Evening journal., 1902-03-01
A
RAGING TORRENT
Leaps It's Banks and Does
Much Damage
.RAMIIIES IlCATll HAMEN
FAMILIES VACATED HOMES
Floods Parks and Carries Property
Out 10 The River-Gr Greatest
FlO9d in Thirty Years

FlO9d in Thirty Years
With a roar that threw families living
near It's banks into q state of terror. the
water of the Brandywine creek rushed TO
the river last night carrying with it deb
ris of all kinds The water was made
angry by yesterdays downpour of rain,
and as though anxious for greater lau-
tude, jumped it's banks, inundating
houses and compelling manufacturing es-
tahlishments TO suspend operations. lt
was the most destructive ireshet of the
year. The walks in the parks were im-
passahe in some places, aud la other
places the water was ON level with the
foot bridges Several persons caught in
perilous positions had narrow escapes
from drowning. AT midnight another
storm added TO the seriousness of the
freshet. The storm was the severest ever
known. The damage TO property win run
into the thousands, and Ina many sections
Industrial occupations have been com
pletely paralyzed. Valuable machinery
In manufacturing establishments has
been destroyed and hundreds of men are
idle. I'm many instances the employees
/ We're compelled 10 Zee for their lives. but
up to an early hour no casualties had
been reported.
Other sections of the United States
over whiC the storm swept suffered
more severely. There were washouts
along the railroads in nearly AN of the
Gulf States, where traffic is al stand
. still. Many wrecks resulted from these,
ana at least ten persons met their death.
Cyclones were felt ina several places, one
death resulting at Dawson. Ga. The
south wall of the Florida State Capitol
at Tallahassee was leyelod boy the furious
gale aud residences We're unroOfed al
Pulaski, Va. The storm passed out 90
sea.
Yesterday was am unusual day in this
] city, even before the storm began. Short.
ly after midnight the official temperature
V stood at A. degrees degrees above nor
d NAL. II rose rapidly all morning and by
noon reached the remarkable record of 90
d degrees above normal This Is con
sidered an extraordinary occurrence
During an this time there had been @
iOggy drizzle, but little rain
T. Then, between 1890 and O'Clock the
mercury dropped seven degrees and the
4 downpour began.
With such force did the rain fall al the
s very beginning 0f the storm that the last
p vestige of the snow which had covered
3 the streets for nearly two weeks was
wiped ont almost instantly. IL was a
e yeritable delnge. The rain ratified almost
Z like hail-stones on the roofs aud asphalt
= ed streets.
- From curb to curb torrents of water
ran ankle deep. Delaware avenue was
q almost impassabo
:. During this downpour came thunder
u and lighning-heavy peals and brilliant
p flashes
In ten minutes seyen-cghths Of an inch
a Of rain had fallen. The heavy fall lasted
h only about half an hour After that rain
fell intemittenty an the afternoon, but
n the worst was over
! At midnight another storm ragged This
= morning dawncl clear but more rain i.
y promised.
}. Along the Brandywine
3 1t has been forty years since person,
residing along the banks of the Brandy
g wine have seen such freshet as the sud
b den rise ia the water in that stream las
night. Old residents say that there hai
been no such a Hood of the stream sine,
b., 1863. Tho heavy rain in this section ant
] y
<. bursts in Pennsylvania transformed thl
i, stream into n raging and destructive tor
e, rent in an incredible short time. There
4 has been no loss of life reported but dam
r age 10 property and live stock will foo
IS up 20 a large sum. The water swep
y, everything before il and mills along it
=, banks in this city were badly damaged
r, Several breaks in the race banks on the
lf.
'e race and work by the William II. Lea
N and Sons flour mill has been stopped en
J. tirely. At II O'Clock last night the frl
B. room was flooded 10 % depth of three feet
NJ and the cellar in which empty barrels ar,
3, kept also is under wafer Foriunatel
s., for the company no flour was destroyed
The employees of the mill this morning
Y had TO put the barrels out in the sun Il
allow them to dry ont
+ Killed Muskrats IN Fire Room
4 The freshet played havoc in the fir
d. room Of the New power house of the Wi
Z, mington City Railway Company ON tn
= Brandywine below the Lea -four mil
' The fire room was flooded 20 the dept
of about two and oue-half feet and Fire
man John Richards and Electrical
= Harry Hewett rowed a boat around IN
~ room and killed five musk rats. The
also collected about two cords of WOO,
~ The new power house was i'm operatio
!, but the water did not put ont the fire
~ There may be a water-tight wall bu
around this part of the structure to pr,
4, vent the reoccurrence of this.
Lost Forty Cords of Wood
Il At Grubb's coal and wood yard tl
]. tide was two feet higher than it has bee
st. for forty years, and Mr.. Grubb report
b. that an the wood he had forty cords, wa
swept from the yard. Many persons hav
7. obtained enough fire wood from the foo
sr. 10 last them several months.
les The Augustine paper mills suifero