The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1888-07-19

wreck, with a grinding noise which adds
to tie horrors of food.
About fifteen minutes later The broken
barges came down. A number
of pieces of wrecksge fosted
past, in the middle of which was a part
of boat which swept along with light
on board.
The river men shouted and the whistles
screamed to get an ansTe from any per
SOILS who might be on the boat, but
no reply came, and if the owners
were on board and asleep, as me of the
river men thought they swept down to
terrible destructlol.
Later the steamer Gsorge Wood
broke her mUorings above the
Tenth street bridge, and came drift
ing down the river, but was
caught and towed to a safe harbor. The
ropes that held the half sunkea Cincinnati
wharf boat which the owners had been
struggling for twelve hours to save, parted
about this time and the lumber on the
same craft was quickly swept away. A
few minutes later lot OF O'Neil's barges
and twenty five pieces belonging to JOS
eph Watson were cut from their monrings
and carried down stream. Part of Polish
town, located along the bank of the Monon.
gahela river, between the foot of South
Twenty second ard South Twenty fourth
streets, was in a sorry plight to day.
There are nearly seventy five shanty boats
at the front occupied by over $50 families
aggregating a population of more than
500 people. All of these, with the excep-
ton of about a DOZEN families, camped
last night.
ir,kt 10 lp, L., y
or capsized, and several carried down the
river. The families who moved out piled
their goods up along Lake Erie
railroad, and the men did the best
they could to secure shantes, while women
watched their possessions by the light of
wood fires. Little children crewled under
pieces of furniture and slept in blissful
ignorance of the flood and its incumbent
cares.
Portions of McKeesport, California,
MonoDgahela City, Belle Vernon, Browns
vile, Fayette City and other towns along
the river are reported partly sub
merged. The water in some
places is above the first floor
of the houses, while piles of lumber,
timber and drift in masses are jammed
against the doors aud windows. At vari-
Gus points along the lines of the Pittsburg,
Virginia ard Charleston and the Balti-
more and Ohio roads the tracks are under
water and great difficulty is experienced
in running trains.
At 1920 O'Clock this morning word was
received that lock No. 4, located short
way above MOnongahela City, had been
carried away by strong current. The
loss from this will be very heavy.
/ 1t is impossible to hear from many
/ points up the river as telegraph and tele
phone wires are down, and there is a COM
plete cessation of communication by tele
graph or mail. The sudden rise is be.
lieved to have been caused by cloud
burst which flooded large section of the
southern portion of Pennsylvania and
West Virginia. Fortunately there was no
rise in the Allegheny river. If high
water had come from the north also, the
| flood would have reached greater height
than the great freshet of 1884. As it is
none but the low-larders will suffer in this
vicinity.
PrrTsnupG, July 12.-The waters that
have been sweeping the valley Of the
MononRahela and the valleys of its tri6u-
tares for the last sixty hours are again
coming in their natural channels. They
leave in their track scenes of destruction
aud ruin that never had their counterpart
in the same Localities. Towns have been
ravaged, manufactures been inundated,
boats been sunk, houses and lumber
floated off, fields with their wheat in the
shock and growing crops devastated,
families driven to the hills for shelter,
and in many instances the accumulation
of years of toll and self-denial lost in an
hour.
The losses by. the flood will not fall
short of $3,O00,000, large proportion of
which falls with crushing effect upon the
! people of the thriving counties of No
nongahela, Marion, Taylor, Harrison,
Lewis, Barbour, Upshur and Randolph in
West Virginia, and in Pennsylvania the
losses are in the counties of Allegheny,
Washingto Westmoreland, Fayette and
Greene, the heaviest being in Allegheny
Washington and Fayette. These losses
fall most heavily upon the owners of coal
property, railroad companies and farmers.
Ia Pittsburg much of the loss has fallen
upon owners of valley boats and boat
houses, but these are for the most part
insignificant. Owners of mill property
will lose largely, and have to undergo no
end of inconvenience ON account of the
invasion of their mills by the water yes
terday morning putting out fires and rust
ing and almost running valuable machin-
cry. Lumber or other movable property
has been carried away from this city, and
from other points above million feet
of valuable lumber have come down and
been carried off into TIE Ohio, total loss
to the owners. There was no rain in any
part of the flooded district yesterday and
this evening. Traces of the flood will
have been generally removed, but the July
freshet of 1888 will never be forgotten in
western Pennsylvania and West Virg inia.
Peculiar
In the combination, proportion and prepa-
ration of its INGREDIENTS Hoods Sarsa-