Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1898-03-27
A DAY OF HARD WORK.
The People in the Flooded District Put in
Yesterday Cleaning Up

The People in the Flooded District Put in
Yesterday Cleaning Up.
Yesterday was devoted to herd work
in the hood districts of the city. Bus
mess men and residents alike, so far
al they were out OF water-and most
nj them were-were hard at work
cleaning away the mud, replacing
goods and household furniture and fit
tings, and taking a survey OF the out
side damage to fences, porches, steps,
board walks, pavements, gardens, etc
Housewives were relaying carpets and
seeing that furniture was brought
down from up stairs apartments, and
by this morning many a Hooded or
threatened residence will be in fairly
presentable shape 1t will take week,
however. of hard work before the city
is in its normal condition Everybody
was very tired last night and to-day
will be hailed with general satisfac-
ton as day of rest and as giving
little leisure time to ascertain just
where folks are at, and just what is to
be done.
BY yesterday morning the streets in
the business section Of the city were
completely clear of water, but scores
of cellars were still flooded. Whole
sale merchants moved large quanti-
ties of goods back to the first floors
during the day, and the piles of mer-
chandise along the high streets were
lar5ely decreased before night. Still,
there remained quite a large amount
of heavy merchandise which will not
be removed until tomorrow morning.
In the residence districts exposed to
the water most of the streets were dry
by noon yesterday except in the
lowest localities on the South Side and
Island, and by this morning the
water will be well within the river
banks, except, perhaps, on the lower
end of the State Fair Grounds. A
practically complete tour of the Island
was possible yesterday evening, and
there were revealed many scenes OF
desolation. One of the worst places
was along South Front street, south of
Fink street. Hundreds of cords OF
drift wood lodged on the river front
of lots in that locality and IN the
street, and it will require an immense
amount Of labor to move it. On South
Front street, at the corner of Ohio,
where there was also an immense de-
post Of drift and general debris,
passageway was cleared for the pass
age Of wagons early yesterday morn
ing. Much of this stuff will have TO
be thrown into the river, while the
remainder will be burned after what
ever of value has been selected out.
All over the Island yesterday fences
which retained a partial upright posi-
ton as long as they were sustained
By the water, totally collapsed when
the flood disappeared, and there will be
employment for many carpenters for
many day to come putting things to
rights in this regard. In scores of in
stances Out-houses, steps, porches,
hoard-walks and similar property is
missing, and will have to be replaced.
In many cases where the missing prop
erty has been located 1t Will be
cheaper to replace it with new than
TO attempt to bring the old back. The
soft soil Of the Island will not hold
fence posts once 1t becomes saturated
by flood, and when the water gets
halfway or two-thirds of the way up
a fence it generally pulls the posts out
OF the ground, no matter how firmly
they may have been originally al
chored. The same thing applies to