The advocate., 1897-08-25
Great Floods in the United States.

Great Floods IN the UnlGeu oIaGos'
In 1881 floods in the Mississippi val
lev. the river at st. Louis reaching its
highest point on June IL, did immense
damage, especially in Iowa, Illinois,
Missouri and Arkansas. The valleys
of the Missouri and Ohio also sunereo
at the same time, the losses being par
ticularly heavy in Kansas and Ken
lucky. Another destructive freshet oc-
Cured in the Ohio and Mississippi
basins a year later, eliminating on
February %. This time the loss OF
property and life in Mississippi was
greater than had ever been known be-
fore in that quarter, and the Governor
of that State appealed to the country
for aid for the sufferers.
The Ohio river valley, in February
1883, was visited by the most destruc-
tive flood known since that region was
first settled. On the 18th the Ohio at
Cincinnati reached it's highest point,
or 66 feet and 4 inches covering all the
houses fronting on the bank OF the
river. and extending into the densely-
built part of the city for distance OF
several squares. The direct loss OF
property in Cincinnati was put az
S2,OOO,OO0 and in other parts OK ONO
and Indiana and Kentucky it was estl-
mated that S5,000,000 was destroyed,
while about 10000 persons were rem
dered temporarily homeless and de-
pendent.
A year afterward, or in February,
1884. the Ohio reached greater height
than il did in 1888. 1t drowned forty
persons in Cincinnati and vicinity, and
made $4,000 people in that locality
homeless. The damage in the entire
Ohio valley was estimated to have been
greater than it was in 1883. AS in the
previous year, the gas works at Gin
cinnati were submerged, and the city
for the time was plunged in darkness
The Ohio at Cincinnati on February IA
1884. touched the 71-fOOt mark, which
was the highest point ever reached by
that river at that place before or since
New England, Pennsylvania, New
York and Ohio suffered great damage
by foods in January, 1886. That wa'
the year in which Montreal had iti
memorable inundatiOn, in which 1OC
persons were drowned and $2,5OO,OO
of property was destroyed. The Mon
treal calamity occurred, however, thre'
months later than the floods in thu
United States just mentioned, or ol
April 1918. The most DESTRUCTIVE
freshets of 1886, though, took place II
Texas on August 20, in which man,
houses in Galveston were blown dow
by the hurricane which accompanies
the flood. The losses in that city an,
neighbOrhood by wind and water wer
thirty-eight lives and $5,OOO,OOO O
property.
The spring rise of the Mississippi i
1888 carried the river in some place
to height not touched before in man
years. In Illinois the destruction wa
great, especially at Quincy and Hanni
bal. The highest point Of that year
freshet was reached on May IL. Mex
leo had heavy rains and a destructiv
flood month later than this, in whic
the loss Of life was put at 1,5OO by som
accounts, and the loss OF property 9
$4,000, 900.
In March and April, 1890, the Mil
sissippi and several of its tributarit
overflOwed great stretches of cOuntr
along their banks Thousands {
square miles Of territory were sui
merged, many towns were isolated, an
communication with scores OF sma