Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1888-07-19
TERRIBLE FLOODS.
Sudden and Alarming Rise of the Monop-
gaheia River-Bargrs swept Away and
Other Property Destroyed.

! Sudden and Alarming Rise of the Honon-
gaheia RIver-Bargps swept Away and
Other Property Destroyed.
PITTSBURGH, Pa. July 1.-THE freshet IN
| the Monongahela river is almost unpre-
dented and great damage has been done to
the river craft and property all along the
river to the head waters. The suddenness
of the rise took the river men entirely I'M
awares and they were not prepared when
| the great volume OF water burst upon
| them. Millions of feet of lumber, scores OF
coal craft, fences. outhouses and coal tip
| pies have been floating down the swift
current for the last eighteen hours.
The greatest damage to river craft oc-
CURED between 40 O'Clock this morning
and daybreak. Shortly before two O'Clock
large number Of barges belonging to
jenkins & Co. came down the river from
the second pool and struck the Smithfelo
street bridge, the huge barges
| turning end over end and breasting the
| towboat Barnard in against the steamer
| Jacobs. Every whistle on the river sounded
| the alarm and as the livid rays of the eiec-
t-ic lights swept from side to side across
the turbulent flood il presented a wild
sight. Logs, barges and fuel boats were
dashed against the piers of the bridge and
snapped like twigs by the overwhelming
force OF the current. Half of one of Jen-
kins' boats lodged against the bottom just
below the Smithfield street bridge and the
| water dashed over it, throwing spray high
| into the air, while the driftwood crushed
and cracked over the wreck with the
grinding noise which adds to the horrors
| of flood.
About fifteen minutes after the broken
ha of rlla
| wreckage foated past, in the middle of
which shanty boat was swept along with
a light on board. The river men shouted
| and the whistles screamed to get an
answer from any person who might be on
the boat, but no one was on board unless
the owners were on board and asleep as
some of the river men thought. If so they
were swept down to inevitable destruction.
Later the steamer George Wood broke
her mornings above the Tenth street bridge
and came drifting down the river, but was
finally caught and towed to safe harbor.
The ropes that held the half-sunken Gin
cinnati wharf boat, which the owners had
been struggling for twelve hours to save,
parted about this time and the lumber
some craft was quickly swept away.
! few minutes later lot of O'NeiPs barges
and twenty six pieces belonging to Joseph
| Walton & Co. were cut from their moor
| ings and carried down stream.
Polish town." located along the bank of
the Monongahela river between the foot of
| Twenty-second and South Twenty-fourt
streets, was in a sorry plight to-day.
There are nearly seventy five shanty boats
at that point occupied by over 80 families,
aggregating population of more than 500
people. All of these, with the exception
of about a dozen families, camped
out last night. Early yesterday morn
ing the trouble began. All day men,
women and children were busy pump
ing water out of the boats and removing
their goods to places of safety. By night
ten house boats had been sunk or capsized
down the river. The families who moved
out piled their goods along the Lake Erie
railroad and then the men did the best they
could to secure their shanties, while the
women watched their possessions by the
| light of wood fires. Little children crawled
under pieces of furniture and slept on in
| blissful ignorance of the food and its in
cumbent cares.
Williamsburg, Beck Run, portions of
McKeesport, California, MonOngahela
City, Bellevernon, Brownsville, Fayette
City and other towns along the river are
reported partly submerged this morning.
At 1879 O'Clock this morning word was
received that lock No. 4, located a short
distance above Monongahela City, had
been carried away by the strong current.