Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1888-07-10
A STORM OF SIZE.
EIGHTgBN HOURS OF ALMOST UNINTBR-
RUPTED RAIN.
The Small Streams Bank Full, and the River Rising
Rapidly Broken Sswsr-RailrOad
Traffic Interrupted.

The coal boat stage does not seem to be
as far away rs day or two ago.
Ga the contrary, it promises to be with
rs very shortly.
At dark Last evening the river was rising
fast, with nearly seven feet Of water in the
channel, and there should be eight or ten
by this morning.
The rain which commenced Sunday
evening continued at intervals all night
and all day yesterday. About eleven
o'clock yesterday morning the storm be-
came very violent and the rain came down
in torrents for about an hour and q
half Prior TO that time the storm
had not amounted to much, bat from noon
until late hour last night the whole
surrounding country was flooded, and
great amount of damage was done, prin-
cipally to growing crops, and to the railroads
through interruption to the passage OF
trains. At times the rain was very hard,
pouring down in sheets, and the result was
70 decidedly lower the temperature. The
storm was peculiar one, in that there was
An entire absence of thunder or lightning,
and the wind was for the most part
scarcely pereeptible. With one excep-
ton, very little damage resulted IN
this city, but surrounding points in the
country and along the streams did not
fare 30 well. The exception noted above
was the bursting Of that chronic nuisance,
the Twelfth street sewer. The break was
perhaps the worst ever occurring in this
Alleged conduit for the water falling along
Twelfth street, and will almost inevitable
result in q damage suit against the city.
The break occurred Immediately in front
Of the franklin Insurance Company build
ing, about o'clock, and stream Of water
two feet in diameter poured under the
pavement, from which the earth
mad been undermined, into the coal vault,
and thence into the barber shop
Of Mr.. Cans. The proprietor and his as
yistants were driven out in short order, and
the apartment was soon flooded to the
depth Of foot or two. Raining ont the
back door, the muddy current swept into
the cellars of the buildings adjoining on
The west, occupied by VIM. Hare & Son
aud John Sheekey, and some little damage
was there done. When the water subsidized
there was six inches Of shiny mud on the
door of the barber shap.
Superintendent Of Streets Warden was
soon on hand, but as the rain continued,
little could be done to repair the damage.
Last evening, when the heavy down-pour
Of the afternoon was renewed, q further
cutting away of the earth under the gutter
and sidewalk occurred, and the paving
stones and q portion of the large blocks
forming the walk fell into the hole, while
the pavement as lar back as within foot
of the house was started from its position,
and threatened to fall &C any moment
The gas and water pipes were exposed, and
were in such danger Of being broken that
Superintendent Riddle left wrenches, ETC.,
near by to shut off the mains should
force of men will be put to work making
repairs The fact is, this sewer ought to
| oe replaced with q new one the entire
length of the street. In the first place, it
is too small to carry of the large
volume OF water coming down Twelfth
street, and in the second, it is built of but
one ring of bricks, and the four inch walls
are entirely insdeg uate to resist the pres-
sure of large volume Of water. 1t will
be constant source of expense and danger
until replaced by proper channel for the
water.
Along the valleys of the various creeks
in the vicinity of the city, high water
mark was touched by the floods at an early
hour in the day and q good deal of damage
resulted. Enormous masses Of drift accum-
Mated at several points in the valley OF
Wheeling creek, east of the city, notably
in Middle Wheeling creek, near Feay's,
beyond Elm Grove, where the main of the
Natural Gas Company of West Virginia
was damaged, and gas was escaping at a
lively rate last night. How 8, 'ious the
break was could not be sscertained.
On the Ohio side all the little runs en-
tying into the river were swollen out OF
their banks. All the lower part of Mar
tins Ferry was covered with mud and
/ gravel washed from the hill. Hanover
street in that towr became seething tor
rent which cut the gravel loose and piled
Il
tracks at the foot of the hill. Clsrk's run
poured ont its usual quota Of rubbish,
boulders and mud, and the c. x p. tracks
we're covered to depth Of four feet dis.
lance of several hundred yards. The
streets in Clark's addition to Martins
Ferry were swimming, and logs,
| sticks and stones are piled up
everywhere. The run which comes down
through the McSword farm, in the lower
part OF town, could not get through the
/ culyert under the railroad track fast
enough, and backed up till several houses
were flooded. Hoyle's field and the low
ground near the Ohio Wine Cellars was
flooded and covered with debris.
II took four hours TO clear the G. & P.
tracks, and all trains, either way, had to
wait. Up in the vicinity of Rush Run
there are several small streams which
flooded the tracks, causing still greater de-
Law to trains. In the afternoon, the c., l.
& W. people noticed that an immense vol
ume Of water was dischsrging from one Of
the sewers near Mears' cooper shops, in the
lower end of town, in such way that it
washed the earth away from the foot of the
piling. Later il became dangerous. and
travel on the Bellaire branch wassuspended
for the afternoon. In the country the
damage is fearful Dozens of small bridges
are reported carried away by the torrents.
In some places the water has washed
tracks from to ten to twenty feet wide
right through the fields, taking all signs
of vegetation away. Some fields are al
most bare.
Passengers arriving in the city last
niSht from ont the B. & D. road reported
the streams bank full, and that very large
,n,o,nko Of drift waro ooino onf Thara