The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-09-13
SCENES OF THE FLOOD.
A BELIEF THAT THE RISE WAS
OVER 80 FEET

The Pole of Those Charged with the
Ofhcial Measurement TOO Short TO
Allow an Accurate Record Collapse
of Berry's Warehouse Great Dam
ago to the Railroads.
AUGUSTA, GA, Sept. 19.-All of to-day
has been spent by the citizens in trying to
comprehend the vaStuess and universally
OF the ruin and desolation that has boon
caused by the muddy torrent sweeping
through the city for forty-eight hours.
The community followed the receding
water with brooms and begun cleaning at
the earliest possible moment. When fires
could be lighted and coffee and food pre-
pared, the damp, muddy world around bo-
gun to take on happier air.
All agree that the water was over 30 feet
high. The official record only shows 81
feet, but the pole was covered. The water
was higher than in lS40, when it reached 81
feet 10 inches.
Thes scenes following tho appreciation of
the fact that a freshet was inevitable defy
description. The miser thought of his
worldly effects, and battled with imr ending
fate TO preserve them; the father il9d from
his home and took dear ones to the hills in
the driving rain.
The water rose steadily until
o'clock Tuesday moraing, when 1t
remained stationary until about daybreak.
The fall was very slight up to noon, when
the drop was not over foot. Dark clouds
on the eastern horizon created misgiviugs,
but the clouds passed over without break
ing
SCENES BY NIGHT
Last nights scenes defy description
Houses were lighted with candles aud
lamps, and whore possible, pianos, under
trembling hands, throbbed out thanksgiv-
ings, accompanied by masculine voices
Fireworks were set Off at intervals, and the
citi2eus of the hilltops beyond the city de-
scribe the scene as one of festivity-with
the sky lit by rockets, caudles and exploding
crackers, and the reelection of colored
lights Speeches were made up to
midnight from tho Arlington hotel veran-
das, some of the speakers addressing
shivering but yelling crowd attired in
bathing suits, silk hats and Eyeglasses.
Gay equipages were trying to drive over
washed in Greene and Broad streets. The
holes in the sidewalks and cave-ins at
| seweEA almost defy passage.
| BofRuen have reaped rich harvest.
The engines Of the fire department are
doing duty in pumping out cellars.
| One Of the worst damaged houses on
| Greene str eet is that of Joseph Myers, which
is one of the most elegant mansions in the
| city and wes the hosPibable home OF Alex
ander II. Stephens during his frequent
visits to the city. The supporting pillars of
| the deep verandas are gone, and fenc-
ing and debris is piled against tho
| house up to the second floor. The
| flower beds have holes swept in them sevon
and eight feet deep, and choice plants have
| been washed away. A chimney three stories
| high was undermined and sank down and
lett the end of the building yawning and
exposed. All the furniture is water soaked
and the billiard table is wrecked. The
| family only to-day communicated with the
outside world Nothing could brave the
currents that swept past the house and live
DIR. wRIGHT's HOUSE
DR.. F. X. Wright's house at the corner Of
! Green and Campbell streets, has one corner
torn out and the iron railing jamned into it,
Carlton Hillyer, auditor of the Georgia
road. spent six hours in the water trying
to reach his home, and when he succeeded,
! found it partly wrecked.
Spots left by the receeding water were
tenanted by dead horses, cows, dogs, goats,
and other domestic animals.
Both chimneys on DIR. Lambs house fell
in, and the house is almost a complete
wreck
Every home was penetrated by water and
to-day cultured housewives with skirts
tucked up, are wading through mud direct
| ing and assisting in the work OF cleaning
up. In the back streets the water has
carried off all the effects of some citizens
| None of the cotton mills have been injured,
| though they cannot run for some weeks on
account of break in the bank almost n
quarter of n mile wide.
| Only three bridges are known to be in
| tact over the canals, some Fifteen having
been swept away. The great bridge for
public communication between Augusta
| and Hamburg, S. c., has been swept away
and only about fifty feet of it remains.
history of the various incidents, ad-
ventures and heroic rescues of life would
! fill volumes. Parties were picked out Of
trees after remaining exposed for hours.
| A negro settlement on Telfair street, be-
| low and above Camphell streets, number
ing about thirty houses, is a total wreck ,
The yard of the Georgia railroad is in
terrible condition, aud locomotives have
been thrown from undermined tracks The
| freight houses are mass OF fetid oozy mer-
| chandise.
LOSSES OF RAILROADS.
The Charlotte, Columbia and Augusta
road loses over a mile Of trestling just out
| side of the city.
The South Carolina road track near by
| is also gone. The Central narrow gauge
! and Port Royal roads cannot run trains for
several days. II is rumored that the Port
| Royal road's bridge is gone. Passengers
| for Charleston are ferried to trains among
tho hills
Tho Georgia road runs trains from out
side the city.
The electric fire alarm is down and the
old volunteer system Is temporarily in
vogue.
Through a derangenent OF the water
works drinking water is scarce, and the
peddlers are hauling it about the streets.
Mayor May says Augusta is able 10
take care of herself and needs no help"
The council will vote tomorrow on levy
ing special tax. A great bond Of sym
pathy binds tho peopio, and the efforts OF
those in distress to help others in still greater
need is touching.
SOME HEAVY LOSSES.
| J. NJ. Berry's immense grain warehouse
on Walker street, collapsed to-day at noon,
and the loss is anywhere from 80 ODO to
$35 600.
Lee 81 Bothwell's losses will reach s20,-
! 900.
w. NJ. Dunbar will lose heavily by his
warehouse being injured
| The bakeries had fires in their furnaces
at an early hour, and at noon were the most
! popular places in the city.
| The wat n works began filling the supply
pipos at 3 O'Clock this afternoon.