Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-02-20
RUIN AT PORT DEPOSIT.


Desoiats sad Dresry scenes Presented at
| That Place.
Desolate and dreary was the scene which pre-
sented itself at dawn yesterday to the resi-
dents Of Port Deposit, Nd. according to q
special to the Baltimore American. Until
then no one could even approximate the
amount Of damage done by the sudden run Of
the ice Saturday night and the immediate mum
dation OF the upper end of the town. With
daylight the full realization of the extent Of it
all was forced upon the people, and many a
heart which had hoped against hope WAS made
heavy when it was seen that for nearly half
mile every stable, outbuildlng and every foot Of
fencing had been torn away by the irresistible
rush OF the water or the grinding OF thousands
OF tons OF ice which had been forced against
tnem From Rock Run almost to the depot
the scene presented was indescribable.
Lumber was strewn everywhere. Outbuild-
ings were overturned. in some few instances
standing on their roofs. but otherwise unin-
1ured, but in a large majority of cases complete
| oemontlon had taken place, and every thing was
raised: Not yard in which there was not
packed huge blocks of ice several feet thick,
whlle water covered everything. Cellars and
| lower floors had been flooded, the water re-
| naming there and slowly rising.
The railroad tracks were covered to a depth
OF ten feet by icy boulders which will require
] weeks OF labor to remove. just above town the
Mer 'rlal Church. to which point the waters
| made their way when the flood came. the Main
| street presented a remarkable scene. Ice and
water. water and ice. 1t was everywhere. Big
| foes that must have weighed many tons had
been carried by the irresistible current into the
street, into sidewalks almost to the doors Of tho
mouse, where they must remain for a long time.
! Water from one to eight feet in depth extended
! all the way to Rock Run at the bridge. The
bridge was entirely submerged. but as yet has
not been torn from its moorings. heavy chains
holding 1t in placs. In the Granite House kept
! by W. +. Pennock the water WAS almost waist
deep and the proprietor's loss was considerable.
! The water came upon him suddenly and many
| of his provisions and much furniture was badly
| damaged.
| The water flooded Cullison Bros general
store. running goods, while an immense ice foe
stove in the end of the house. Further up. at
McClenahan's quarry the condition of things
was not much better. 1t was there that the first
effect OF this rushing mass was felt. The water
rose to several feet in depth. and flooded every
| thing.
| TWENTY CARS UNDER WATER.
Twenty cars belonging to the railroad CON-
pany, which bad been taken here for safety and
sidetracked. are under water. and are weighted
| with stones to keep them from floating from
the tracks Masses of timber. fencing rail.
| road ties and housing were piled indiscrim-
| AAetc's 'oSetbci pefIeCt
barrier. blocking the water and causing it to
| back. The italian settlement at Dirt Bank
Jared no better, and the first floors of all the
houses are submerged. Their luckless inhab-
| ltants managed to escape with their lives, but
| that was all. The quarry is filled with water
| and hundreds of laborers Temporarily
| thrown out of employment
| 1t wasreported that several had been drowned,
| but the report was unfounded.
There have been the widest sort of rumors
about. and numbers of people have been
| ported drowned. but there is no confrma-
| tory news and the stories are, doubtless only
| imaginary. There have been no casualties as
| yet.
| Yesterday the town commissioners had a gang
| OF workmen to widen and level this pass. and
| locomotion is now less difficult. Hundreds of
| people came here from the surrounding
country in sleighs and other vehicles to see the
! destruction wrought by the food Many
ladies were among them and all braved the dan
gers of the hillside and went to the scene OF the
| trouble.
| No CHURCH SERVICES.
| Services were not held in the churches ves-
terday as a precautionary measure. The day
has been more of holiday occasion than any
thing else. and most of the visitors were bent
| on frolic. The Falls House was crowded all
| day. but it must be said that Mr. John Falls
| the proprietor. deserves great credit for having
kept his bar tightly closed, and refused to sell
| drop of liquor to any one. There was consider
able drunkenness noticed upon the streets, but
| the whisky was brought here from outside
Steeles Island is entirely submerged and only
| the hilltop can be seen sticking above the ice
Water and ice over portion OF Roberts
Island. and it was reported that William Rob-
| erts. the eccentric occupant, was seen up a tel
| egraph pole yesterday morning calling for help
but smoke was issuing from the chimney of the
house last evening and Roberts and his son are
| probably all right who resides her
that the old man has plenty OF provisions and
unless he is washed off the island, can stand a
siege. He is bound to get that because it will
be many week before the river is clear The
| water broke through the banks of the tidewater
canal just opposite here on the Hartford county
side Saturday night and that relieves the en-
gorged condition somewhat
The situation is extremely serious and the
app-ehensions are of the gravest character.
The people who laughed 10 scorn the fears of
their nelghbors week ago are now anxiously
specializing about the outlook and gravelv
shake their heads when approached on the sub
Ject The Ice gorge Is the worst ever known in
the history of the town and extends for ten
miles at least. 1t has not moved bit for more
than week below Mt. Ararat and there is not
much possibility of Its doing so for some time.
Every movement of the ice is from the north
end OF the gorge. and that is what affects Port
| Deposit. All that is needed now is high water.
and when it comes, as it must. there will be a
|
known in the annals of this devoted town. Sat.
urday night stables and sheds were DESTROYED.
| The next movement means the humiliation of
dwellings and hundreds Of homeless people to
look after. 1t may come tonight; it may not
come in II week; but come it must
The damage SO far done is bard to estimate,
but 1t must amount to many thousands of dol
lars. Besides that the uncertainty has produced
almost complete stagnation in business centers
and has paralyzed trade. The loss to the rail-
road company cannot be computed Among
| the visitors were Col. William Ii. Love and a
party of friends from Baltimore They walked
| from Perryville to Port. Had the railroad run
trains yesterday thousands of strangers would
have been brought to town. At 10 d. M a ter
rife northwest wind storm, accompanied BY
binding rain and snow. began. Should the
rain continue it will increase the volume of
water and make the situation of the gravest
character.
| UNDER THE "OLD FLAG"