Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1889-08-31
FLOODS OF THE PAST.
Awful Catastrophes Which Have
Decimated Mankind.
vsss InundAsieas I'm which Peovis Have
Psrishsd by Tens Of Thousands-
The Johnstewn Disaster Pc
culiariy Horrible.

cuiiariy Horrible.
Numerous are the traditions coming
to US from prehistoric periods con-
cerning great floods Everywhere In
the annals OF the various nations we
meet with similar accounts as that
contained In the Bible. II IL therefore
most likely that at a certain time,
several thousand years before the be-
GINNING OF our era. extraordinary
foods occurred In various portions OF
the earth simultaneously.
Strabo and Diodorus speak OF
gigantic spring floods having broken
upon Egypt at an early date and
Plinius and Tacitus report such OF the
north OF Europe about the time OF
Christ. which in terrible magnitude
and destructiveness had not their
equal. The oldest reports concern the
floods In the region OF the Red sea
along the peninsula Of Suez. Strabo
chronicles the destruction OF many
Gus locality, and Diodorus relates the
drowning OF the hosts OF Artaxerxes
ut the same place. Here. too, the
passage OF the jews through the Red
sea and the destruction OF the Phara-
nnic hosts find their explanation.
Reliable accounts OF disasters by
water begin n century or two before
our era. They treat until compare
lively recently almost exclusively OF
foods in Europe. owing to the imper-
feet connection between the nations up
to our own times.
About the year 130 b. G. the power
full nation OF the Celts, after having
suffered for long time great losses in
possessions and lives. were forced by
continued destructive foods to forsake
their abodes along the shores OF the
western ocean and emigrate TO Italy,
the upper Rhine, and the Danube.
Likewise about the year 113 b. @. sew
eral Teutonic tribes were driven fur
ther south from the northern settle
ments by like causes. Among the
older towns of the world the Eternal
City. Rome suffered frequently and ex-
tremely from inundations OF the Tiber,
which to fill the cup OF the sufferings
Of the people we're generally accom-
panied by dearth and pestilence- No
;able among these foods at Rome are
hose of the years Al. n. 25. p. and
) IS B. c., and o. Is. sc, 81. 90, and 10
A. ID. In the year the city was nav
lgated by boats for over week. and
large number OF buildings were de-
stroyed by the food as were also hun
dreds OF lives.
In the year 90 A. ID. great foods In
undated many mites OF territory along
the French and English coasts. His
torically remarkable is the disastrous
inundation caused by the Rhine In con-
sequence OF the destruction OF the dam
of Drususat Nijmwegen. in the Neither
lands. by the rebelions Batavians I'm.
der Civilis TO stop the advance OF the
much-feared Romans. This famous
dam had been commenced by Drusus
Germanicus In the year 5 b C., but
had only been finished five years at the
time OF this catastrophe.
A. ID. 40 the fertile table-land oil
NA4FEO III ATAul& WAS buFntid iuLQ U
permanent desert by the breaking OF Q
dam. and the inhabitants were forced
10 emigrate. In la large tracts o
I.aly and adjoining countries were
under water. The year S66 saw the
greater portion Of Germany inundated
In 444 the city OF Is. on the bank OF tn.
bay of Douarney. France, formerl,
quite famous. was swallowed by this
floods. In 5s7 and $50 Germany suf
fered immense losses by water. Tn.
Rhine. having always been source o
great and frequent disasters. again diS
enormous damage in 694. Ninety
yearstafter even Charlemagne was stop
ped on one OF his victorious MARCHES
by the waters filling the lowland
everywhere. In 793 the sea fioodes
the whole OF East Frisia- The yea
500 witnessed the swallowing up OF
very large part OF Heligoland BY tn
Unsuitable clement In Si5 the Rhine
by another overflow. did more damag
than ever before. and In sS6 its water
devastated all the adjoining region
along its entire course. During tn
ninth century the English coasts sui
fered terribly from floods, and In 80
all the rivers oil Central Europe over
flowed their banks and caused grea
loss.
The eleventh century had no les
than forty-seven great floods. At on
time fully i25 geographical squar
miles of the Netherlands were lai'
waste. At this time there also disaT
peared q number of the larger island
near the southwest coast OF the Baltic
making the entire number swallowe
up by ,foo:s ON the same coast iros