Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-03-24

rapidly Lecoming wet, and that in
sundry and divers places south of the
creek there was imminent danger. The
Injunction to prepare for
POSSIBLE DANGER
quickly went abroad and by nine
O'Clock things were on the move.
Perhaps the largest threatened prom
erty interest was on South street, in
the wholesale district, and there the
merchants. who had hundreds of
thousands of dollars worth of stuff in
cellars and on first floors, realized that
it could only be saved by prompt ac-
ton. Arrangements were at once
made with the local officials of the
Baltimore and Ohio Company for
freight service, and soon a long train
of empty box cars was run onto the
South stree track, and the work of
removing goods from the first floors
OF business houses began Not only
the full fcrces of regular employees
were engaged in this work, but many
extra men were hired, and car otter
car was filled with -four, groceries,
dry goods, shoes, and all sorts of per-
ishable freight and run up to the old
Hempfield yards, where the cars were
side-tracked. AS fast as one train was
filled and moved out, another took its
place and was loaded in turn. and this
work went on until night fell. A
stage of forty-two feet puts the water
on the first floors of Waterhouse Bros
and Hubbard & PAUL. and a little more
in the stores further north, until at
Hicks & Hoge's, the floor is about
forty-three feet above the low water
level. In this entire district the bust
ness men were on the alert all day
but were badly handicapped in num-
Der of instances by the failure of ele-
vators to work early in the day. This
amounts of goods by main strength,
and the process was
NECESSARILY SLOW.
Cases in point were at Hicks & Hoge's,
where the water invaded the cellar at
s a. M, and soon put out the fire I'M
der the boilers, and at Pollack's the
elevators also refused to work from
another cause. The Hicks & Hoge
force went to work early in the after
noon, and the immense stock of goods
on the first floor was rapidly trans
ferred up stairs by hand. At the Pol
lack cigar factory about $35, 900 worth
of manufactured goods were piled up
on the first floor The force was dis
missed early in the day, with instruc-
tons to report at three o'clock, and at
that time one hundred men began
moving the immense accumulation of
stogies to a higher level, and by mid
night the work was finished. By
nine o'clock last night business men
had accomplished about all that could
be done, and were in condition to
await developments. One net result
was a good cleaning out of cellars and
forgotten hooks and corners, and IN
many instances big loads of rubbish
and refuse were carted off and thrown
into the raging river, while on the side
walks in front of many stores were
large piles of empty boxes and barrels.
Goods were also piled out on the side
walks and streets out of the reach of
the water. in some cases. as on Four
tenth street. east of Market, above the
level of the "a flood. OF course,
THE INEVITABLE MISHAPS,
with resulting losses, occurred. In
ono instance the head of barrel of
formulated sugar let go, and the sur
Tornding soil was effectively and no.
ticeablv sweetened; in another bar
rel of molasses went to smash. with
disastrous results, and in stilltanother
a number of kegs of nails exploded,
IN the great damage of the contents.
These were but incidents OF the day,
however.
In the residence districts it was
lively day, particularly on the Island.
Conditions have changed over there
since "a and 81 There has been
l.roe accession of new people, 10 Wnom
,ods are rather a new thing, and they
became nanic-stricken long before the
,Ia and seasoned victims had thought
,,,,,.h ahont the river. The morning
yTas vat vouug when some or these new
comars hogan to hustle around Tor
activa male help and express wagons
ana nv ten o'clock things were gen
erally on the move. In many cases
where residents lived in smau one
story houses, on low land there Was
abundant necessity for the enterprise
shown. for by ten O'Clock many houses
had water on the first floors, ana ihahs
others we're inaccessible. As me aay
grew older matters rapidly oecane
worse. and at noon the alarm was very
general and every one was at Wolh'
Gum boots and piano movers were