The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1891-05-13

and did immense damage to the White
House Plantation.
The detailed history of the Ohio and
Mississippi River floods is one of the
most thrilling chapters in the annals OF
the country, and the problem OF prevent
ing these disastrous overfows is per-
haps the severest problem in engineer
ing that confronts the skill and wisdom
of engineers and statesmen of to-day.
The Ohio floods are characterized by
height, power and suddenness; those Of
the Mississippi by length Of duration.
The highest, largest, and most power
full tidal waves of the ocean fall short,
IN those particulars, of the great flood
waves of the Ohio.
The highest point yet registered by an
Ohio flood, within the limits Of actual
record was made by the flood of 1884,
which registered II feet | inch ut tho
Cincinnati gauge. The lndiaps, how
ever. have tradition that there was q
flood in 1887 which reached the tremen-
dous height OF 100 feet; also, that there
were high floods in 1774, 1889, and 1892,
the latter reaching 60 feet
Statistics go to show that floods OF OK
cesSive height are not To be expected
oftener than once in about twenty-five
following, just one year and one day,
that of 1SS3-the highest in half a cen
tury-prcsented strange exception to
the rule.
The detailed information concerning
the flood Of 1892 is very meager Gin
cinnati at that time contained about 2S,
900 inhabitants. As the river rose stead
lily for ten days, beginning Feb. ls the
Inhabitants had time To flee to the hills
which surrounded that city, thus render
ing the loss Of life very small. The few
remaining pioneers Of the Queen City
who participated in that flight and AS
sisted i'm rescuing the persons and prop
.erty of their fellow citizens give graphic
pictures of the exciting scenes and
hair-brcadth escapes which then took
place. There was scarcely a house in
the city which escaped a deep baptism in
the turbid current
The terrible flood IF 1883 was caused
by two severe lain storms, which fell
upon the hard frozen ground about It's
Headquarters in Pennsylvania, West Nir
ginia and Ohio. Much of this territory
is mountainous. The heavy rainfall which
wou. d have naturally been much absorbed
by the soil, all rushed down the steep
frozen mountain sides as from off roof
and emptied itself into the Ohio, will
scarcely any hindrance or loss by absorb
tion.
The storm began with the month ant
continued for practically two weeks.
The river reached its maximum heigh
on the 18th Of the month.
The first cities TO foei the devastating
power of tho floods were Titusville, Oil
City and Pittsburg. There were several
lives lost ut Titusville. Not only die
every city on the Ohio and its tributaries
suffer more or less, but also almost every
city in the Ohio Valley. The overflow
of the Cuyahoga River despoled nearly
two million dollars worth OF property in
Cleveland, which is located ut its mouth.
At Cincinnati the water covered three
whole squares in the heart Of the city
disabling the engines at the water works
and submcrging the gas works. Not less
than thirty thousand laborcrs were
thrown out Of employment by the flood.
ing of some two hundred and fifty whole
sale and commission houses and other
industries lying nearest the river front.
One of the tragedies of the
food was the falling of the Gin
.cinnat and Southern depot Its
foundations became undermined and It's
walls fell, burying IL number Of people
beneath them, in a depth of about forty
feet Of water.
The military barracks at Newport,
KY, opposite Cincinnati, were flooded
and also about thirty square miles OF
country about them were submerged A
recent and reliable writer estimates the
damage wrought by this flood at 500
O0O 600, and states that 1900 business
houses ana 3, roo residences were flooded
that ,916 families were given bedding
and 647 families furnished with coal
that "a, people received charity OF
some kind, and that 1901 pairs of boot.