The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1891-05-14

- - 49, pOSlG0 NEW OII0duos
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 at the
Cincinnati gauge. The Indians, how
ever, have a tradition that there was a
flood in 1857 which reached the tremen-
dOus height of 100 feet; also, that there
were high floods in 1874, 1889, and 1892,
the latter reaching 60 feet
Statistics go to show that floods of eX-
cessive height are not to be expected
oftener than once in about twenty-five
years The unprecedented flood of 1884
following, just one year and one day,
that Of 1883-the highest in half cen
tur--presented a strange exception to
the rule
The detailed information concerning
the flood of 1882 is very meager. Gin
cinnati at that time contained about 49,
900 inhabitants. AS the river rose stead
lily for ten days, beginning Feb. Is, 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 in rescuing the persons and prop
erty OF their fellow citiZenS give graphic
pictures of the exciting scenes and
hair-breadth escapes which then took
place. There was scarcely a house in
the city which escaped deep baptism in
the turbid current.
The terrible flood of 1888 was caused
by two severe rain storms, which fell
upon the hard frozen ground about it's
Headquarters in Pennsylvania, West Vir-
ginia and Ohio. Much of this territory
is mountainous. The heavy rainfall, which
would have naturally been much absorbed
by the soil, all rushed down the steep,
IL,
and emptied itself into the Ohio, with
scarcely any hindrance or loss by absOrp-
tiOn.
The storm began with the month and
continued for practically two weeks
The river reached its maximum height
on the 18th of the month.
The first cities to feel the devastating
power of the floods were Titusville, Oil
City and Pittsburg. There were several
lives lost at Titusville. Not only did
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 despoiled nearly
two million dollars worth Of property in
Cleveland, which is located at it's mouth.
At Cincinnati the water covered three
whole squares in the heart Of the city,
disabling the engines at the water works,
and submerging the gas works. Not less
than thirty thousand laborers we're
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
flood was the falling of the Gin
cinnati and Southern depot It's
foundations became undermined and its
walls FELL burying a number of people
beneath them, in 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 $780,
900, 900, and states that 1900 business
houses anu 3, 700 residences were flooded;
that 1,916 families were given bedding
and CAT families furnished with coal;
that "a, Ill people received charity of
some kind, and that 1891 pairs of boots