Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-04-07
THE RAGING JAMES.
THE rroop AT coruxBrA- GOOD BE-
HAvIoR OF THE RIvAENA.
Highest Point Reached BY the WATERMAN
row Escape Of the Commercial Travel.
ler-It Succumbed At Last.

The following from our Co'umbis
correspondent. dated the I'd, though do.
layed, will prove interesting
The great food in the James river,
which begun to subsids at | o'clock
yesterday, had at IL o'clock to-day
fallen only four and half feet from its
perpendicular rise Of thirty-tive feet.
The recediDg waters gradually reveal
the effect of the combined torrents Of
the Rivanna and James. The track Of
the Richmond and Allegheny railroad.
which has been covered to the depth of
about three feet at this point, is so
undermined near the aqueduct that the
current moved the rails, with the ties
adhering, six or eight feet from the road
bed for q distance of over one hundred
yards. On the berme-bank of the
canal opposite that point considerable
washouts have been made, whilst botn
abutments Of the bridge which
spans. the Rivanna canal are
cut down to original foundations.
Seven telegraph-poles which supported
the wires between the aqueduct and the
town having taken through tickets for
the Chesapeake bay, we are cut off from
all communication with other points
along the river. The night before the
interruption of telegrsphic communica-
ton, however, our merchants whose
stores are most exposed got the news
Of the unusual rise at Lynchburg, and
moved their goods to upper stories, and
thus saved them from q thorough soak
ing. Our main street, id addition to
thick coat Of abominable slush, has
on it piles of debris and driftwood,
whilst several mammoth logs obstruct
our sidewalks.
The shoe-shop in the western suburbs
of the town, which had triumphantly
held its own against the greater floods Of
1870 and 1877, was lifted from its an
cient foundations and carried around
town until it struck the railing Of the
high ot.bridge which connects US with
the berme-bank Of the "raging
canawl," and whilst I write parties
are irving to so change its position that
the IecediDg tide will not leave it on
that useful walkway. Several other
smaller buildings made obeisance to the
deluge by executing the order Of
fright about face" From Bremo
Bluff, nine or ten miles above, informa-
ton has just been received that the
corn-crib and hen-house Of Merchant
Brightwell have also succumbed to the
angry waters and struck out for tide
water.
A Mr.. Taliaferro, drummer for Arm.
strong, Gator & Co., Of Baltimore,
having reached Horsepen creek with
his jersey load of samples, not recog-
nzing the fact that this stream too was
on an unusual splurge, drove in. AT a
point some fifty yards below what had
been a ford, the horse, driver, and
trunks parted company-Mr. ITALIA
ferro swimming out from the north side,
whilst the horse, without the jersey
and trunks, got foothold on the south
bank. Mr.. Taliaferro estimates his loss
at 5000.
The lowgrounds as far as can be seen
at this writing are coated with several
inches of sediment, which, in the opin-
ion of Mr.. j. S. Payne, large farmer
on the river, cannot fail to be destruc.
tive to the wheat and grass crops.
The rise at this point attained
height within four feet six inches Of the
great food of 1877, which was ex-
ceeded at this point only few inches
by the unprecedented inundation of
1870. The Rivanna has not been
unusually high-not even reaching the
ordinary rise of last November. Had
it reinforced the James with its mighty
volume of 1870 the high-water marks
would have surpassed all previous re-
cords. But the submerging Of this
one is sufficiently Noachian to teach
the Columbians the necessity Of roost-
ing on higher ground.
Despite the rush of these mighty
waters around the door-sills of its
office, the first number of the Colum-
bia Bulletin was served to its sub
scribers to-day. May its christening
in these high tides foreshadow career
of great prosperity and usefulness.
ZIP.