The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1897-08-01
RIVER TWO MILES WIDE.
A CloudhurstSln Connected Causes
Very Heavy Damage.

N y. T. b. 8
Ansonia. Conn, July 81. Not in a de-
cades has the Naugatuck river been two
miles wide, yet that is what It was tb;s
morning at Thomaston at 10 o,clocL
From Its source In Winsted TO It's iunc.
ton with the Housatonic river. a ,nfIa
below this city, this usually quiet stream
was raging torrent. The rain of last
night coming upon the ground already
soaked by the severe storms of the last
two weeks had to run off and the Nauga
tuck tried TO accommodate it ali. IL
was an simpossiblity, and wherever the
river runs through level land, ..as 1T does
In Thomaston, 1t spread out beyond any
bounds known heretofore.
AT Watsrvine, just above Water bury.
the river took the whole valley for its bed
and the highway between Thomaston and
Waterville was seven feet under water.
The Nagatauck division of the consoli.
dated road had several washouts between
Waterbury and. Winsted. In some
places six feet of water flowed over the
tracks and the trains were stalled. At
Torrington the damage was very heavy.
Several highway bridges between THAT
town and Litchtield were carried away.
An old.fashioncd circus travelling by
wagon was nearly swamped out, the
grounds being flooded before the evening
performance was over. Help had to be
sent to pull the tents down and carry
them to higher grounds. a dam holding
back large body of water was forced
out during the early morning, and
helped to swell the flood.
At Litchfield there seemed to he a
cloudburst, and the flood reached proper
tions never known there before. Thou
sands of dollars have been lost in ruined
crops. bridges carried away, and high
yyn had 0r1f 4
on the railroad of that name, q little
stream hardly worthy Of the title of a
brook became river in an hour
The principal highway-o of the town is
gone entirely and teams cannot travel
over it. In some places holes have been
gouged out large enough to swallow a
house. At Morris the railroad tracks
were washed away.
Waterbury was n severe sufferer. All
over the city the unpaved streets were
quilted and many of them will be impass-
able for weeks. The storm of week ago
did damage of $780, a great part of
this damage had heen repaired when last
nights rain undid all the work.
| West Winsted, Conn, July 31.-A
cloudburst broke over this region last
midnight and lasted until daybreaR this
morning, entailing damage of at least
SUI, O00. Nothing like 1t has occurred in
this county since June, 1862.
| The rainfall amounted to $50 inches.
making the total rainfall for July to date
1898 incEes. The storm was accompa-
MED by lightning and heavy thunder.
1t was discovered this morning that
the Otis reservoir, which covers 1900
acres of land, .aud is undoubtedly the
largest reservoir hereabouts, had sprung
six-inch leak near the base. John
Root, who tends the gates ut night, made
the discovery and at .once sent out an
alarm. Several families left town. A
few of the more daring villagers wheeled
an old cannon to the foot OF the reser-
voir,and after considerable difficulty sue
ceeded in plugging wv the hole with the
cannon. The two thirty-foot gates at
the reservoir are open, and the Farming
ton river, through which the surplus
| waters of the reservoir flow, is high.
The reservoir was built several wears
ago by men in New Hartford and Collins
vile and Ia owned by the Pennington
River Water Power Company. 1t fur.
nishes water power to tho large Green
woods cotton mills in New Hartford and
also to the Collins axe works in Coins
Vile. The Pennington river at New
Hartford is eight feet above it's normal
height The first train to arrive frum
bridgeport this morning did not reach
here until 3 O'Clock this afternoon.
CN(,J nNrE