Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1893-06-06
ANOTHER BIG RAIN,
WHICH DID CONSIDERABLE DAMAGE IN THIS
CITY.
The Old Twelfth Street Sewer Lets Go Once More
With Disastrous Results - Tough
Experience Of HOrsa
Flooded Streets.

Our regular daily rain storm came
with more than usual violence yester-
day afternoon, because the weather
mau missed day last week, and ne
wanted to keep up the average.
Something over an inch Of water fell
during tho latter portion of the after
noon, and considerable addition was
made to the amount Of precipitation
last night, the total being in the neigh
borhood of an inch and half for the
day.
The usual results followed. The old
brick sewer on Twelfth street, which
has a habit OF improving eacn SHINING
opportunity of damaging itself or some
of the property along the street, leu go
again. with rather more than the aver
age of loss; the sewer at Alley Z ana
Twentv-third street followed suit; the
streets were turned into raging tor
rents: great deposits of mud and mis-
cellaneous rubbish were left at various
points: the telephone bitches on Mar
ket street, which had been pumped out
nice and dry during the morning, were
fooded-and what is most unusual,
horse became hopelessly mlred OF Mar
ket street, at the intersection OF ailey
nine, and had to be lifted bodily out OF
his predicament by the united efforts OF
q dozen men. Lest it be inferred that
the horse stuck in the mud on the brick
pavement, the RETIsTER hastens TO say
that the mud isn't that deep on the top
OF the bricks. He went into the mud
under the level OF the pavement, In
place where the bricks ought to have
been.
The storm came up very slowly ana
deliberately, the sky being threatening
all during the afternoon. AT times the
sun would shine, and then at other
times it wouldn't, and the rain seemed
on the point of descending on hall
dozen occasions, but the Hood gates
were not opened in earnest until ABOUT
FIVE o'clock, and then for about forty
minutes the rain came down after the
manner Of the forty days shower re-
lated in Scripture. 1t wasn't steady
rain, however. 1t came in secuons-
that is to say, 1t would rain dogs ana
cats for few minutes, and would then
make bluff at stopping. As soon as
people who had thoughtfully left their
umbrellas at home, and were going
their usual avocations In nice light suits,
had been decoyed from some place OF
shelter, Ii would rain some more, harder
than it did the other time, and this was
keep up until about half the population
had been wet to the ska. Then the de-
LUCE ceased for supper, recommending
about dark in slow and deliberate
manner, and keeping it up with per-
sistence which wonld have been ex-
tremely gratifying in times OF drought.
1t was the big rain storm OF the later
afternoon which did the damage we are
about to record. About the time the
rain was at its height, the big sewer on
Twelfth street, hereinbefore referred
to, got something in its wind-pipe at
the corner OF Main and Twelfth streets
aud in about one moment Thereafter oy
a stop watch the sewer was full away
no towards its headwaters, which, Tor
the time being, seemed to be somewhere
about the crematory. The pressure OF
this column Of mingled water and mud
was something more than the old sewer
could stand, and the result was trouble.
For about twenty feet square at the
northeast corner of Main and Twelfth
streets the sidewalk and cobble stones
were bulged up and torn away and
floated off in manner suggestive OF
the ruin wrought by a small earth
Quake, and water poured from the sur
face OF the earth at that point some
thing after the manner in which 1t was
nonring from the skies. Not all OF
the water leaked out Of the sewer
In this manner. however. Enough OF
It ran into Gauss barber shop,
under the Franklin Insurance Company
building, TO flood the place a
foot deep, and in like manner the cell
lars of William Hare's plumbing estab-
lisbmeut, Sheeky's saloon, Jones Bros. ;
stdre, Wheeler's merchant tailoring es-
tablishment, and some others on the
street were treated to from one to three
feet OF water, while over at the Bank OF
thel Ohio Valley, where extensive re-
pain and renovatlng has been going on
for two or three weeks past, the water
blurred into the Directors room through
a water closet which persisted In work
ink the wrong way, until the handsome
brussels carpet anu rugs were sight to
behold. A large section OF the street
seemed to have been undermined, the
police warned people away, and in
shoHt time the B. p. w. erected board
barricade about the spot. Sunday after
noonl this sewer was damaged at the
same place, and the repairs were only
completed about wo,o'clock yesterday
AFTERNOON. Now the street will have TO
be dug up extensively.
On Market street the workmen en-
Hamilton Bras, who have
the contract for the telephone conduit,
had things in pretty fair shape for the
storm, ahd the heaviest damage will re-
suit from delay to the work, aud having
to pump the water out OF the trench.
At the corner Of alley nine. during the
height Of the hahn, there was blockade
OF street cars, land great many vehi-
cles were also eongregated in the street.
Frank Grow had team attached to
coal wagon, and driven by a colored
man, on the strAet. The driver was 60
ing north, and IA pulling out OF the car
tracks to let car pass, one or his horses
stepped with hind foot on the newly
filled ditch. Tho horse instantly sank
In the mud up to It's body, and by its
struggles first gotlt the other hind leg in
abe hole, aud the both fore legs, the
animals body reSting level with the