The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1894-05-26
CITIES IN DANGER.
FURIOUS FLOODS IN THE sUs-
oUEHANNA VALLEY.
People OF wiiiiamsport, Pa. Flee for
Their Lives-Much Loss of Property
Csrtain-worst Flood Since the Dis
aster of 1889

Certain-worst Flood Since the DIG
aster of 1850
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. May 21.-News
comes from Williamsport that at
o'clock this morning the big lumber
boom broke and the logs are going
down the river. There were 10000
600 feet of logs in the boom.
WnLIAMsPoRT, Pa, May 21.-With
the horrors of the disastrous food of
1859 which spread death and destruc-
ton through out this valley brought
back to memory by the threatened
danger Off q sweep Of water that
promises 70 be; asVgreat as that Of
five years ago, the people Of this city
and all through the West Branch
valley were in state of panic that
turned the usually quiet Sunday into
q day of remarkable excitement Since
Friday night a steady and almost con-
tinuous down-pour Of rain has been
swelling all Of the streams and numer-
Eops 'cloud-bursts along the Pine creek
and lother tributaries of the West
BBranch of the Susquehanna have made
FALL Of the streams overflow their banks-
The water has spread. out over the
country and at every point is pouring
into the main river.
In anticipation of the flood that Is
expected the fire and church bells were
rung at 10 o'clock yesterday morning
to notify the people of the impending
danger, and since that hour the work
of preparing for the worst hos been in
progress. In the hundreds of homes
that were submerged five years ago the
people were moving out and storing
their goods in the houses of those liv-
ing on the highlands. The business
part of the city was a complete wreck
five years ago, and hundreds of mer-
chants were moving their stock to
places of safety. Conveyances Of
every description were hurrying
through the streets of the city loaded
with household goods and merchan-
disc.
The regular .church services were
all suspended and in all of the houses
of worship those who attended con-
fined their devotion to offering up of
prayers for the assistance of provi-
dence in the present grave emergency.
The river is coming up rapidly and
Is now twenty-one feet above the
low water mark. AS the certainty of
great destruction of property grows
more apparent the general interest in
creases Four miles of track of the
Glen Allen Lumber company have
been swept away.
The boom at Lock Haven has broken
and is. 600, 600 feet of logs have been
lost The Upper Linden boom also
broke at $40 this afternoon. 1t con-
tanned 10000, 900 feet of logs and they
have gone down. They are about
$50, 000,0 feet of logs in the main
boom and half as many more in the
city mill ponds that may go on a
wenty-fve-foot flood.
Pa. m.-With the rain still falling,
the river has overfiowed its bank in
the center part of the city and the
water is rushing up Market street and
out to Third and Fourth streets, in
the business parts OF the city, where
the cellars are now full of water. The
present height of the food is twenty
four feet, and it is estimated that
1t will reach. twentv-seven feet from
the present rainfall. The height of
the river in the food of 1880 turned it
out of its course and emptied it in
from the north of the city and it is
feared that there may be repetition
of that disaster.
BRADFORD, Pa, May 2L-The worst
flood in Bradford's history is ushing
through Tuna valley. Twenty streets
contiguous to the creek are inundated
and hundreds of families are driven
from their homes The Douglass
dam is partly torn away. The
North street bridge is gone and sew
eral railroad and street bridges are in
danger. The railroad people are hold
ing down their bridges with heavily
loaded cars. In the Sixth ward
twenty families were taken out Of
their houses in boats during the night
and on Clarence, River and Hilton
streets, a rescue corps with skiffs
saved as many more Luckily there
were no fatalities. A 13-month-old
baby fell into the east branch in
the afternoon and was being swept
away in the current Thomas Potter
leaped into the creek, and after des-
perate struggle, saved the child.
The food from the east branch
covers the territory over which run
the Erie railway company's tracks, the
Western New York & Pennsylvania
tracks and those of the Bradford,
& Kinua railway. Webster street is