The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1888-07-25
A RAGING RIVER.
The Monongahela Leaps Its
Banks and Plays Sad Havoc.
Sawmills, Houses and Bridges
| Rush Down the Flood.

Heavy rains at the head-waters OF the
Monongahela and Cheat Rivers in Pennsyl-
vania started one of the most sudden and
perhaps one OF the most disastrous floods
since 1852.
At Greensboro the river rose thirty-two
feet in twenty-four hours Early the other
morning the water measured twenty-five feet
in the channel at that place and was at a
stand.
A great portion of Brownsville was SIX
feet under water, and much damage was
done At 4 o'clock A. NJ. the water reacneo
forty-three feet and began slowly to recede;
1t was eighteen inches higher than the nooo
Of 'S2. -,
From Brownsville to Pittsburg and all
along Cheat River reports have been re-
ceived of tremendous loss to lumbermen
from breaking boonls, to coal operators
from damaged craft and demolition OF up
pies, and to private individuals whose resi-
dences and property were Hooded:
/ George Getter was instantly killed by the
parting of cable rope with when ne was
checking q loaded coal barge.at Waiton $
Landing
Telephone and telegraph wires along the
rivers were down. A report from Clarks-
burg, w. Va, on the west fork of the Mon
ongahela River, was to the effect that twenty
dwellings had been swept away. ana
damage to property was almost lnestlmaple;;
A number of iron and wooden bridges and
several large saw mills, together with guam
titles of lumber and logs went down with tne
flood. A large number of people were nome
less at that place.
At Monongahela City all the lower part OF
the town was inundated and the people
driven from their homes camped IN tne
streets on higher ground. ,,x.
Early in the morning the heavy drift IN
the shape of broken bridges, barges; coal
tipples, logs. and in some instances dwellings,
and shanties reached P1ttsourg. lney
snapped and broken like twigs by the over
whelming force of the current, o,
y At 1905 A. NJ, the river marks showed -
feet inches and rising Every poa1 anu
steamboat on the river was in peril from tne
heavy drift, and every few minutes Inc
whistles of the advance guard OF tne ane y.
boats sounded new alarms or approaching
., Al Wheeling special says that the line OF
ths Baltimore & Ohio Railroad between
Wheeling and Parkersburg was unprece-
IDENTIFY blocked. On the Parkersburg prancn
three tunnels caved i'll.
The Rowlesburg bridge over Cheat hlVer
is down, and other bridges were swept away,
while the track was covered many 1eet aeep
with earth at number of points a
Several bridges between Wheeln2 anu
Pittshurg were badly damageo NaG Fna- En
mount the new iron bridge OF the Ne" EnS-
land Gas Company was destroyed, involving
a loss Of 900. p Dew
Large parts Of williamsburg, Becks @ @Eun'
McKeesport. California, Monongahela Clty,
Belle Vernon, Brownsville, Fayette ClCy ,anJJ
other towns along the river we're reporoeo
partly submerged. The water IN some
p!aces was above the first floor OF the nouses,
while piles of lumber, timbers, and drIts @ ~
many cases were jammed agalns1 1ne uooi
and windows. .,,s
At McKeesport all the mails were closed
and hundreds Of people were homeless ana
destitute The CHARTERS natural gas man
crossing the river at that poln1 was
broken during the night and an i'm
mense pressure of gas forced into tne
air. Mr.. knight, the watchman OF the Pltts-
burgh and Youghioney Railroad, crossed the
trestle at Salisbury short time afterwaro,
and his lantern ignited the gas, causing a
tremendous explosion. Knight was fatally
burned and the bridge was set on fire, but the
flames were extinguished before 1t was de-
A later dispatch from Wheeling says, from
renorts received from the flooded district OF
West Virginia, it looks as if the money loss
would reach s2,OO0,O00. At least three lves
have been lost. Not less than fifty bridges
were destroyed in Marion, Harrison, Taylor,
WetzeI, Wood, Writ, Ritchie, Lewis, and ad-
joining counties, and hundreds Of houses
have been swept away or are badly damaged.
In Taylor county the loss is S25O, ooo; in Har-
rison as much more; in Wood county,
100000 and in like proportions elsewhere.
The sudden rise in the river IS belieVed 70
have been caused by a cloud burst, which
covered large section Of Southern Pennsyl-
yania and West Virginia.