Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-07-19
A MODERN DELUGE.
The Moist Article Comes in
Abundance Last Night.
STREETS FLOODED AND IMPAssABLE

The Precipitation Heaviest In = Long
Time. Interfering with Street Car and
Railroad Tr.mc-Pedestri.ns Soaked
and Real Estate Takes q Sudden Move.
body has faint recollection
Of a downpour last night. while
many are qualified from experience
to illustrate its depth and damage.
The downfall, according to the
Davenport signal service. was the
heaviest covering period of over a
year. and general, extending to the
northeast and northwest portions,
although not so heavy as in this i'm
mediate section. The precipitation
was 2.O4, or about double in meas
urement to that of last Sunday. when
it was 1.O3-an exceptionally heavy
rain. The torrents commenced az
tive operations about $50 and con-
tinued necessarily throughout the
most part of the night, flooding the
thoroughfares. blocking railroad and
street ear traffic and causing several
washouts along the lines. Real es-
tate, too. took a sudden squirt. and
probably more transferring was done
in a few hours than the land agents
would accomplish in a considerably
longer time. Clay from suburban
property coasted down onto the
principal streets, and this morning
it is stationed a foot in some places
along the street car tracks.
An Early Overture.
The elements discoursed an early
Overture-the advance section of the
deluge proper coming about O'Clock
and sounding the approach of the
big visitor with atmospheric pranks
and sprinkling of moisture-and if
pedestrians would have taken IA warn
ing by the forelock many who re-
manned in bed this morning while
their summer clothes dried out be-
hind the cook stove, would have
been in better shape in more ways
than one. The water-laacn clouds
stole over US about 9 o'clock and
threw themselves wide open. the
drops cracking against the sidewalk
and pavement like a whip across a
small boys bosom. The heavens
were dark and ominous, save when
severe flash of lightning would
temporarily brighten them, and the
rain apparently came to stay. 1t
subsidized. however, once or twice.
but just long enough to allow one to
get captured in the middle of the
block. An hour of the dOwnpour,
and many of the thoroughfares were
flooded with water, making them
impossible if one was particular
about keeping dry below the belt.
Pedestrians were crouched in door
ways and the prospect for reaching
the household shelter was poor.
Street Cars Blocked.
The water rushing down from the
back hills swelled the street ponds,
and several times the street cars
were blocked on account of the depth
of the rain. When all hopes of the
storms subsiding had banished,
people residing in the vicinity of the
street car lines gathered to them on
the homeward march. To alight
from the cars without going into a
pond was almost impossible, as al
most every street was transformed
into stream. especially in the upper
districts, where the water from the
hills joined the city swells. Wad-
ing knee deep was nothing, as a
whole lot can testify from expert
fence. Along Third avenue from
Seventeenth street to Twentieth the
catch basins were unable to carry off
the swollen streams and the water
backed up and made it impossible to
cross the streets.