Western appeal., 1888-07-14
AT THE FLooD,s MERCY

At THE FLOODS MERCY.
Sudden Rises in tho Monongaheia and
Other Rivers in the East Cause Loss
of S2, 700, 900 In Pennsylvania5antl West
Virginia.
PITTSBURGH, Pa, July IL The great
rise in the Monongahela river and other
near streams, and the general freshets
throughout vast territory OF which Pitts
burgh is on the border, are almost wholly
without parallel in this portion of the
country. The great flood OF 1884 has been
equaled in many districts and surpassed
i'll a few. The rushing waters have already
wiped out property worth probably over
81, 000, 600, and there has been loss Of life
as well.
The suddenness of the rise took
the river men entirely unaWares, and
they were not prepared when the great
volume Of water burst upon them. Mill
ions of feet Of lumber, scores ofcoal craft,
fences, out-houses and coal Ltipples are
floating down the swift current The
river at this point is still rising, but
it is reported as stationary, with forty five
this city At every point between Green's
boro and Pittsburgh the lowlands are
under water, and the residents have been
compelled to live in. the upper stories of
their houses, and in some cases to seek the
hills for safety. Many had not time to
remove their goods. So far but one
life has been reported lost, that of
man named George Getter, who was
struck by parted cable and instantly
killed.
Seventy five shanty- boats in ssPolish-
town" on the banks of the Monongahela
at the foot of Twenty second street, were
washed away, and 500 persons were
made homeless as consequence. Scores
of persons were driven half clad from their
humble homes.
At Williamsburg, Beck's Run, portion
of McKeesport, California, Monongahela
City, Bellevernon, Brownsville, Fayette
City and other towns along the river
are reported partly submerged.
The sudden rise is believed to,have been
caused by cloud-bur which covered a
large section Of Southern Pennsylvania
and Western Virginia.
The loss at Brownsville, Pa, is reported
to be over s125,0OO; at Rowlesburg, W
Va, S125,0O0 In this neighborhood
it will exceed 100000, and it is not
exaggerating to say that while the
above is fair estimate the total
will exceed 100000, as the flooded dis
trlct covers an area Of fully $50
miles. At McKeesport all the mills are
closed down, and hundreds are home
less and destitute.
The destruction to property is beyond
computation, but enough is known to war
rant the declaration that nearly every
house and most of the lowlands between
that point and Clarksburg on the
west, and as far at least as Grafton on
the Valley river, have been swept away.
From early dawn until dark the Monon-
gahela continued to rise, and during that
time the channel was constantly filled with
houses, fencing timber, saw-logs, shocks of
wheat, parts of bridges and other debris,
denoting the havoc of the rushing waters
The water is now falling at the head
waters and the worst is over.
Not less than fifty bridges are gone in
Marion, Harrison, Taylor. Wetzel, Wood,
Wiert, Ritchie, Lewis and adjoining coun-
ties in West Virginia, and hundreds OF
houses have been swept away or badly
damaged. In Taylor County the loss is
$3.50, GOO; in Harrison as much more; in
Wood County 100000, and in like proper
tions all through the flooded districts
HAVOC IN WEST VIRGINIA.
WHEELING, W. Va, July l2.-The rise in
the Valley river ar Grafton from the rains
of the last two days was unprecedented,
and the result to the lumber interest of this
section is disastrous. At about 3 o'clock
Tuesday morning the Valley river boom, in
which thousands of logs had lodged,
gave way, carrying destruction in its path
The planning mill of Morgan & Magill was
swept away, as was the Fetterman bridge,
about two miles below the town. Several
buildings, including saw-mi,ls, etc, were
washed down the river and were crushed to
atoms when they struck the strong iron rail-
road bridge here. A large number of
dwelling houses in South Grafton and
West Grafton were flooded to depth of
ten or fifteen feet, and the losses are Sc
we're. The Grafton & Greenbrler railroad
is completely flooded 1t is thought their
loss will be heavy. This food, so far,
is more disastrous to Grafton than the
fire Of year ago, and the loss to the town
and section will not fall far short of $3.50,
600. Seventeen houses, one saw-mill, one
planing-mill and one iron railroad bridge
were washed away at, Rawlesburg.
Five families have lost all they pos
sessed, while a majority of the peo-
pie there are heavy losers In addition to
washing away the Little Kenawha bridge
at Parkersburg, the flood has done other
severe havoc. All the Baltimore & Ohio
trains are stopped from the East
The tunnels between Parkersburg
and Grafton are caved in The new
GAINESVILLE & Ohio road is reported
to be badly damaged. The Ohio river
road was damaged to some extent below
Parkersburg. Great losses of crops and
timber are reported. The destruction of
property all along the Little Kanawha and
Ohio rivers is greater than in1884
Clarksburg was entirely cut off from
railroad and telegraphic communication
for twenty-four hours. The greatest ex-
citement prevailed. Twenty houses were
carried away by the maddened waters
The loss to the town and cour ty can not
even be estimated. Every bridge,
both iron and wood, was swept away en-
tirely. Hundreds Of poor people are en-
tirelv without homes.
MExICo's FLOOD HORROR.
ST. LOUIS, July 12.-Late advices from
Leon, Mex, the principal scene Of the
great food, say that masses of people are
packed in portals, stables and every
eh'"iAhpAo paw " oAOAoCI, dfOAe1SAAB
one person to less than a square
yard of space. Ever thing possible is
done to relieve the suffering. Children up
to 12 years of age are among these masses
without a thread of clothing, and at
night are wrapped in whatever rags
the family has for covering. In view
of the nature Of the buildings in
volved-they being constructed Of adobe
and the great number of them which
were destroyed, it is still believed that the
bodies of many hundred people are in the
ruins. Some 800 were recovered, but the