The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1895-01-10
A FALLING RIVER.
Tho Maximum Height OF tho Big
Rlso Rouchod Yesterday.
TAIRTY-SIX FEET AND FOUR INCHES
Was Reached ut : O'clock Yesterday
NIorning-Thc Street Cars liindorod
by tho High Water During tho Day.
Tho Damage Inflicted by fho High
Water IL Not Grcnt-Tho Change In
tho Weather Last Night.

Tho rain was still coming down ut
$50 q. m, but tho river WA rcccding
rapidly, tho s.ago ut that hour being 81
feet 4 inches, n fall Of $ inches in tho
preceding hour.
Yesterday morningtho ISrELLioEScEI
predicted that tho river would hardly
70 above SO foot 4 inches and that tho
maxium height would probably DO
reached not lator than 8 o'clock n. NJ.
At 8 a. m. the marks showed thirty.six
foot oven and tho swell was then con.
tinuing ut abou. tho old rate OF two
inches pcr hour. Tho marks, when in.
spccted at ! n. m, showed 80 foot 3
inches. At that hour the swell was very
slow and in tho next three hours only
camo up ono inch. 1t was shortly attcr
Z o'clock when tho stream became sta.
tionary with SO fcot 4 inches. tho exact
stage predicted by this paper. A morn.
ing paper stated that tho river began to
recedo shortly after four o'clock, with
50 foot in tho channel-very wild and
unreliable guess work.
Tho river remained stationary until
about 0 o'clock whom it began slowly to
recode and at noon tho marks showed
an even thirty-six feet again. In tho
afternoon tho rate OF fall was slightly
increased, but tho decline did not begin
in earnest until later in tho evening.
At midnight tho marks at tho public
landing showed SO feet 1 inches in tho
channel and still falling. A report had
been started that tho river started to
come up again, but this was without
foundation, the amateur observer evi-
IDENTIFY getting out OF his bearings in the
dark.
Tho amount OF damage OF tho flood
just past compared with past efforts OF
the Ohio to climb over its natural
limits shows that i. has been very mild.
The flood OF 1883 did not do much DAM
age in this section, being felt more
down the river. the stage here being 81
feet, or eight inches over the top.notch
OF the 1895 effort In tho table pub
lished in the ISrELLIGENCER on Tuesday
there Is but one food reported that did
not over.top the 1895 one, that Of De-
cember, 1875, which only came up to
the 81 feet . inches mark. 1t can be
seen, therefore, that the experience
with big river, just past. has not been
SO disastrous rs might have been tho
case had some OF the past records been
more nearly approached.
In this vicinity most OF the damage
was confined to the lower portions Of
the South Side. Benwood and at several
spots on the Island The tracks oil the
Wheeling Railway ompany early Tues
day night were covered at number oil
places. and when the maximum height
was recorded yesterday morning tho
water at the corner OF Twenty.seventh
and Main streets was abou= four fee.
deep. while NJ Whiteman's in Upper
Benwood there was about the Same
depth. preventing cars being run down
10 Benwood. The water extended from
Whiteman's up Jacob street extension
TO the old Drover's home. and was on
tho ground floor OF n number OF houses
in that vicinity. In Benwood town the
only place on the line that was covered
with water was q small area on Nc.
Mechen street on the loop. Over on
the Island tho track were covered on
Ohio street and tho cars TO Bridgeport,
in consequence, were no. run through
out the morning and early afternoon.
For the same reason tho Island loop
was not available and there was but one
track Tor tho Martins Ferry cars which
were run regularly yesterday morning.
The actual money loss in this vicinity
is hard to estimate ut this time, but it
does not aggregate very large sum, rs
stocks in low-lyins places were removed
before the water got chance to intlict
damage. This was true OF all merchants
on Water street. Every tobacco factory
on the river front had the stocks OF
tobacco out OF the cellars and placed on
pavements where the immense hogs
heads were covered with tarpaulins for
protection from rain or ugly weather.
Among tho last firms to remove stocks
was House & Hermann, who cleared
out the cellar OF their warehouse on
Main below Fourteenth about o'clock
yesterday morning. Seamon Il Son had
their cellar cleared out Just in time to
escape damage by water. In the Wind
Bor cellar the water was over two feet
deep whom the high water mark was
reached at o'clock in the morning.