The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-09-14
TRACKS UNDER WATER.
TRAVEL ON THE CENTRAL RAIL
ROAD ABOUT SUSPENDED.

The Freshet in the Ogeechee Still
Increasing - No Through Trains
Leaving Savannah - The Shoo-Fly
Turned Back at Outlend Last Night
and Tied Up at Haloyondale-The
Entire Country Under Water and
Great Damage Feared.
The freshet along the Central railroad is
still increasing. No through trains have
gone out from Savannah since Monday.
The Millen accommodation which left at
$40 o'clock yesterday afternoon, was una
BILE to get further west than Outland, fifty
seven miles from Savannah, and then had
to run back to Halcyondale, seven miles
this side of Outland, to escape being cut off
by the rising flood.
The track is submerged at Ogeechee, and
the entire country is under water. What
the damage will be is only conjecture, but
it will be very great. The waters are still
rising ar Ogeechee, and the food is spread
ing rapidly over the entire country through
which the Ogeechee river flows.
THE HIGHEST EVER KNOWN.
The freshet is Unprecedented. The oldest
residents say that they have never seen the
river as high as it is now, and If it keeps on
rising the people will have to move out of
the country.
The Central railroad is now entirely cut
off from Millen from either direction.
Nothing was heard last night from Supt.
Hege, but he is supposed to be at WORK on
the tracks west of Millen, where the water
is falling.
ALL TRAVEL CUT OFF.
1t is impossible to tell when travel will be
resumed Freights are piling up, and trains
and engines are lying idle on account of the
overflow.
The Savannah, Florida and Western rail
way has, so far, escaped with very little
damage from the flood, which has not yet
reached the Ogeechee, Altamaha and
Satilla bridges The Withlacooohee bridge,
1877 miles west of Savannah, and between
Valdosta aud Quitman, was weakened, but
trains will begin running over it again to-
day.
THE FLOOD IN THE SAVANNAH.
The local showers in this section yeSter-
day were so light that it did not retard the
harvesting in the rice fields. The planters
are making hay while the sun shines, and
they have had four days of good weather.
The work will be continued to-day and to-
morrow, and as long after that as possible.
The flood is coming down the Savannah
with rush and is flooding the low country
on both sides Of the river. A rice broker
said yesterday that while he did not want
to be quoted as everybody would say he is
trying TO bear the market, 1t is his opinion
that affairs will not be as bad as it is pre-
dicted. He does not think the water will
stay on the young rice more than three
or four days, and it can stand six
days, he thinks, and yet make crop. He
does not believe there will be such large
volume of water as in the freshet Of last
year, which stayed on the rice fields for two
weeks, but be says there were three success
i've freshets near together, whereas this year.
he thinks the IS E.et rise will run out and
lessen the danger from the 38 feet rise,
which is three days later. He says he
bought rice last year from May and June
planting after it had been flooded.
NO WORSE THAN LAST YEAR.
A well informed gentleman, who is famil-
lar with the topography of the country
along the Savannah river between this city
and Augusta, advances the theory that
other things being equal, the 3s-feet rise
| will be no worse than the 34-feet rise of
1887, for the reason that having attained a
| greater hight than the '87 food. it will be
distributed that much more over lowlands
not affected by the 34feet rise OF last year
Advices from above indicate that there
is some logic in the reasoning, for the
water seems to be more generally dis
tributed over the outlying country than
last year, giving it other channels to seek
its way DO the sea. 1t seems certain that d
much larger volume of water will cross the
country and enter the Ogeechee river near
Eden than last year.
HEAVY RAIN SET IN.
A heavy rainfall set in shortly after mid
night this morning. and il the rain contin
ues to-day it will tend to further embarrasS
the rice planters across the river, who
must suspend work or haul wet rice. The
2S-foot rise is expected here to-day, and 1t
was thought that it had reached here last
night No information had besn obtained
as to the condition of the plantations above
the freshet dam. The 34-feet rise is only
two days behind, and the 3S-feet rise one
day later Sunday, Monday and Tuesday
will be very apt to cover the rice fields
| with the disastrous waters.
planter from New river, who was in the
city yesterday, stated that no danger was
apprehended in that quarter from the Saw
annah river freshet. There has been so lit
tie rain there, until recently, that the
swamps and rivers will absorb great dea
of the freshet water. The gentleman re
ports the crops TO be very fair considering
the continued drought during the summer
|
Apnr7T nor KG vOrT KNOVU