The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1888-07-14
Rain and Flood.

the washing of the roads.
A telegam from Parkersburg. West Virginia, on
Tuesday night, says the floods continue all along
the Little Kanawha and Ohio rivers and are greater
than in 1884, when the great flood came. The farms
and harvested grain are deluged. Millions of feet
of timber are aoat in the swift current going to de-
structon. The loss in this vicinity will be Sl5,000
and in this and adjoining counties will be more
than 100000 Every stream is out of its banks. Big
washouts are reported on the railroads. A Mrs
Tracewell was killed by lightning, and a boy was
drowned while trying to escape from the flood. The
Potomac river and its tributaries greatly swol
len on Tuesday by the heavy rains The Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad bridge at Rowlesburg West Va
and the trestle at Piedmont gone. Trains the
Baltimore and Ohio Road for Parkersburg and
Chicago are sent via Cumberland, Pittsburg. Wheel
ing and Columbus, thus avoiding interruption to
passenger travel.
damages. In Douglas county it is stated that about
10000 acres of corn under water and that the oat
crop is so badly damaged that ii will scarcely pay
to cut At Decatur. Oakland, Champaign, Mon
ticelo Lewiston. Paxton aud Verona oats and wheat
were badly damaged: AT Tolano nearly a quarter
| of the town is flooded and number of the farms
in the surrounding country are wholly or partially
destroyed.
In Garrett county, Nd, the streams were very
| high, and much damage was done by the flood.
The damage TO bridges and roads is considerable
and great injury has been done private property
Amongst those who have sustained loss b. f. OF
futt of Oakland, is the greatest sufferer His boom
on Big Youghiogheny river was washed out. turning
loose five thousand saw logs, none of which can be
recovered. Mr. Offutt's loss is estimated at 5000.
| KANSAS CITY, Missouri, July 9.-The most disas-
ragged from O'Clock last night until u. During the
| height of the storm Eighteenth street for seven
blocks became a turbulent river. which flooded all
| the houses TO depth of two feet, and at Twenty
third and Vine the fifteenfoot culvert was made
quate to the immense volume of water which back
| ed up, carrying away two houses, the inmates of
which were only rescued with the greatest difficult
ty. Reports of death and destruction numerous.
IL is reported that family of four named Williams,
was washed away and drowned, but so far no
/ bodies have been recovered.
| INDIANAPOLIS July 9-Advices from Montpelier
/ Indiana state that terrific wind and hail
followed by rain, passed near there Saturday even
ing, leveling fences, trees and small buildings Hail
fell in great quantities. and the corn crop is dam
4 aged to the extent of thousands of dollars. The
farmhouse of John Mossburg was struck by light
ming and demolished. Tine occupants-the farmer,
| with his wife and daughter-escaped injury The
country in the track of the tornado is flooded with
water.
| PARKERsBuRG w. Va, July 1.-THE storm of
! Monday night was the most disastrous of the many
which visited this region during the last week, and
| the loss of property in range of twelve counties
hereabout is estimated at quarter of million dol
| lars bridge worth $4,000 was swept from its
titles of wheat and timber foated past in tangled
mass Almost every farm in the valley of the coun-
| ucts. The Middle Island Tie Company lost 5000
! ties last night valued at SlS.500.
A number of trestles and bridges on the Columbus
and Northern road running into Harmar, on the
Ohio side, washed away and travel is indef-
nitely suspended. The GAINESVILLE and Ohio River
road, just put into operation is badly washed out
and il will be several days before travel is resumed
| No train has come from the east on the Baltimore
and ONO railroad since MONDAY morning. Inc
town OF Salem is entirely under water and people
have left their homes.
PIrrsBuRG, July 1.-THE freshet in the Mononga-
hela river is almost unprecedented The river men
| were taken unawares and were not prepared when
the great volume of water burst upon them. Mill
ions Of feet of lunber scores of coal craft fences
out-houseS and coal tipples have been floating down
the swift current for eighteen hours. The river
here is still rising with twentyope feet nine inches
on the mark at O'Clock, but it is reported as sta
tionary with fortyve fee. at Greensboro, 100 miles
above.
are under water and the residents living in the
upper stories of their houses, and in some cases
have sought the hills for safety. Many had not
time to remove their goods as the water rose at the
rate of foot an hour At Greensboro twenty-five
hours eSi The damage 70 property will reach away
up into the thousands. A solitary barge which
broke away yesterday caused over 5000 damage,
and this is but one little item So far but one life
has been reported lost, George Getter was struck
by parted cable and killed.
