Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1891-05-14

- = 49, poslte New Orleans
ana did immense damage to the White
House Plantation.
The detailed history of the Ohio anC
Mississippi River floods is one of the
most thrilling chapters in the annals Of
the country, and the problem of prevent
ing these disastrous overhows 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 bN
height, power and suddenness those o.
the Mississippi by length of duration.
The highest, largest, and most power
fnl 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
Food 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 GO feet.
Statistics go to show that floods of ex-
cessive height are not to be expected
O~NNhNA ehoh OhNO III dOOub twenty-five
years The unprecedented flood of 1884
following, just one year and one day.
that of 1sS3-the highest in half CEN
tury-presented 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 ubftuu65s-t iv-Syr-rx,sS,-, s~,r.<l-
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-citizcns give graphic
pictures of the exciting scenes and
air-breadth escapes which then took
place. There was scarcely house in
the city which escaped a deep baptism in
the turbid current.
The terrible flood of 1883 was caused
by two severe rain storms, which fell
upon the hard frozen ground about its
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,
frozen mountain sides as from off roof,
and emptied itself into the Ohio, with
scarcely any hindrance or loss by absorp-
ton.
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 its 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, buryng 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 ana 3,700 residences were flooded;
that 1916 families were given bedding
and CAT families furnished with coal;
that 24,1l people received charity of
some kind, and that 1901 pairs OF boots
and shoes were distributed. The city
on the Ohio whose loss came next to
Cincinnati is Jeffersonvile, Ind, which
sustained damages amounting to nearly
one million dollars, causing the ruin of
majority of her business men, and
placing over five thousand of her people
in want. New Albany's loss is stated at
$3.50, 900; Madison, 100000; Aurora,
$50, 900; Lawrenceburg, S435,O00. The