The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1894-06-01


church, there is curve in the river
close to which is deep waterfall. The
St. Anne, filled to overaowing by the
melting snow from the mountains,
plunging flom its channel carrying the
eartn, that formed the right hand side
of the fall, with it, and with a deafen-
ing roar rushed onward in Its mad ca
reer of destruction and death.
The farmers ran from their dwellings
fearing that they would be tumbled
upon them. Several houses situated
along the banks of the river were torn
from their foundation and swept away
by the food; IN which one family in
four perished.
In one of the houses lived Pierre
Rousseau, his wife, and their two child
ren-little Helena, aged eight, and her
baby brother. The children were a.
bed and asleep, and Mr.. and Mrs. Rous-
saau had gone about a quarter of mile
down the river to make short call up
on a neighbor
| As the water ploughed through the
breach that it had made at the fall, the
deafening report awoke little Helena,
who ran 10 the chamber window to see
what was making such dradful noise.
She had hardly reached the window
when a mountain of foamins wa'er
struck the house, lifted it from its
foundation and whirled it around and
around.
Helena cried out for papa and man.
ma but they did not come. Then she
thought of her little brother and felt
her way along the wet and slippery
floor until S he reached his crib, and
there he Was, still sleeping sweetly, in
spite of the noise and rocking motion
Of the house.
| For several minutes the house was
borne on by the flood, then brought to
a stop with suddenness that caused
the furniture to be piled in heap in
one corner of the room. Helena, terri
bly, frightened but unhurt, pulled baby
from the confused pile and held him
close, standing ankle deep in the cold,
seething water.
| Baby, fully awake now,-wet and
cold, hegan to cry Justify, but brave
little Helena climbed with him to tho
very top of the pile of furniture and
placed him safely within the wrungso of
chair that was turned bottom up and
held firmly in place by the other ar'i-
cles of furniture. Then she managed
to tear from its hook on rafter an old
gown of her mothers, which she wrap
ped about baby, and then, completely
worn out and chilled through and
through she sank, unconscious, with
| her head resting upon the chair in
which she had placed her little brother
so securely.
| Several hours later, when the first
faint light appeared in the east, two
strong men could be seen, in boat,
laboriouly picking their way in and
out among the drifting wreckage of
buildings and bridges, and trees that
had been torn up by their roots. The
men were Mr.. Rousseau and his near
est neighbol, who had discovered the
formers dwelling wedged between the
two abutments of demolished bridge.
| After half an hours hard work they
reached the building, and with fear and
trembling Mr.. Rousseau climbed in at
the chamber window. Could he believe
| his eyes? Was he to awake and find it
all dream: For there, safely confn-
cd within the rungs of an overturn-
ed chair was his precious baby boy,
playing with the golden curls of his
noble little Helena. She poor child,
still lay, unconscious, where she had
fallen
'Thank God! Jacques, they're safe!
they're safe!" cried Rousseau, as he
c'asped his two children in his arms;
while baby lisped: "Wate-up, Lena,
papas tum.'
Helena, arouse to semi Inconsistencies,
was saying:
go, papa, it-rained SO hard, and
- ou-and-mama didn't come.
And-baby- brother-was-a all-wet- -
and-co'd, and he-cried so hard.
And-O, papa, Tm-s-o tired >
''Mama," she cried in her delirium, 80,
mama. take me! take me! 1m-s-o
tired"
The little ones were tenderly placed
in the boat, and then the two men
worked their way slowly but steadily
back to the shore, where the poor, anx-
r ious mother and Il great company of
e neighbors and friends awaited them.
e 'They are safe! safe.' shouted Rous-
0 seau.
/ ''Safe! .ft. the cry was taken up
e and repeated by the anxious throng
e along the shore safe! safe! praise God
+ for that"'
The mother SAID not a word Nc
+ sound escaped her lips, but the mothers
e who stood around her knew that hel
i soul was so full of Thanksgiving to Goo
|. that words were meaningless.
e, The boat nears the shore. See. hun
o dreds OF willing hands reach out to-
Il. ,ua rlS II II q ama, naarar Mo., aro