Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1888-07-19
ANGRY TORRENTS.
- A. ~ ~ - ~ II
The Remorseless Flood Sweeps Every.
thing in Its Path.

FNf* ~ - - - n
The Remorseless Flood Sweeps Every
+ 3 4 thing in Its Path. ~.
PITTsBURG, Pa, July 1.-THE fresh.
ct in the Monongahela River Is almost
Unprecedented, and great damage has
been done to the river craft and proper
Ity all along the river from the head
waters to this city. Millions of feet o.
lumber, scores of coal craft, fences, out,
houses and coal topples have been float
ing down the swift current for the last
eighteen hours. "'S'"
The river at this point is still rising
with 81 feet9 inches on the marks al
8 O'clock, but it is reported as station.
ary, with As feet, at Greensboro, 10C
miles above this city. At every point
betweeen Greensboro an Pittsburg the
lowlands are under water, and the resi-.
dents have been compelled to live in
the upper stories of their houses, and in
some cases to seek the hill for safety.
The water rose at the rate of foot an
hour, and at Greensboro 80 feet of a rise
was reported in less than twenty-four
hours.
So far but one life has been reported
lost, that of man named Geo. Getter,
who was struck by parted cable and
instantly killed. ....t,
The scene along the river front this
morning was one of great excitement.
The banks were lined with people
watching the debris as,it swept down
the swift current. The river and coal
men were on the alert, fearing that
their craft would be torn from their
moorings, and as fast as one cable would
snap in twain it would be replaced by
another.
Shortly after o'clock this morning
q large number of barges belonging to-
Jennings y Co., came down the river
from the Second pool and struck the
Smithfield street bridge, the huge
barges turning end over end; and
crowded the towboat Barnard in against
the steamer Jacobs. 81, :. 81
Every whistle on the river sounded
the alarm, and the turbulent flood pre-
sented wild sight. t,. s'#.
Logs, barges and fuel boats were
dashed against the piers of the bridge
and snapped like twigs by the over
.whelming force of the current. b ua.
About fifteen minutes after the brok-
Ell barges came down, a number of
pieces of wreckage floated past in the
middle of which shanty boat was
swept along with light on board. The
rivermen shouted and the, whistles
screamed to get an answer from any
persons who might beon the boat, but
no reply came, andif the owners were
on board and asleep, as some of the
river men thought, they were swept
down to inevitable destruction
The rope that held the half-sunken
Cincinnati wharfhoat, which the own
ers had been struggling for II hours to
save, parted about this time and the
cumbersome craft was quickly swept
away. A few minutes later d lot of
O'Neil's barges and twenty-six pieces
belonging to Joseph Walton & Co.,
were cut from their moorings and car
ried down stream. szsass .s,a.s. g,,as.,s.
There are nearly nty-five boats
at Polishtown, occupied by. over $50
families, aggregating a:population of
more than 400 people. Ali of these.
with the exception of about dozen
families, camped out last night.
Early yesterday morning the trouble
began. All day, men, women and
children were busy pumpingwater out
Of the boats and removing their goods
to places of'safety. BY night ten boat
houses had been sunk, or capsized and
several carried down the river.
From the smithfield-st. bridge to
considerable distance above the Balti-
more and Ohio Depot were q number
of boat houses, occupied by r.. families.
The sudden rise of the water found
these occupants totally unprepared,
and goodly number of the semi-am-
phibious dwellers were forced to make
q hasty retreat to dry land. @
The boat houses that had their foun-
dation on the water, or in the mud,
rode the freshet in safety and kept. the
feet and possessions of its ts$occupants
dry, but those which had been propped
high above the sluggish low water, had
every seam ana crack opened by the
sun, and when the swiftly flowing wa
ters reached them it rushed in like
water through a sieve, and caused the
occupants to flee for their lives. They
tumbled out beds, tables, chairs, chill
dren and babies in the utmost con-
fusion.
-. <As " essAi'Dus ~ eASSSAeoaAeuAys QOI"
tions of McKeesport, California, Mon
ongahela, Bellyernon, Brownsville.
Fayette City and other towns along
theriver are reported partly submerged
this morning. The water in some
houses, while piles of lumber, tim
bers and drifts in many cases are jam
med against the doors and windows.
AT various points along. the lines Of the
Pittsburg, Virginia and Charleston, and
the Baltimore and Ohio Rs, the tracks
are under water and great difficulty is
experienced in running trains. M
The sudden rise is believed to have
been caused by cloud bust, which
covered a large section of Southern
Pennsylvania and Western Virginia.
Fortunately there was no rise in the
Allegheny River. so6
About II o'clock saw mill, includ-
ing all machinery, passed down the |
river It,Was swept from Belleyernon,
Pa, sixty miles south of this 1cityi and
aas owned by Captain Cox u yaIaed
II at 00l