The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1886-05-20
LATER FROM THE STORM.

XENIA, O., May A.-To-day the work of
clearing away the debris of the Wednesday
night flood has progressed with considerable
effect. Large gangs of men are at work in the
stream, cleaning out the lumber, household
goods, etc., with which it is filled, working
waist-deep in the muddy water. The remains
of the destroyed houses are being carted back
to the lots from whence they came, and where
houses were not swept from their foundations,
but only flooded, the people have been busy
shoveling out the mud and sand that cover
the carpets q foot deep. On East Water
street several dwellings containing fine fur
niture were flooded badly, the rich carpets
and costly household goods being utterly
ruined, silverware foated away, fine stoves
demolished and elegantly papered walls
ooded part of the os sre MAKING o
arrangements to move to higher parts
of the city as soon as possible, The
tives here, and who are principally colored
people. are being taken care of at the skat-
ing rink, where the committees are at work
distributing food and clothing. large quanti-
ties Of which have been handed in by kindly
disposed people. The word from the country
nearly all the roads leading to the town have
suffered severe damage, and many houses and
barns have been utterly DESTROYED. On the
Home, the houses are all damaged, the plank
walks thing of the past, and the timbers
block up the road badly and have damaged
turing Company lies against the railroad
bridge on the road to the Home. as we'll as
great masses of timbers, planks. The bridges
gone, and great holes washed in the road
beds.
Houses, fences and trees, on the Cooley
farm Goes Station), occupied by John p.
Lesourd, late of the Cincinnati horse mar
kets, were swept entirely away. The family
on this place yielded an income of about 500
| year. Near this place the mills of the
Miami Powder Company are located, and
they are damaged badly, materials ruined
| and houses foated away. The loss will be
very heavy. The fences between Yellow
and most of the orchards, barns and out
buildings destroyed and houses unroofed.
At Beaverstown. several miles west of
| destroyed, and the usual number of barns,
| fences, ETC., as well as number of valuable
horses killed, which was als@ the case in
| cornields was such that they will all have to
| be repanted.
| time to have escaped with S family, but
Laughed at the idea of danger. But few
| moments afterwards they were all in watery
| graves.
storms and floods of Wednesday night in the
| nine counties of Greene, Clarke, Madison,
Miami, Darke, Preble, Montgomery, H Butler dde
co. co., ''A 81 ''''N ~ '0'' p ''''
Edw. Morehouse, Narrow-guage conduc-
in xenia walked from here there to-day
and back again, because b rea on of the
fallen timber, debris and wreckage, no one
are gone. At Trebein station, while being
the oar sman discovered a living boy child in
| drifted tree to.,, and rescued the child, who
had an arm and leg broken. He had drifted
into the Little Miami. Hurriedly they started
in buggy with the child, but it died before
Many incidents of the disaster are related
now. In the angle formed by the railroad
and Detroit street the house of the Stokel
drew the crowd around it. Planks would moi
reach, but soon a ladder was brought from
| the wrecked fire truck and the family rescued
Scarcely had the last member landed safely
when the house turned over, and 9
| moment after went to pieces The CROWD
| followed the crashing of portion of Brad
| ley's fax mill which stood near by.
In Bars Bottom, a stretch of low land north
struction. OF the fifteen or twenty houses
that occupied the fiat, only two or thret
could be seen, the rest having gone with
water. reached a floating house Just as il
turned over, but, nothing daunted, he
sueRt sudden crash r sent sent the the % house in pieces
and he struck for the shore with his
precious burden when he disappeared be
| d
he was hurting through the culvert and called
| out, II have lost the baby; catch it; it is righ
down there; can't reach it." A few rods be
low he reached land, but the baby was no
found until next day, 1t was dead. Si'
others went down IN this bottom, three il
the same house that the baby was takel
from.
AS terrible as the scene was along Detroit
and Water streets and Bars Bottom, th
mad sweep of the waters was worse below
West Shawnee had caved out the railroad
bank, and the leaping waters WED with Eas
Shawnee in the work of destruction. Nearl,
| two hundred houses were overturned and de
molished west of the railroad, and the cur
uation by sweeping every trac
of the buildings and covering
the foundations with sediment. Severa
hundred yards below much of the debris
an indication of the destruction is given b,
the piled-up mass. At this bridge most o.
the lives were lost. Those who were able II
hang to a plank, or the house that Remained
went to pieces here, and they were eithe
dashed to pieces or relentlessly held unde
to drown; or, if they were spared this terri
BILE fate by succumbing sooner, they wer'
| buried under the debris.
At this place lodged the house of Orr
Morris, wife and seven children. TIL
house came for two squares wit
terrible rapidity on to It's fate, and jus
before the crash came, Morris appeared a
the window with light. The crash VI
balanced him, and as the house turned an
twisted and all life Disappeared, and tn
house went to pieces the family of min
went down. Next day seven were found dea
and two appeared alive. One, Eehild of
had been washed ashore few rods below
the other, IA lad of 13. made gallant swim @
a mile and caught the abutment of the las
| bridge. He says he could not find q piece 9
timber to catch hold of go be smaul for th