Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1896-07-26
WRECK AND RUIN.

- ""cc4A"S WAN NiNes valuable ana ln-
tercsting Information of the Devastation
Along the B. 4 o.
Last night at eleven o'clock B. & O..
Conductor Charlie Adams and wife and
NJ. VIII A. Emsheimer succeeded in
reaching the city from out along the
main line Of the B. & o., coming in by
way of COnnellSville and Pittsburg.
They gave graphic descriptions OF the
devastation wrought by the floods, and
said that the long telegraphic accounts
published utterly failed 10 give even an
idea OF the horrors of the true situation
Mr.. Emsheimer said TO a Register re-
porter
4 left Keyser at 9:95 o'clock Friday
morning, and have had a terrible time
getting in. l think I am the first man
20 reach the city from the flooded dis
trict. No one can imagine the ruin
and devastation along the Baltimore and
Ohio, and it musl be as bad or worse
down in the interior Of the State. While
our train was going up the seventeen
mile grade we found the track covered
with water even on the mountain side,
and n Svanton, two miles from the
summit of the grade. the roadbed was
q river At Mountain Lake Park it was
the same, and also at Oakland and Terra
Alta. Coming down the Terra Alta
grade We had TO take the east-bOund
track. as the weSt-bOund was in bad
shape, from the washing OF the water.
Alter we left Newburg the water got
worse. and we were between three and
four hours getting TO Grafton. At IRON
dale, eight miles from Grafton, we ran
into water, and thence for seven miles
che track was always covered. Captains
COrcoran followed us with a crew Of
track men, and at ROwlesburg he had
20 station men on the pilot of the en-
gine with poles to push the drift out
Of the way. and other men had to be
placed on the steps OF the cars to keep
brush from under the wheels. As he
proceeded after US things got worse. and
there were times when they had TO send
men out 70 wade ahead Of the engine
and feel with sticks IL the track was
still there, while on repeated occasions
men b3d to Gus away roofs of houses
and LOGS from the track with axes. We
got to Grafton at five o'clock Friday
afternoon and remained there all night.
At half-past nine this morning l left
on work train for Fairmont, with Gen
eral Engineer Manning and a large
working force and came on to FairmOnt,
and from that point l succeeded in ga
ting through to COnnellsville, Pa, and
then home by way OF Pittsburg.
II have been travelling FOR fifteen
years. and in all that time l never saw
anything like the present situation. The
entire country along the B. & o. ap-
pears to be ruined, and many people
have lost everything they possessed. As
we came along on our way to Grafton
we could see entire families standing
along the track or on the hillsides, in
he rain. their houses, crops and every
thing else having been carried off or de-
stroyed. These people now have to face
the coming winter in a helpless and des-
tiute condition. for their only depend
ence was often on what they could cult
vate during the summer. The amOunS
7 of rainfall must have been tremendous
+ for every ravine in the mountains was
full from one hillside TO the other, while
the runs were creeks and the creeks
/ rivers. while the larger streams looked
like lakes wherever there was enough
! level ground for the water to spread out
Everything was torn TO pieces by IN,
force OF the current, and it is very un
certain when the railroad will be run
ming again. Wednesdays flood was baC
enough. but that OF Friday was worse
and was doubly destructive, coming OF
TOP Of the first one.
Below will be found the latest infor
nation by wire from points IN West Vir
gina and Ohio within the food area: