was livid
with wave after wave of electricity, and the
continuous, Most families were .huddled 70.
rether In fright, for NO one knew ~ Wnet
moment the storm might prove 20 pc y oy
was comipg which would sweep away part OF
the town and drown many souls.
About ten O'Clock the hrebelle rang out
Ilelr nle To- the os Ss they thought
was only fire, and that II could not do muCn n
harm in such q rain and storm. But direcuy
whole town. The streets were dark and the
rain was coming down in torrents, put IL was
soon learned what the trouble wasIthat
stream, had become mad, and was out OF its
banks and sweeping every thing before it.
Men rushed IN the darkness to the scene,
SmtsGs' watsrs had q. US Completely ssbmsrsed the
district along the shawnee from the
place above where It enters the east end OF
f%wd 20 70 tc two hundfsS ysrs On Zach
Of Water street, clear down 70 Detroit street,
was completely under. Standing on the
darkness % ~ t it was an appalling situation. There
waters osine the cry for help from frightened
Sha Men II rushed c franticsiiy from The shore
into the the waters; others ran in other dt'
rections for ropes, ladders. lights ana p0sts nras
horrifying and friehtful In the extreme. The
little stream that runs through the town,
called shawnee creek, never known TO 40
any harm nsfore, wn,Cn s'x feet hiSh and
ten feet wide, had become q verftsble river,
sweeping along in many places two squares srt =
was wasV works % : Sad been submerged and every:
where was darkness, while the screams ol
people in the water were most piteous and
TIE rsf sn,nE 70 aceomp.S
adjacent % az to the dood: Then, With yitt
1Snns: as boats eed be % the
Of saving lives began. and the number o.
people rescued in this way would probably
reach one hundred From d one 1Smse in wne
four or i've young men rescued the family OF
Aaron Ferguson, nine people in all. They
hSa no sns ete
the line Of tho Hood, more than mile in dis
ia. ce, like scenes were enacted.
But while the good work OF rescuing va.
beneath the angry waters-how many God
only knew. In Barr's bottom q low, narrow
tract Of land along the creek.the scene wa
property was greatest OF more than twenty
houses only four or ave withstood the flood
the rest being swep down .,I ana an wrsckes ssiet
bodies were recovered from the debris, A
the Ssa sy SsSrs
which several dead bodies were found thi
%Srin1es ehiidres lived IN 0ff little frame house o.
Second street. It was raised from it's moor
ings and foated toward the bridge
cnao% cfss Ss%i With 1rSn light nq when % M struck snt
and ali vss still: NJ, Morris and his fs%pil, y M
had met their swn raS fts tss% sSs bor
was no wav for them to escape. Afterwert
two of his little girls were rescued alive
to s9wS tSe SSdreD
From ten O'Clock until daylight such soenei
as here described were W.T. witnessed, ana H,, wnei
cred. BY this time the waters bad subsidized
and the work OF taking out the bodies Of the
In Sss the Of
this hour we hear Of four more being fount
some miles down the stream. where It john
the Little Miami river, and there are still
The scene et the mayors once this morn
ing Is beyond all Description. for bere were
conveyed the bodies Of the dead. Some wert
caught in their beds, and most Of them bore
evidence OF having been Injured By crashing
,mSsfs Mspy ws.s n ahsr Gosnss an:
When your reporter looked in upon the awfu
sight twenty victims lav IN that solemn si
in dressing the dead and arranging them IL
families, for here were whole families who
had found 2 simultaneous death.
and five children, were dressed and laid side
by side, one of the most touching sights tn,
huinHn eye ever witnessed. Some were ap
while others wore q adstorted look a. though
they had died struggling. They ranged In az,
from the two-year old child 70 upward Of stxt,
common level IN the dread silent hailS O
death. After the bodies were all arranged
Z the dense throng Of people who had gathered
through and take . look At the narrowing
spectacle. This afternoon, also, large mum
6ers OF people were allowed to visit th'
In this respect ws can sive no accurate &C
count, but to the city OF Xenia and It's citi
Gems 900 will not cover IT. while the rail
Tn houses south Of the property ] Of 4 Mrs. Bar r
are gone from the bottom. Sam Clark's Goa
omce. Beatty's carpenter shop and the hous
occupied BY william Powell; Charley Rus
Uy, are ali . total wreck. The gas works wer,
Hooded, the mains across Shawnee broker
and . vast amount Of other damage done, tn
sItent Of which can not DO approximate'
sven. As many as eight or ten houses iron
West Second, Main and Market streets ar
gone entirely out Of sight. An the bridges
, 18oept one or two. are missing, and ths bal
once badly injured,
valley, ON the Little Miami. are out and q
much - nve miles Of track gone. The ars
ssctios c{ the late train from Cincinnati
sashs sstxssa briagss snd there 4 liss:
6af eAA tie loss Will be Sl40W Or more Tn
Il. "; rsilrosd beavcen here and Trchein'
~ y lNtha sanS con ditiop ali the way I,
Dayton. y 10 impossible to gather the ful
sssScSoss e aAe Ss@ess D BY, s. 4: will take day
sls sss ':Ss9d " s::sss :ssssa 3 IS s!
SsssS - Ssss eisnols} 3S fSess. e' q. %s' r.
ss's Tss ssis sssso son. hs ss srsSs sss
Would surely be Svspe 41aIS ~ Tt6srs wa
In sSs1'Rs sS Ss 'ss ss VS. ,5i Sa
train. asked the engineer why he had stopped
the train With such . sudden Jerk. The en-
gincer replied; u saw ahead OF me raging
as s ssssx S peal \ q tSandsr 4 had gone IoHs''
hundred feet further we would all hav,
been killed." lives big break Up the traoi
s:sss sss as 4 :4y Y: ssissz
and . large ppmber OF farm houses neel
Geo. staten vers dsctr0yea; thSuEla, ~ Nth
3mt ioSs o. nfe: The Hiami r9wder Nils s.s 2