Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-05-18
DEATHS in The FLOODS
Fourteen Lives Lost in Lake
Erie Disasters.
OHIO AND Pennsylvania SUFFER

OEllS my Nv AMIN En-
An Immense Amount of Property Lost
Railroads Submerged - Life Savers
Drowned While on Duty-Enects of the
Storm in Other Parts of the Country.
CLEVELAND, May 18.-The storm of rain
and wind which began at noon Monday
and has continued almost without cessa-
tion until last night have produced flood
unprecedented in the history of Northeast
ern Ohio and Northwestern Pennsylvania.
Thus far IA lives have been lost, great dam
age has been done to shipping, and the
loss to other property will amount into
the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
1t had rained on Saturday and on Sun
day there were light showers. At noon
Monday the wind veered around into the
northeast and a steady downpour began.
The wind, which at times reachad a veloci-.
ty of more than so miles an hour, drove
the rain horizontally and in sheets, mak-3
ing italmost impossible for pedestrians to-
to get along in the streets Roofs that
never leaked before let the water through
like sleeves, and the rain was driven be-
tween window sashes until the people de-
SPARED of being able to keep it out. By
Tuesday evening more than 12 inches of
water had fallen and it was still coming
down in torrents.
Then it was that fears of a flood began
to be realized. The usually sluggish Guy
ahoga came down the hills of Summit
county swollen to more than twice its
normal size. The river runs through the
manufacturing and numbering districts of
the city by a tortuous channel about five
miles in length, with two railroads along
its banks Yesterday morning the river
was away over it's banks The torrent
was seeking the nearest way to the lake
and half dozen lumber yards in its
course could not bar the way. Whole
piles of lumber were carried along on the
stream and swept out into the lake or
lodged against the abuttments of bridges
further down. Millions of feet of building
material from the different yards is still on
its way to Canada, and more of it is still
coming down the river.
The tracks of the two railroads were
submerged to the depth of ten feet and all
traffic W as suspended, as was work in a
score of factories in the flooded district.
Owing to shaky bridges traffic was sus-
pended on all railroads running East.
In the afternoon while great crowds
were watching the flood, the first disaster
happened here. Captain Stanley Flanni-
gan and Michael LIE Blonde were going
down the river in a row boat used to ped
die milk along the docks. When near the
mouth of the raging stream one of LIE
Blondes oars broke, and the two men
were left at the mercy of the waters. They
were quickly carried out into the lake by
the rushing stream, and it was evident
that their frail craft could not live in tho
angry sea that was coming in from the
North, preparations were quickly begun
for their rescue by the life saving crew.
Seven men manned the lfeboat and
pulled away toward the east pier of the
breakwater, toward which point the boat
containing Flanagan and LIE Blonde had
drifted. When the life-savers We're we'll
| out of the mouth of the river an oar broke
| and in an instant the eorklike vessel
swung about to toss upon the angry
waves. The men in the lifeboat were to-
tally helpless, and before assistance of any
| kind could be rendered their boat was
overturned and all of the men were thrown
| into the water.
Four of them succeeded in catching hold
of the overturned lifeboat, where they
hung on until they were rescued in a ter
rihly exhausted condition. Three of their
| fellow life savers were tossed about so
| laercil, ssly by the wild waves that they
| We're unable to swim back to the lifeboat,
and after vainly battling for a few mo-
meuts with the elements they We're over
come and the battle of life had to be given
up
| The names of the heroes who lost their
| lives in attempting to save others were:
| Chester Simons, John johnson, Nicholas
| Scrvas, and Albert Currier. Captain Dis,
| tell and the other two life savers who es-
capped We're brought ashore by tug.
I Flanpigan and lie Blonde were of course
| drowned before the lifeboat capsized.
| At Astabula harbor the schooner Peli-
| can, oar-laden, from Escanaba, foundered
as she was entering the hatbor and sank
| in 40 feet of water. Three of the crew.
Peter Nelson, John Erickson and John
Mcknight, all of Cleveland, were drowned
The other members of the crew were
saved by the tug Sunol after a hard and
desperate battle with the terrific sea- A
lake of 90 acres has been formed near the
p, Y. & A., station up town. All three
roads across the gorge near the city are
blocked. The Spike bridge is disabled SO
that 400 nIen are out Of work on the Lake
Shore docks. The latter are under water
from one to six feet deep.
At Willou2hby, o., the Chagrin river
was out of its banks. The grist mill of
Geo. Boice was swept from its foundation,
hurled against the itbuttnient of a bridge
and crushed into wreckage which floated
away to the lake.
Reports from all sections of Northeast
ern Ohio tell of swollen streams and over
flowed farm lands, but it is impossible to
make an estimate of the damage. Neither
is It possible to tell what the property loss
4 in Cleveland will be