The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-05-18
Fourteen Persons Drowned in the
Storm-Swept Waters of Northern Ohio.
Four Members Of the Lifs-Saving Service Lost
at Cleveland While Trying TO Rescue Two
Men Who Had Drifted Into the Lake
Enormous Pecuniary Damages Inflict.
ed by Swollen Rivers and Creeks.
Many Towns in Pennsylvania Partially Under
Water - Railroad Tracks and Culyerts
Washed 0ut-Broksn Leyees in the South.
DISASTERS IN OHIO.

DISASTERS IN OHIO.
Fourteen Persons Drowned, Including Fouz
Members of the Life Saving Service.
CLEVELAND. O.. May 1.-THE storm Of
rain and wind which began at noon Monday,
and has continued almost without oesss.
tion until this evening. has produced .
flood unprecedented In the history OF
northeastern Ohio and northwestern Penn
sylvanIA. Thus far fourteen lives have
been lost, great damage has been done to
shipping, and the loss to other property
will amount to hundreds of thousands oi
dollars. 1t had rained on Saturday. and
on Sunday there were light showers. Late
Sunday night there was heavy rainfall,
accompanied by thunder and lightning.
At noon Monday the wind veered around
into the northwest and u steady downponr
began. The sky for fifty-six hours has
been q dull leaden color. and the low-hsng.
ing and scurfying clauds which were
hurled along by the northwest gale seemed
to have every drop of water shaken
out of them. The wind. which at timea
reached o velocity of more than fifty miles
an hour, drove the ram horizontally and
in Sheets making 1t almost impossible for
pedestrians to get along on the streets.
Roofs that never leaked before let the
water through like sieves. and the rain
was driven between window sashes until
the people despaired of being able TO keep
it out.
The storm was bad enough on Monday
night and Tuesday forenoon. but by Tues
day evening there came warnings or
trouble, and every body began to wonder
when 1t would STOP By Tuesday evening
. -. -
had fallen, and it was still coming down in
torrepts Then it was that fears of flood
began to be realized. In this city every
sewer was pouring q torrent into the
usually sluggish Cuyahoga, which came
down from the hills of Summit county
swollen to more than twice its normal size
The river runs through the manufacturing
and lum Der districts of the city by a tor
tuous channel about five miles In length.
Along It's banks are the Valley and thl
Cleveland. Canton X Southern railways.
This morning the W ater se away over she
rivers banks. The torrent was seeking
the nearest way to the lake. and half
bar the way. Whole piles of lum Der were
carried along on the stream and swept out
into the lake or lodged against the abut-
ments of bridges further down. Milliont
of feet of building material from the srds
of the Cleveland Sawmill Company. N.
Mills q Co., NJ Monroe and Fred Hempy
~ Co. are now on the way to Canada. and
more le still coming down the river. Tbt
tracks of the Valley and the Cleveland,
Canton 81 Southern railways were sub
merged to the depth of ten feet, and all
traffic was suspended. as wss work in q
score of factories In the flooded district.
Owing to the shaky bridges. traffic was
suspended on all railroads running east
LFE-sAvERs DROWNED.
This afternoon. while great crowds were
watching the flood the first disaster hap
pened here. Capt. Stanley Flannigan and
Michael LeDlonde were going down the
river in O rowboat. When near the mouth
of the raging stream. one Of Leblonde's
oars broke. and the two men were left az
the mercy of the waters. They were quick.
ly carried out into the lake by the rushina
stream. and. ss it was evident that tEeiz
frail craft could not live In the angry sea
that was coming in from the north, prep
arations were quickly begun for their res
cue by the life-saving crew. Seven men
manned the lifeboet, and pulled away to-
ward the east pier Of the breakwater, to-
wards which point the boat con tanning Flan-
nigan and Leblonde had drifted. When the
life-sayers were well out Of the mouth of tho
river an oar broke and In On instant the
cork-l!ke vessel swung about to toss upon
were hslpless, and before assistance of any
kind could De rendered their boat was
overturned and oil the men were thrown
into the water. Three of them succeeded
in catching hold of the overturned lifeboat,
where they hung on until they were res
cued in a terribly exhausted condition.
The other four were drowned. They were
Chester Simons, John johnson. Nicholas
Servas and Albert Currier. FlsnoiGan and
Leblonde were drowned almost before the
lifeboat capsized.
A distressing accident also occurred at
Conneaut about sixty miles east Of Cleve.
land. The tug Walter Richardson. dredRs
Continental and q scow were anchored az
Conneaut harbUr Tuesday night The
creek rose rapidly. and at 9 o'clock this
morning the scow was carried ont into the
lake with the tug. The latter went ashore.
but the crew was eavcd. The dredge wa6
carried into the lake and immediately oap-
sized. There were seven persons on board,
two OF whom were washed ashore on the
wreckage. The five others perIshed. They
were: Arthur Wilson, captain. Philadel.
phia; George 0Rourke. of Detroit; Joseph
Fife. of Conneaut; Maggie White. cook. Of
Cleveland, and the watchman. whose
name Is unknown.
At Ashtabnla harbor, last evening. tho
schooner Pelican, ore laden from Escanaba.
fouudered as she was entering the hsrbof
and sunk in forty feet of water. Three OF
the crew-Peter Nelson, Johd Ericsson and
John Eeknighf. all of CIeveland-were
drowned.
AT Willoughby, O.. the Chagrin river was
out of Its banks. Early this morning the
grst mill of Joseph Boyce was swept from
ITS foundations. hurled against the abut-
ment OF q bridge and crushed into wreck
age which fioated away TO the lake.
Reports from ali sections of northeastern
Ohio tell of swollen streams and overf1owed
farm landr. but it Is impossible TO make an
estimate of the damage. Neitberis 10 possi-
ble to tell what the property loss IN Cleve-
land viii lbe. The damage 10 property along
the fats will be very heavy. and from all
parts of he city come reports cf wasbed-out
streets and broken sewers, and it 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.