The herald., 1898-03-24
BRINGS DIsAsTRoUs FLOODS IN
THE SPRING
MANY RIVERS ON THE RAMPAGE
Some Pennsylvania Towns Are Al
ready Under Water and Others In
Danger Of Inundation
Associated Press Special wire

heney ana MOnonganela rivers Will prop
ably reach stage Of thirty feet of water
tonight. Tremendous rains fell at all
points In the two upper valleys last
night and the water is rushing towards
Pittsburg at a rapid rate. Extensive
districts are already flooded in Allie
cheney.
| The reports from the upper river sta
tions show that from one half to nearly
three inches of rain fell at different
headwater points during the night.
Great damage is reported and fears are
entertained that the flood will be as
great as in 1884. About five o'clock this
morning there was a sudden rise in the
Allegheny River and a clean sweep
was made on the Allegheny side be-
| tween Chestnut street and the railroad
| bridges. All coal floats, coal boats,
shanty boats, RATS and everything
afloat, was swept away, wrecked or
sunk, entailing loss of many thousands
Of dollars. While no lives were lost,
there were many narrow escapes from
drowning.
The heavy rains have caused many
! landslides and washouts on the rail-
AOu0S anu tAC thiOu6h SCt tiCC WEI Va
| this city Is badly delayed. At Carbon.
Pa, a Pittsburgh and Western freight
train went through bridge weakened
by the flood. Engineer Lake was killed
and Fireman Bradley fatally hurt.
The Pan Handle Road is practically
closed to traffic. The bridges between
Steubenville, Columbus and Denniston
are covered with water and 1t is feared
thov will bo cxyopt tbronob
trains are coming in over the Fort
Wayne.
The Wheeling branch Of the Pan
Handle is in bad condition and no trains
are being run on the new Cumberland
branch. At Dubois the water is higher
than 1t has been since the Johnstown
food.
A Leader dispatch, says Sabula dam,
about four miles above Dubois. is ex-
pected to break. If 1t should many
lives will be lost. The railroad tracks
Iare washed away and traffic Is COM
pletely blocked.
On the Fort Wayne road, Lutzdale and
Fair Oaks are under water. Consider
able damage is reported to private prop
erty. Much damage is being caused in
and about Braddock. Many families
have been forced to leave their homes
and several manufactures have suspen-
ded operations. The Westinghouse
works at East Pittsburg, and the Brad
dock Wire Works, are both flooded and
shut down.
Scores of families in the Turtle Creek
Valley are leaving their houses and are
moving their furniture to the hillsides.
In many cases the water has reached
the second story windows.
| At o'clock this afternoon the water
was still rising here, with 26 feet, inches,
on the gauge.
After summing up his up-river reports
today, Local Forecaster Frank Ridg-
way gave out the following bulletin:
"The Monongahela will rise to 80 feet
and the Allegheny to 80 feet, which will
equal the flood Of 1891. The Ohio River
below Wheeling will reach a stage that
will be nearly as high as the flood Of
! 1884. This is conservative forecast"
DAYTON IN DANGER
DAYTON, O., March. 2s.-Dayton is
in worse danger than at any time since
1866, when the central part of the city
was flooded. The Miami River shows
1872 feet at the government gauge and
is rising Last year. when about $780,
900 damage was done, the rivers highest
mark was 1874 feet. North Dayton is
completely under water and about 900
houses are almost covered. There were
several narrow escapes, but no lives are
reported lost. The back water is doing
great damage below the city. Three of
the six trolley lines in the city are
blocked and the steam railroads north
of the city are demoralized. At this
writing the levees protecting Miami
City and Riverside, populous sections,
are in danger and every effort is being
made to strengthen the levees. The
water is in the cellars in the central
portion of the city and large and valu-
able stocks Of merchandise will un-
doubtedly suffer 80 that the loss in that
direction alone will be tremendous.
INDIANA FLOODS
RICHMOND, Ind, March 23.-Heavy
floods are doing incalculable damage.
The large bridge over Whitewater River
has been destroyed by fire and water.
The city electric light plant is drowned
out. The Starr Piano factory and the
Nixon Paper Mill have suffered heavy
loss. Many people have been driven from
their homes. The streets are badly
damaged.
A BLIZZARD RAGING
ST. LOUIS, March 23.-A regular Da-
kota blizzard prevails in st. Louis and
vicinity, extending down into Arkansas
and in part Of Illinois. Last night the
temperature began to decline and today
at o'clock fall of 4S degrees from the
highest point was registered at the local
Weather Bureau. Shortly after 2 am.
the rain, which had prevailed all day
yesterday and last night, was turned into
snow, and the ground is covered with a
wet and heavy mantle. Such weather
Is unprecedented for this season of the
year.
The heavy rains Of the past few days
have caused all rivers in Missouri to rise
rapidly. The Usage and Gasconade es-
pecially are pouring foods of water into
the Missouri which, in turn, flows into
the Mississippi The gauge here marked
24.6 feet at 8 am, and the river is still
rising. This mark is 49, feet higher than
was registered yesterday. 1t is expect
ed by the Weather Bureau that by to-
morrow morning all the lowlands along
the Mississippi. as far up as. the mouth
Of the Illinois River, will be under wa
ter. Damage from the rising rivers in
this State is feared. At ST. Charles the
Missouri has risen at an alarming rate,
threatening to overflow a large area Of
| the best farming lands in the State. The