The Portland daily press., 1893-03-15
FLOOD and FIRE.
The Rivers Are Reaching Their
Highest Point.
DESTRUCTIVE PRAIRIE FIRES RE.
PORTED IN THE WEST.

Progress of the Spring Floods-A Blizzard
Makes Havoc All Over the Northwest
New York Rivers Very High.
BINGHAMPToN, N. Y, March 1A.-The
rivers reached their highest point here
last evening and are now slowly reced-
ing. All the low lands are submerged,
including the fair grounds, base ball
park and Stowe Driving Park on the
east side of the Chenango. There is an
ice jam on the Delaware River, two miles
below Deposit, and the water has over.
flowed the fiat lands for a distance of a
mile, surrounding farmhouses and
barns. Cattle and horses fastened in
their stables are standing in 1S inches of
water. The people are dreading the
results should the heavy ice come down
from up the river before the great ice
dam below the village gives way.
NEwBURG, N. Y, March 14.-The
creeks in this vicinity are all very high,
and the ice is breaking up. No serious
manufacturers located along Quassaick
Creek are removing goods from the cell
lars of their mills, fearing that the wat
er has not yet reached its highest point
and may vet overflow the banks.
The ice in the Hudson at this point is
,softening. and boatmen are preparing to
resume navigation at an early day. The
ferryboat to Fishkill and the New Eng
land Transfer steamer to and from the
same place are both running, with little
or no interruption.
The Flood in Michigan.
~GRAND RAPIDS, Mich, March 14.-The
Grand river is rising at the rate Of two
inches an hour, and at II o'clock last
night was 16 feet s inches above low wa
ter mark. The major portion of South
Grand Rapids, which is built on the fats
is inundated, and persons were removed
from the houses in boats. At this point
the river is mile wide. The loss will
be heavy.
KALAMAZOO, Mich, March 14.-A re-
port has just been received that the dams
at How1andsville south of here, and at
Plainwell and Otsego, to the north, have
gone. Thousands of acres of land are
inundated, and many lives and much
property are no doubt lost. The Ka1a-
mazoo river was never before known to
be SO high.
Destructive Prairie Fire.
GRENADA, Col, March 14.--A prairie
fire in Powers county has destroyed
thousands of dollars worth of stored
hay and grain. There are reports of live
stock having been burned. From Hol-
yoke also comes news of destructive
fire. A great many farmers lost all their
feed and buildings. The fire came with
in mile of Holyoke and was only kept
from coming into town by hard strug
gle and long continued fighting. The
fire swept over an area of 25 miles long
by five miles wide.
Blizzard in the Northwest
MINNEAPOLIS, Mimi, March IA
heavy snow storm, accompanied by high
winds, prevails throughout the North
west, including Montana, the Dakotas,
Minnesota and Wisconsin. From Bay
field, Wis, comes the report of one death
from the blizzard. George Coleman was
found forty rods from the shore on the
Chequamegon Bay, frozen. He was
caught in the storm, which came up in
an instant, and wandered about until ex
hausted. At no time could b.. have been
more than forty rods from shelter. At
Washburn, Wis, it is reported two men
have certainly perished. 1t Is feared that
many of the logging camps In the woods
will suffer for lack of provisions, as they
were about to close operations for the
season and supplies were low.