Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-03-28
THE FLOOD.
Cincinnati Had a Stage of About
Sixty Feet Last Night .-One Thou
sand Houses Inundated-..The Con-
dition of the Railroads.

Cincinnati, Ohio, March 27.-Unless
rain should come copiously and quick
ly, the present freshet of the Ohio river
will very soon pour the great flood into
the Mississippi river. From Ports
mouth up it is falling tonight. At
Portsmouth, it is rising slowly. At all
points below, to Cairo it is rising
Here at Cincinnati the current is I'M
usually swift, which indicates that the
excess of water from tributaries below
has diminished greatly and gives free
course to the piled up waters above.
Reports from various parts of the Ohio
Valley agree in announcing warm tenn
perature, cloudy skies and high winds,
with only one instance of drilling
rain. At Cincinnati the mercury reg
listers So. In the low lands of Cincin-
natl nearly 1000 houses are flooded
with from one to three feet of water.
Some have been abandoned, which is
the case with one-story cottages. In
two-story houses, families remain in
the upper stories. Of flooded houses,
500 are in and about Cumminsville,
from backwater in Mill creek, where
tll6 lIlu1udtiOh ID iIioi amy lie SAAeAAA
serious. In and about Columbia, the
extreme up river limit of the city, 400
houses are soaked with from one to
four feet of water. At Riverside, the
extreme down stream limit of the city,
100 houses are affected about as at Co
lumbia. Those driven out find no diff
ficulty in securing shelter with their
more fortunate neighbors, though some
occupy tents on high ground. House
hold effects Manageable by water have
either been saved by timely removal
or by friendly boats. Nearly all at
fected are experienced flood fighters
and are seldom caught mapping when
great rise comes down the OHIO. On
the Kentucky side the inhabitants of
lowlands near Dayton and Bellevue
have been placed in the same unpleas-
ant situation as their Cincinnati neigh
bors. But most of them have seen
floods before and know how to make
the best of them. No railroad IN en-
cinnati has been disturbed by the local
flood except that some have been de-
priyed of the use of the Grand Central
Depot. Thus far no causualtles have
been reported. Interruption to street
car travel has been almost nothing as
il was either near the end OF line or
at a point where passengers could
transfer by short walk. The rail-
roads are all in better condition. The
Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton rail-
road is clear on all its lines, so is the
PENNSYLVANIA. The Baltimore & Ohio
Southwestern is still compelled to
make short detours east and west, but
this will soon be over, as repairs are
pushed with all possible dispatch. The
Cincinnati Georgetown Portsmouth
railroad was compelled to make trans
fers in the east end of Cincinnati to-
day. All other roads are practically
intact.
OF course there will be some loss
and damage to people driven out of
their homes M the way of loss of time
as we'll as of property, but il will be re-
duced to the minimum. Merchants
and commission brokers in the bot
toms removed their goods to dry spots
without loss Very few factories OF
consequence have been interrupted or
stopped. Small boats continue to come
and go. Navigation will be fully re-
sumed by tomorrow or Tuesday.
At 10 o'clock tonight the stage here
was 50 feet and four-tenths. Between
s and 8 o'clock. it had remained sta
tionary. This fuctuation is the pre-