The Big Sandy news. [volume] (Louisa, Ky.) 1885-1929, 1886-05-20
a LITTLE BROOK BECOMES A
MIGHTY, RAGING RIVER,
Sweeping Every Thing Movable
Hofore 1t.
Hundred. ofIionses wrecked aud whole
Families Drowned-ThrlIIlng Incidents
aud Many Narrow Eseapes-rhs
Miami valley Visited by
wind storm. Doing Great
Damage.

NKNiA, ONO. May 70. The bright May sun
OF thls tnorning thone on a desolate aud
stricken Acnlh Amer night OF dark.
ness ana terror Il Is grnicful to have
liRht aud sun, but what an awful
scene Trey rcycail Homes laid waste
and property swept away, and, worse
than MI, 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 fully three
hours. Tho wind came Ia continual gale,
with continual gust which would down troea.
loosen shutters aud do other damage The
rain fell Ia sheets, while the sky WIS livId
with wave after wave OF electricity. aud tho
mutiarnss OF tho thunder were hoArso and
continuous. Most families were huddled to-
rcihcr In fright. for NO onc knew at what
moment the storm might prove 10 be cy.
clone. Hut few persons dreamed that flood
was coming which would sweep away part OF
the tnwn and drown many souls
About ten o'clock the nrehcils rang out
heir Wild alarm. but no rn.nt number OF pco-
pie responded 10 thC call nH they thought IL
vas only ailre and that itconld NOT do much
narin in such araln and storm. hut directly
the second alarm came. and brought out the
whole town The streets were DARK and the
rain was coming down IN torrents, but II was
shawnee creek. a heretofore harmless little
stream. had become innd, and was out OF itS
hanks aud sweeping every thing before Il.
Men rushed iu the darkness 10 tho scene.
anxi0ns 10 do Whist they could. The
waters had completely submerged the
district along the shawnee from the
place above where u enters the east ond OF
town n its exit For distance OF from one
hundred 10 two hundred yards on each side
Of Water street. clear down 20 Detroit street
vas completely under standing on the
banks OF this mighty stream 10 the rain and
darkness 4 uas an uprh ling situation. There
was no light, and above the roar Of the angry
waters came the cry for help from frightened
mud IN many instances drowning people,
Men rushed franticAily from the shore
into the the walcrsi vthcrs ran IN other a..
foctirne Tor rnpoe ladders. lights and boats
20 asslet with. The situation was nj once
hurrf,ins and frighiful inihc cxtreme. The
little stream that runs through the town.
called Shawnee crcck. mover known to do
any harm before. which follows bed laid out
Tor y butwccn stone walls six feet high and
ten feet wide. had become vcrliablc river,
wide and from hfteen 70 thirty feet deep. Tho
hak works had been submerged aud every
wherp was darkpcss, while The screams OF
people IN the water were most pltcDue and
hcnrtrcndlnE. The hrst thlnE 20 do was TO
got lights, and this WAS PARTIALLY accomplish
ed BY building great honnrcs IN the streets
ropgs, boats. Iadacrs and such other
thugs ~ could be- obtained the work
Of saving lives began. aud the number OF
people rescued ~ this way would probably
reach one hundred From one house. which
had torn loose and noatcd down two squares,
tour OF ave young men r, scucd tho family OF
Aaron Ferguson. nice people 10 all. They
bad no morn than got safely out until the
the limo Of the Hood, more than mile In dis
a. &c, like scenes we're enacted.
. Hut while the good work OF rceculng was
Foing on many poor souls were going down
beneath the angry wRtcrs-how many God
only knew. In nnrr's buttom--a low narrow
tract OF land along the crcok-thc scene was
property was greatest. OF more than twenty
houses only four or iivc wlthstood the flood,
tho rest being swcp down nnd wrecked
against the Cincinnati pike bridge, massive
structure. AZ this point later on several
bodies were recovered from the debris Al
the Nnin.street hTidgc-two squares further
the tess lai.. ila- had ialsly els1 the aehria Of
rnln,d houses IN "a awful mass, among
morning. Orrin Morris, wife and seven
children lived III "A little frame house on
second street. L. wns raised from Its moor
Cries came from II. and mnn was seen ut a
window with light. When Il struck and
mashed, partly sinking, the lght went out
aud all was siill. Mr, Morris and his family
there was no wpyto reach them, and there
wis no way for them 20 escape. Aftcrward
two OF his little girls were rescued alive,
father and mother and ave children were
lost.
From ten O'Clock until daylight such scenes
~ here described .wcrc Witnessed and when
morning camo eight hpdies had been recoy-
cred, by this time The winters had subsidized,
and the work OF taking out the bodies OF the
dead began IN earnest In the course OF two
hours twonty-Onc hnd been recovered, and AZ
this hour We hear OF four more being found
fonc miles down the stream. where II Joins
the LATHE Miami river, aud there are stu
some eight or ten missing.
The greatest cause OF the dnstrnltiOn or iito
and property In Xcnla was small cuivfrt,
where the little stream passed under a high
emhankment OF the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati
and 81, Louis rullrond IN the east end OF
town. The culvcrt would not allow the vast
amount OF wntcr TINT was falling TO pass
through, and IL gathered IN 4 vast lake
against tho clnuaiikincnt, which suddenly
like an arnianchr. running IN waves zen and
twenty feet high. Two more bodies hnR /
bocn found, and the total loss Of life Will mol |
The railroads innll directions are so washed !
out that travel Will not be resumed for scv- |
eral days. and the town IL full Of travellers
While GEORGE Thompson was trying TO got |
bis mother and grandmother, Mrs DR.. Crum,
1crose Water street, through the stream, /
they came near being swepl away bv the cur
rent. George. while holding up Mrs. Cruni.
fell but soon recovered himself, aud man
aged TO get them all cut.
George Wilmer had miraculous eecape. |
He was attcmptinP TO cross the springneld I
bridge When the bank gave way under him
Ind he was hurled down into the raging wa
fers OF the Shawnee. He was swept down be- |
low the Cincinnati pike, where be managed 70
catch onto q trco and climbed 10 u. place Of |
safety He called TO paeee by and told him |
he was 40 xouian, but would not give his
name until he was rescued for fear word |
would reach his parents.
Harry Arnold nude a narrow escape from
He had been working Ut the J