The San Francisco call., 1898-03-24
WRECK
 CAUSED BY
 THE FLOOD Disaster to a l Pa1n Near COlum bus,
 Ohio. Rising Waters Gut Off Escape From the
 Ditched Cars. Engineer and Two Brakemen Are Missing and May
 Be Dead.
Great Damage Done by the Rising of the Ohio River and Its
 Tributaries.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

COLUMBUS, Ohio, March 23.-Owing to the unprecedented floods only two of the fifteen lines of railway. centering here were able to move trains out of the city The washouts were mostly i'll or near the city. In the western part Of the city probably 2OO0 persons have been driven out of their houses, or are living in the upper stories. The water works pumping station is flooded and the water supply in the central part of the city is cut off
 A train consisting of a passenger coach, caboose and locomotive, With Wrecking crew of twenty-f0ur men aboard, was wrecked near here this evening. The river broke over it's banks and the scene of the wreck IS surrounded by water for mile, and can be reached only by boat. The en- gineer cannot be found.
 The fireman was washed away and swan to tree, where he is now walt ing to be rescued, but on account Of the darkness and the swift current 1t is impossible to reach him. A big bon fire has been built a half mile away to give him light and hope. Nearly every man of the twenty-four was more or less injured. SIX or elSHI dAe Dtuly iiA- jured and may die.
 Engineer Connell of Logansport and two brakemen are missing and may be dead. The seriously injured are: Con ductor Franklin of LOgansport, CharleS Sparks of Logansport, Samuel Talk ing ton of New Albany, William Moore of Sellersburg, Frank Lizenbey of Sel- lersburg, Joseph Scott of Austin and William Whitson of Memphis, Ind.
 A man named McCune says that he and a brakeman Waded through the water and carried Conductor Franklin to the end of the trestle, where they laid him down. McCune went back to help others and neither the conductor nor the brakeman has been seen since
 CINCINNATI, March 23.-The Ohio River is swollen by peculiar and re- markab bale tlood-peculiar in that While the stage of the water is phenomenal, from Wheeling to Cairo, no tributary on the left bank of the river makes the slightest contribution to the freshet. Added to an unusually high stage of water at Pittsburg. There have been freshets and floods throughout Ohio and Indiana and torrents pouring into the Ohio from the north. Throughout Indiana, Ohio and Western PennSylVa- nia there has been an almost steady downpour of rain since last Saturday.
 Nearly all the railroads in Central and Southern Ohio are either crippled or totally disabled, owing to washouts and weakened bridges. Throughout Indiana, except perhaps in the eX- treme northern parts, railroad traffic IS demoralized. In Cincinnati the stage of the river at o'clock tonight was AZ feet inches and the flood was rising at the rate of three inches an hour. Rain is still falling.
 INDIANAPOLIS, March 23-FIoods are reported throughout the State of Indiana. Many important towns are temporarily cut off from communica- tion and trains have been entirely abandoned on some railroads. There have been thirteen rainy days in March with total precipitation or l22 inches of which 3.5 inches has fallen since Sunday. White River and Big Eagle and Fall creeks are out Of their banks and many families have been driven from their homes.
 It is reported that $100,OOO damage has been done at GreenSburg, where at nooQ to-day eight heavily laden passen- ger trains had been stalled for sixteen hours owing to washouts. At St. Paul the Bickhart Touring mills were wash ed away, and other losses there will bring the total up to $40,0OO.
 Wrecks have been reported from diff ferent parts of the State, and railroad traffic in Indiana east of this city is demoraliZed. Not a passenger train reached Indianapolis from the East to- night.
 All the bottom land outlying Indian apolis Is covered with water. and White River is slowly rising, but no great ap- prehenSion is felt