St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-05-22
like NOAH'S FLOOD.
Every Foot Of Willimasport
Is Under Water.
THOUSANDS ARE HOMELESS.
Telephone the Only Connee-
ton With the World.
AWFUL SCENES OF SADNESS.
Property Valued at Many
Millions Swept Away.
AWFUL SCENES OF SADNESS.
TIDIEGS FROM TWO STATES.

WILLIAMSBURG, Pa, May N.-AS
night approached and darkness settled
down, the terrors If the flood increased.
\ yellow torrent rushes down the
hilisldeS, fed by thousand mountain
streams. anu, growing with each passing
minute, assumes pew terrorS, and the
stricken people look forward with dread
10 the ordeal through which they must
pass before morning. Cut off from the
rest of the world, no railroad communi-
catan. and with no avenue OF telegraph
or telephone communication, save the
slender quivering wire over which this
message is speeding, surrounded on
every hand by the slowly rising de-
stroyer, which has already swept away
q million dollars worth of property, and
may sweep away million more. the
condition OF Williamsport is indeed
pitla BILE. With thrty-three feet more
water III its channel than is its normal
height, the north branch of the Susque-
hanna threatens to engulf the town.
Every foot of ground in the city is
four feet under water, and much OF it is
fifteen feet below the surface of the
stream. Many families are homeless.
Hundreds more expect to be
DRIVEN FROM THEIR HOUSES.
in the second stories of which they have
found refuge, before day, and unless
the Hood ceases, there is no power On
earth that can avert greater disaster
than has already come upon the help
less city. The loss of the property can-
not even be approXimated until the
waters recede and accounts are cast up.
The gaS and electric light plants are
under water, and the city is without
lights. Every one is desperate, terror
stricken and discouraged.
Just after midnight the big log boom
gave away with crash. and went roll
ing and tunbling down the stream. AS
it passed the four bridges below the
city, the logs crashed and banged
against the piers with roar that could
be heard for miles. The bridge at
Montgomery street was left intact, as
was also the Pennsylvania roads span
across the river. The Market street
bridge was carried away, and-three of
the four spans of the Maynard street
structure Succumbed to the rush of
waters.
AS the day grew old, and when the
light was dim, dozens of boats and hum
dreds of wagons were brought into re-
Quisition and merchants
BEGAN TO MOVE
their goods to places Of safely. 1t was
seen that every store in town was in
danger, and Herculean efforts were
made to save all possible. Household
goods were moved to second and some
times TO third stories of residences
where hasty preparations were made
for protracted stay until, at this writ
ing the entire population of Williams
port is in condition of excitement and
unrest at the encroachmento of the water
All over the business portion, the city
is submerged to an average depth of
SIX feet. Not a train has entered or
left the city for twenty-four hours and
every telegraph wire leading out of
Wiliiamsport is down. The telegraph
office is four feet under water ana the
telephone exchange is in almost as bad
condition. The only means of reach
ing the outside world is one telephone
wire. The water at this moment ap-
pears to be at standStill. but there
are grave fears that the end is not vet
in sight.
The flood reached It's maximum att
O'Clock, when it was thirty-five feet
above low water mark on the river reg
lister, and was eight feet deep on the
pavement of the court house in the CEN
ter of the city. For an hour the water
hung at that point. and then to the in
tense relief of the thousands Of anxious
hearts it began slowly to recede. Ate
o'clock it had fallen foot, and was
still going down, slowly, to be sure, but
surely enough to lift terrible load
from multitude of hearts. The river
has made new record-thlrty-f five feet
above low water. A million and half
in property has been destroyed, but SO
far as can be learned no lives have been
lost. To give the losses III detail will
be impossible. 1t cannot be even an.
proximated, and the estimate of a
million and half is very conservative.
HIGHER THAN SINCE 1890