Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1894-06-01
PENNSYLVANIA A-FLOOD.
LIVES SACRIFICED IN RUSH
ING WATERS.
Railroads Greatly Crippled-Indus-
trial Institutions Forced to Shut
Down - Bridges Washed Away
Dams Broken l. Houses Swept

Dams Broken - Houses swept
From Their Foundations.
Though there has been great destruction
OF property by the Pennsylvania floods,
there has been but little loss OF life, and, ac-
cording to the latest dispatches, the waters
generally were receding, 80 that the worst
was considered to be over.
For five days and nights western and CEN
trail Pennsylvania were storm swept. Cloud
bursts occurred at different points, lives have
have been lost, booms have been torn to
pieces, and immense quantities of valuable
timber scattered
Many county and railroad bridges have
been carried away. Miles of railroad track
have been either obliterated by extensive
landslides or washed away by the floods.
In the five. days the rainfall In Plttsburg was
2.28 inches. In the Allegheny Valley, at
Warren, it was G. 81 inches. At OIL City, sol
at Johnstown, 81; In the Monongahela
Valley, at Confluence, 1t was 2.81 at Fair
mont, 1.56 at Lock 4, on the Monongahela,
it was $50: at ROwlesburg, on the Cheat
River, 1t was 5. As.
In some sections the memorable floods of
1899 and 1891 were surpassed by several feet.
This was the case in the Juntata Valley Of
southern and southwestern Pennsylvania and
along the west fork of the Susquehanna
River in the northern central portion OF the
State.
The Pittsburg and Western tracks in Allie
ghpny were covered. Traffic between Pitts
burg and Altoona was suspended, tho Penn
sylvania trains going around by the Balti-
timore and Ohio.
At Bradford the loss was about 800, 900.
During the flood lime in the Stacking pro-
cess caused fire, which burned the Oil
Well Supply Company's warehouse. Fire
men who were engaged in rescuinS Hood
sufferers had to turn their attention to fight
ing the fire. This they did standing waist
deep in water.
At Warren the flood was the greatest since
1873. Business was practically suspended.
Row boats took the place of street cars In
the lower part of the city. On the island
the water reached into the second stories of
the houses. In the west end four feet OF
water covered about eight squares.
At BroOkville the Allegheny Valley Rail-
road bridge was washed away, and passen-
gers were transferred In buses by a round
| about way. The Buffalo, Rochester and
Pittsburg tracks were washed out between
Du Bois and Punxsutawney. and traffic was
suspended.
The Philadelphia and Eric Road cost of
Driftwood was flooded. A bridge on the
| Clearfleld and Mahoning, near Curwensville,
| was swept away, and traffic on that line was
| suspended. The lower portion Of Freeport
was under water, and the loss ran into the
| thousands. The same situation prevailed at
| Newport.
| In Allegheny William Weightman. aged
! nineteen, while trying to capture drtftwood
| from the Allegheny lost his balance and fell
| in, and was swept away and drowned. Hi
ram A. Gillen, q teamster, was drowned
| while attempting to ford an overfowed place
on horseback in Sharpsburg.
The great boom at Williamsport broke
and $4,000, 900 feet of logs were swept
| away. The Susquehanna River rose to
| thirty-three feet more than four feet higher
than at the flood in 1889. Four spans of
the Market street bridge were washed
away, and three of the four spans of
| the MAYNARD street bridge have gone. Beth
were iron structures, aud the loss was heavy.
| The entire city was under water from four 90
| twenty feet. Many sawmills and houses In
the lower part Of the city we're swept away.
The loss reached more than million dol
lars.
At Johnstown the Conemaugh was over its
| banks. The alarm was sounded by the fire
whistles and bells of the city, and almost
all of the people who live In the neigh
borhood of the Conemaugh left their
houses and took shelter on higher ground.
The water continued to rise rapidly, and by
o'clock had reached the highest point since
the big food of May 81, 1889. In many
places it was from six to eight feet over the
| banks The loss Is variously estimated at
from $75, 900 to $780, 900. The Pennsylvania
Railroad Company, whose tracks follow the
| river for twenty-five miles above Johnstown,
Is perhaps the heaviest loser, and Its loss is
placed at $50, 900. On the north bank of
the river, at the Pennsylvania freight
| depot, Is a side track built upon an
ash and cnder bank fifty feet above
the bed of the stream. This embankment
was washed out and at o'clock about 200
feet of the track fell into the water, carrying
with 1t four common box cars loaded with
merchandise and palace horse car. In one
of the box cars were five tramps. Three sue
ceeded in escaping, but two were drowned.
The greatest damage to houses was within a
stones throw of the Pennsylvania station. A
store, owned by Tony George, at the north end
of the Lincoln bridge, was completely swept
away, with all its contents. frame build
ing In the rear of the Grand Central Hotel,
owned by Emanuel James, was also swept
away, as was the STARTER residence on the
opposite bank Of the river. The body of a
food victim foated past the city at
noon, but could not be recovered.
Tho Lincoln bridge was badly damaged by
the floating logs and cars. The bridge
at Cambria was also wrecked. Many dwell
ings in the Second and Thirteenth Wards
and in the Woodvale district were swept
wildwood Springs broke during the
storm. Hundreds of feet of the stone-re-
tanning wall along the Conemaugh has been
swept away, entailing thousands of dollars
loss upon the city. At WoodvGle, mile be-
low, almost every house on the main thor
oughfare, Maple avenue, was inundated.
| Three bridges have been carried away on
the Pine Grove division Of the Reading Rail-
road at Suedberg, Stony Greek and Dauphin
and traffic was completely checked. Inc re
ports from the coal regions, especially In tht
Vicinity of Shenandoah, say that many of the
| colleries have been flooded and 1t may take
week to pump them out.
Above the dam at the Philadelphia water
works the Schuylkill River had room tt
spread over the grass lands and driveways
of Paramount Park, and the damage there
was confined principally to washouts on tine
| drives Below the dam the waters over
flowed the wharves and backed up into tne
streets and houses two squares from the
banks Above South street bridge neet o
schoone1s was moored at the wharves, and
one of them was torn from its moorinSs and
swept down upon another schooner ana
within a few minutes six schooners and a
canal boat were whirling down the river IL
a tangled mass toward the bridge.
All the industrial establishments in the
southern section of Harrisburg, including
the iron and steel plants, shut down. IN
damage along the Lewisburg and Tyron
Tafir0ar, that runs to BeIIefonte, is YER
great. Several bridges have been oarriet
away. There are extensi iye washouts, and
will he weeks before traffic can be resumed
Hundreds Of families were left homeless an
destitute.
Two children one girl OF one year. thu
other boy of seven years or age, belongin!
TO John Krusekoski, at Nanticoke, wer'
drowned Mt WiIkesbarre. They fell into (
creek that was swollen by the recent rains
They both went down and out OF sight be
fore assistance could be rendered. Ihef
ho1ias were carried down the stream nbou
coo feet and were found an hour later.
Every colliery of the Reading Compan:
pxeap. Bast ami Preston No. 8, near Ashland
an Beechwood, near Pottsville, were idle
The collieries OF the Lehigh Valley Goa
Company end all of the individual operator
ryare also Allied with water. The extent o
/ the damage to collieries and railways canno
be correctly estimated, but 1t will certaini!
go over s100. 900.
, The Schuylkill River was never so high
| John Brown, aged seventeen, was drownec
I while irving to cross n creek at Forastville
Edward Evans. an old man, was reoorteC
| drowned near HeckscherviIle. A big 9ypsI
/. | camp near fremont WAS washed out m