Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-05-21
RUSH OF THE FLOOD
Susquehanna River on a Mis-
sion Of Destruction.
wATERY HAVOC IN PENNSYLVANIA.
Williamson. People Looking for
More Destructive Inundatiou
Than That of 1880

The Torrent Looked for at the Dead OF
Night and the Threatened Residents
Move Their Property to the Highlands
Bradford Under Water "A Baby Falls
Into the Stream, but Is Heroically Bees
cued-Woman Drowned While Trying to
Save Her Belongings - Farmers Lose
Heavily.
WILLIAMsroRT, Pa, May 21.-With the
horrors of the disastrous food of 1889,
which spread death and restitution
throughout this valley, brought back to
memory by the threatened danger of
sweep of water that promises to he as
great as that of five years ago, the people
of this city and all through the West
Branch valley are in a state of panic.
Since Friday night steady and almost
continuous downpour of rain has been
swelling all of the streams, and numerous
cloudburst along Pine Greek and other
tributaries of the West Branch Of the
Susquehanna have made it impossible to
cOnfine the water within the banks of the
streams. 1t has, therefore. spread on.
over the county and at every point is pour
ing into the main river.
Inc IlOOu Expected At Night.
All reports indicate that, if anything,
the food will be worse than in 1889. OF
course this condition of things has paral-
yzed railway traffic wherever the condi-
lions obtain, but the center of interest for
the people of this city is the fact that the
elimination Of the flood is expected to reach
here in the dead of the night. The Sus-
Quehanna flows south of the city, and il is
crawling up at the rate of foot an hour.
Graffus run, tributary which e:spties
into the river below the city, has over
flowed its banks and spread over a consid-
cradle portion of the city, flooding many
houses and driving the occupants from
their homes. All of the houses were occu-
pied by poor people and the rise was so
sudden that the sufferers lost much of
their personal property.
Threatened People Moving Their Goods.
In anticipation, however, of what is ex-
pected the fire and church bells of the city
were rung to notify the people of the inn
pending danger and the work of prepar-
ing for the worst is in progress. In the
hundreds of homes that were submerged
five years ago the people are moving out
and storing their goods in the houses of
those living on the highlands. The bust
ness part Of the city was . complete wreck
five years ago and hundreds of merchants
are moving their stocks to places of safety.
The regular church services were all sus-
pended yesterday and in all of the houses
of worship those who attended confined
their devOtions to the Offering up of pray
ers for the assistance of Providence in the
present grave emergency.
Rain Coming Down in Torrents. L.
The rain is still coming down in tor
rents. The river is coming up rapidly and
Is now twenty-one feet above the low water
mark. 1t will overflow its banks and as
the certainty of great destruction of prop
erty grew more apparent the general in
terest increased. The banks of the river
and the bridges were lined with thousands
of people watching the rise of the water
and those who had not moved during the
day hurried their belongings and families
to places of safety.
Millions of Logs Let Loose.
The boom" at Lockhaven has broken
and IL, 00OOC0 feet of logs have been lost.
The Upper Linden boom also broke. IL
contained 100000 feet of logs and they
have gone down. There are about $780,
600. 900 feet of logs in the main boom and
half as many more in the city mill ponds
that may go on a twenty-five foot flood.