The morning call., 1894-05-21
WORST IN BRADFORD'S HISTORY
Great Destruction Reported Through
out Tuna Valley.

BUFFALO, n. Y, May 20.-A special TO
the Express from Bradford, Pa, says:
The worst food in Bradford's history is
rushing through Tuna Valley to day.
Twenty streets contiguous tG the creek are
inundated and hundreds of families are
'in the SWIM"
The east and west branches Of the Tuna
are both transformed into good-Sized riV-
ers.
Below Foreman street, at the confluence
of the town streams, the food Is quarter
of a mile wide, and is high enough to ruin
all the carpets in the houses on Hilton and
other streets in the lower part OF the Sixth
Ward. The Douglas Dam is partly torn
away. Weaver's Ice-houso is in ruins
The North-street bridge is gone, and sew
eral railroad ana street bridges are in
danger. The railroad people are holding
down their bridges with heavily loaded
cars. In the Sixth Ward twenty fami lies
we're taken out of their houses iu boats
during the night, and on Clarence River
and Hilton streets rescue corps of skiffs
rescued many more. Luckily there were
no fatalities. An 1S-month-eld baby fell
into the west branch this evening, and was
being swept away in the current. Thomas
Potter leaped into the creek, and after a
desperate struggle. saved the child.
The flood from the east branch covered
the territory over which run the Erie
railroad tracks, the Western New York
and Pennsylvania tracks, and those Of the
Bradford, Bordwell and Kinua Railway
Webster street is navigable in boats.
Across Corydon to Newell avenue, to Main
and then down Davis street, there is a
rushing body of deep water, and skiffs ply
from the Riddle House up and down the
streets.
At the Henderson House, on the GROUND
floor, there are six inches Of water. Twenty
business houses on Main street. between
Webster street and the Erie Railway, are
in still worse condition. Sixty feet of
the b. X. and r. track, just below the ciiy's
eastern line, has been washed out, and the
trains of that road come in over the Erie
track from Limestone.
| The fire bell was sounded this morning
al O'Clock, and the fremen were called
/ out to help people from their houses Thev
| dld excellent work. A carload of lime in
storehonse, near the track about Elm
| street, became wateT-Soaked and fired the
| building while undergoing the siackening
| process, and, in the food to their waists
the fremen had other work TO do.
The rain yesterday and last night and
to-day fell as If from a cloudburst, but
this evening it has abated somewhat and
1t is believed the worst Is over.
The steady rain for the last three days
sent the Buffal" River booming over It's
banks and down through South Buffalo.
Dozen of streets are flooded and hundreds
of cellars are full of water. The police
have a feet Of rowboats and have been
busy all day rescuing people from the sec
ond stories and roofs of their homes.
A special to the Buffalo Express from
Olean, n. Y, says: From present indica-
tons Olean is going to have duplicate of
the great flood of five years ago. The
water in the Olean Creek is as high al
ready as it was then and the river is within
four feet of high-water mark and rising
at the rate of seven inches an hour. Peo-
pie along Lo Ner Barrie street began to
move out at noon. But few inches will
be required to shut off the pump stations
in all the buildings in that locality.
East Olean looks like a vast lake.
No teams have been able to pass along the
BOardmanville road from East Olean at 5
O'Clock. The last passed on the Portville
road. The tracks of the Boliver route are
under water for FIVE miles. The Allegheny
River also runs along there, and millions
Of feet of logs are held In booms at the
different mills. The electric street, rail-
way company have abandoned tn cir cars.
The Erie has abandoned all their trains on
western divisions as well as all trains on
the Western New York and Pennsylvania.
At Portville the streets are submerged
and people are being driven from their
houses. Merchants have been forced to
| take their goods off the floors aud pile