The morning call., 1893-05-18
RAENED FOR DAY. S.
Disastrous Floods in the
East.
SCORE OF LIVES LOST.
Sad Fatality to Boatload of Brave
Men at Observation-Disclosures
of Property.
Special to THE MORNING CALL.

CLEVELAND, Ohio May 1.-THE storm
of rain and wind which began at noon
Monday and continued almost without
cessation until this evening has produced
a flood unprecedented in the history of
Northeastern Ohio and Northwestern
Pennsylvania. Thus far fourteen lives
have been lost, great damage has been
done to shipping. and the loss of other
property will amount into the hundreds of
thousands OF dollars.
1t rained Saturday ard Sunday there
were light showers Monday the steady
downpour began. The roofs of dwelling
houses let the water through like sleeves
and the rain was driven between the win
dow sashes until people despaired Of being
able TO keep it out. By Tuesday evening
there were warnings of trouble and every
body began TO wonder when the storm
would stop.
In this city every sewer was pouring a
| torrent into the usually sluggish Cuya-
| hoga, which itself was swollen 10 more
! than twice its normal size. Great piles of
lumber were carried along the streets and
swept out into the lake or lodged against
the abutments of bridges. And this Is not
all, for great quantities of debris are still
coming down the river.
The railroad tracks are submerged to a
depth of ten feet and all traffic is sus-
pended. as is work in a score of factories
in the flooded district. Owing to the shaky
bridges, traffic is suspended on ali railroads
running east.
This afternoon, while great crowds were
watching the flood. the first disaster hap
pened here. Captain Stanley Flanagan
and Michael Leblonde were going down
the river in a rowboat when one of Le-
blondes oars broke.
The two men were quickly carried out
| into the lake by the rushing stream, aud as
! il was evident that their frail craft could
not live, preparations were quickly begun
| for their rescue. Seven men manned a
lifebOat and pulled away toward the boat
/ containing Fiannigan and Lebonde.
! When the life-savers were well out of the
mouth of the river an oar broke, and in an
instant the cork-like vessel swung about
| The men in the boat were totally help
| less and before assistance of any kind
could be rendered their boat was over
turned and all the men thrown into tie
water. Three. succeeded iuSeatching holt
I of tie ifeboaf, Where they finng until they
were rescued in a terribly exhausted con-
dltion.
Four of their fellow life-savers were
tossed about so mercilessly by the wild
waves that they were unable TO swim back
to the lileboat. and after vainly battling
for few moments with the elements they
were overcome. and the battle ef life had
/ to be given up.
The names of the four who were
Il nd
johnson. Nicholas Servas and Alber Cur
rier. Flanagan and Lebond were
drowned almost before the lifeboat cap
sized.
A distressing accident also occurred at
Conneaut. about sixty miles east of Cleve-
land. The tug Walter Richardson. the
dredger Continental and scow were an
chored at Conneaut Harbor.
This morning the scow was carried out
into the lake with the tug. and in cutting
away from the scow the tugs wheel was
disabled aud the tug was washed ashore.
! The crew was saved. The dredge was
swept into the lake and Immediately cap
sized. Seven persons were on board and
two of these were washed ashore. The
five others perished. They were as fol-
lows:
Arthur Wilson, captain. aged 80. ut
Philadelphia; George 0'Rourke, p, of
Detroit; Joseph Fipe, %. of Conncaut;
Meggie White, cook. 40 of Cleveland;
watchman. name unknown. The sea is
running heavily, and no bodies were re-
covered this afternoon. The dredge was
valued at $4,000 and is total loss.
At Ashtabula Harbor the schooner
Pelican. ore laden from Escanaba. foun-
dered as she was entering aud sank In
forty feet of water. Three of the crew.
Peter Nelson, John Erickson and John
Ecknlght. all of Cleveland-were drowned.
The other members Of the crew were
rescued after hard and desperate battle
with the terrific sea.
At Willoughby, Ohio. the Chagrin River
is out Of its banks. Eatly this morning
the gristmill of Joseph Boyce was swept
| from its foundations, hurled against the
abutment Of a bridge and crushed into
wreckage, which fioated away to the lake.
Reports from all sections of northeas stern
Ohio tell of swollen streams and over
flowed farm lands, but il is impossible to
make an estimate of the damage. Neither
is it possible TO tell what the property loss
in Cleveland will be. Il is possible that
one or more of the costly swing bridges
along the river will be swept away before
morning. as it seems impossible that they
can all withstand the terrible strain now
being put upon them.
PITTsBURG, May 17.-After a steady
downpour through Western Pennsylvania
for nearly sixty hours the rain has ceased
and the weather is clearing. The rain has
caused the small stream; of this section TO
overflow and great loss of property is re-
ported from all directions.
From the reports received river men pre-
diet from twenty to twenty-five feet of
water here tomorrow. This will inundate
the low lands and food the houses and
mills lining the banks of the rivers.
Only one life has been reported lost so
far, but the damage to property will reach
| hundreds of thousands of dollars.
At Titusvile the entire lower portion of
the city is several feet under water The
Titusville Iron Works, i've refineries and
many manufacturing establishments, hun
dreds of houses and other buildings have
! been inundated. All trains on the West
ern New York and Pennsylvania are
stalled there.
Oh Creek was very high tonight, and
higher water is ANTICIPATED before morn
ing. At Leadville the water is two feet
higher than ever known before. All trains
| hcya ,,aap no opaJ b,t.o,o