The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-05-22
WHEN NIGHT FELL.
Horrors of the Situation Are Be-
yond Description.

yond Description.
Williamsport, Pa, May N.-As night
approached, and darkness settled down,
the terrors of the. flood increased. The
yellow torrent, rushing down from the
hillsides, fed by a thousand mountain
streams and growing with each passing
minute, assumed new terrors and the
stricken people looked forward with
dread to the ordeal through which
they must pass before morning.
Cut off from the rest Of the world,
no railroads running, and with no
:@enue of telegraph or telephone COM
munications save the quivering wire
over which this message is speeding,
surrounded on every hand by the
slowly-rising destroyer which has al
ready swept a million dollars worth
of property, and may sweep away a
million more, the condition of Will
Transport is indeed pitiable. With
thirty-three feet more water in its
channel than is its normal height, the
north branch of the Susquehanna
threatens to engulf the town. Every
foot Of ground in the city is under four
feet Of water, and most of it is fifteen
feet beneath the surface Of the stream.
Many families are homeless.
Hundreds more expect to be driven
from their houses, in the second stories
day. and unless the flood ceases there
is no power on earth can avert a
greater disaster than has already come
upon the helpless city.
The loss of property cannot 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.
1 Every one is desperate, terror-stricken
4 and discouraged.
Just after midnight, the big log boom
gave way with a crash and went roll
ing and tumbling down the stream. As
it passed the four bridges below the
city the logs crashed and banged
against the piers with a roar that
could be heard miles. The Market
street bridge was carried away and
three Of the four spans of the mag
nifcent structure succumbed.
AS the day grew old, and when the
light was dim, dozens of boats and
hundreds Of wagons were brought in
to requisition and merchants began to
move their goods 70 places of safety.
It was seen that every store was in
danger and efforts were anade TO save
all possible. Household goods were
moved to the second and sometimes
10 the third stories Of residences, and
hasty preparations were made for a
Pprolonged stay, and at this writing the
z entire population Of Williamsport is in
a condition of excitement and anxiety
over the encroa chments of the water.
All the business portion of 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 wire is down.
The telegraph office is four feet under
water and the telephone exchange is
almost as bad. The only means of
reaching the outside world is one tele-
phone wire. The water now seems to
be at a standstill, but there gre grave
fears the end is not yet in sight.
The flood reached its maximum at
O'Clock, when it was thirty-five feet
above low water mark, river register
and was eight feet deep on the pave
ment Of the courthouse in the center OF
the CITY.
For over an hour the water hung al
that point and today, to the intense re-
lief Of thousands Of anxious hearts, il
began slowly to recede. At 9 o'clock il
had fallen a foot and was still going
down, slowly to be sure, but surely
enough to lift a terrible load from q
multitude of hearts. All now feel that
the worst has come. The river has
made a new record-35 feet above low
water. A million and a, half of prop
erty has been destroyed, but as far as
can be learned, no lives have been lost
To give the loss in detail would be
impossible. It cannot be even approx.
imated, and the estimate of a millior
and a half is very conservative.