The greatest damage TO river craft occurred be-
tween 80 a. m, and daylight. A large number OF
bargeS belonging to jenkins Il Co., came down the
river from the Second pool and struck the Smith
field street bridge the barges turning end over end
and breasting the towboat Barnard in against the
steamer Jacobs Every whistle on the river sound
ed the alarm and the rays of the electric lights
swept from side to side across the turbulent flood
presented wild sight. Logs, barges and fuel
and snapped like twigs by the Overwhelming force
of the current Half of one of Jenkins boats lodged
a6d he Water dashed over it. throwing spray high
into the air, while the driftwood crushed and
cracked,
Soon after the barges came down shanty boat
swept by with light on board, The rivermen
shouted and the whistles screamed TO get en- answer
from any persons who might be on the boat but nc
reply came and If the owners were on board and
asleep as some of the rivermen thought, they were
swept down 70 in evitable destruction
Later the steamer George Wood broke her moor.
ings but was caught. The ropes that held the hall
sunken Cincinnati wharf boat, which the owners
had been struggling for twelve hours to save parted
and the cumbersome craft was carried away. A lot
of 0Neils barges and twenty-six pieces belonging to
Joseph Walton 4 Co.. were carried down stream.
"Polishtown," on the bank of the Monongahela,
between South Twenty-second and south Twenty
fourth Streets in sorry PLIGHT teqsy cc nefe are re
over $50 families population Of more than 20 poo
ae mmiiies cainped ont last night Men women
and children had been busy pumping water out OF
the boats and removing sr goods % safety by
eral were swept down the river. The families who
moved out piled their goods up 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.
port, California Mon Si lily 6es kern on
river are partly submerged, The water in some
places IS s6ove the frst hoor Of The houses, while
piles oflulnher tmbers and other drifting stuff are
| TANNED against the doors and windows, Atyarious
points along the Pittsburg Virginia and Charleston
| an the Baltimore 4 Ohio Railroads the tracks are
under water, and great difficulty is experienced in
running trains. At 1880 q. m. word was re-
eeiyed that Lock No 4, a short distance above Mo
| nongahela City, had been carried away. This loss
II IS impossible 10 hear from many points up the
river as telegraph AND telephone wires are down,
The sudden rise is believed 10 have been caused
by cloud burst, covering large section of South
efp pennsylvania and West Virginia, Fortunately
there was no Tise in the Allegheny river, If the
high water had come from the North also the hood
would have reached greater height than the great
freshet of 1851 As it Is, none but the lowlanders
Correct figures of the loss cannot now be given,
h.; e., ffrf1ata af
this vicinity will probably exceed half that amount
About ii O'Clock, say min including all machin;
ery passed down the river. II was swept from
Belle Vernon Pa. sixty miles south OF this city, and
| was owned by Capt Cox, who valued IT at 5000,
Early this morning man WITH wagon and team
Saw Mill Run, i'll fat In the middle of the river
he lost control of the fiat and was carried down the
stream. 1t is not known whether he was rescued or
| not Grafton W. Va, reports traffic on the main
stem Of the baltimore and Ohio Road suspended.
oftbese Is No tunnel Of which 100 feet have caved
in The company expect to have 1t cleared in forty
eight hours,
Rowlesburg. W. Va, There Is some damage OH the
Fairmount and Morgantown branch of the B. g. o..
| At McKeesport the Charters Natural Gas main
crossing the river at that point was broken during
the night and an immense pressure of gas forced
into the air. knight, the watchman OF the Pisburg,
McKeesport and Youghiogheney Railroad, crossed
the trestle at Salisbury short time after and his
posion. knight was fatally burned and the bridge
set on fire but the flames were extnguished before II
was destroyed.
4 WHEEI1SG W. Va, July 1.-THE destruction Of
| property all along the Little Kanawha and Ohio
| rivers Is greater than in 1881. Farms are flooded
and hundreds of OF growing crops and harvest
ed grain are deluged. Every stream is out of its
banks and numbers of families have had to move to
| higher ground. Clarksburg was entirely cut off
| from railroad and telegraphic communication for
| "a hours Twenty houses there were carried away.
The water reached its highest at O'Clock, and those
who remember say it exceeded the flood Of 1851
! Every bridge both Of iron and wood, was swept
away entirely.
-H,GERsTowN Nd. July 1.-THE Potomac river
began rising at Wiliamsport Tuesday afternoon,
and continued to rise untl4 O'Clock this afternoon
when it was about twenty feet above low water
orls77. Considerable damage has been done TO the
crops in the lowlands along the river, and some
damage to the canal near dam No. 8. and above
Hancock, where the water is over the towpath The
full extent of the injury done cannot be asceraned
until the water subsidies. The sudden rise in the
river is due to the heavy rains west OF Cumberland
PrrTsBURG, July 12-The waters tina have swept
the valleys of the Monongahela and its tributaries
for sixty hours falling into their natural chan
nels They leave scenes ofruin that have never had
their counterpart in the same localities From
Pittsburg 10 the mountains of Randolph eoun-
ty W. Va towns have been rayaged, manufactures
Inundated, boats sunk, houses and lumber hoated
of fields with their wheat in shock and growing
crops devastated, families driven to the hills for
shelter and in many instances the Accommodations OF