Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1888-07-19
TERRIBLE FLOODS.

Sudden and Alarming Rise OF the MOnon~
gahela River-Barges Swept Away and
Other Property Destroyed.
PITTSBURGH, Pa. July 1.-THE freshet in
the Monongahela river ia almost unpre-
dented and great damage has been done to
the river craft and property all along the
river to the head waters. The suddenness
of the rise took the river men entirely IN
awares and they were not pa epared when
the great volume of water burst upon
them. Millions of feet of lumber, scores OF
coal craft, fences. outhouses and coal tip
Piles have been floating down the swift
current for the last eighteen hours.
The greatest damage to river craft oc-
Cured between 80 O'Clock this morning
and daybreak. Shortly before two O'Clock
large number of barges belonging to
Jenkins & Co. came down the river from
the second pool and struck the Smithfeld
street bridge, the huge barges
turning end over end and breasting the
towboat Barnard in against the steamer
Jacobs. Every whistle on the river sounded
the alarm and as the livid rays of the cleo
trio lights swept from side to side across
the turbulent food it presented a wild
sight. Logs, barges and fuel boats were
dashed against the piers of the bridge and
snapped like twigs by the overwhelming
force of the current. Half of one of Jen-
kins' boats lodged against the bottom just
below the Smithfield street bridge and the
water dashed over it, throwing spray high
into the air, while the driftwood crushed
and cracked over the wreck with the
grinding noise which adds to the horrors
of food.
About fifteen minutes after the broken
barges came down q number of pieces Of
wr-ckage hoated past, in the middle OF
which a shanty boat was swept along with
a light on board. The river men shouted
answer from any person who might be on
the boat, but no one was on. board unless
the owners were on board and asleep as.
some of the river men thought. If so they
were swept down to inevitable destruction
Later the steamer George Wood broke
her mornings above the Tenth street bridge
and came drifting down the river, but was
finally caught and lowed to safe harbor.
The ropes that held the half-sunken Gin
cinnati wharf boat, which the owners had
been struggling for twelve hours to save,
parted about this time and the lumber
some craft was quickly swept away. A
few minutes later lot of O'Nei's barges
and twenty six pieces belonging TO Joseph
Walton & Co. were cut from their moor
ings and carried down stream.
''Polish town." located along the bank of
the Monongahela river between the foot Of
Twenty second and South Twenty fourth
There are nearly seventy-five shanty boats
at that point occupied by over 80 families,
aggregating population of more than 800
people. All of these, with the exception
of about a dozen families, camped
out last night. Early yesterday morn
ing the trouble began. All day men,
women and children were busy pump
ing water out of the boats and removing
their goods to places of safety. By night
ten house boats had been sunk or capsized
down the river. The families who moved
out piled their goods along the Lake Erie
railroad and then the men did the best they
could to secure their shanties, while the
women watched their possessions by the
light of wood fires. Little children crawled
under pieces of furniture and slept on in
blissful ignorance of the flood and its in
cumbent cares.
Williamsburg, Beck Run, portions Of
McKeesport, California, Monongahela
City, Bellevernon, Brownsville, Fayette
City and other towns along the river are
reported partly submerged this morning.
At 1923 O'Clock this morning word was
received that lock No. 4, located short
distance above Monongahela City, had
been carried away by the strong current.