The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1902-03-08
$ STORMS AND FLOODS.
ines. Democrat, March 2nd.

me throughout the country. ana only
N the matter of prolonged and ex-
RENE cold. but in number and fierce
hess of the storms that have followed.
zach other in rapid succession. Take
asst week, for instance. 1t began with
throughout the North and East. un-
equalled in violence for nearly twenty
years, For several days the great City
Of Philadelphia was cut of. from the
world, its business and industries par
alyzed; and many lives were sacrificeds
in the blizzard There was scarcely
large city in the East that did not send
In some causalities from tangled wires
by the storm.
This was quickly followed by viol-
ent storm on the Pacific coast, which
caused wreck. loss of life and disasters;
and now comes third storm, the par
tlculars of which were given yester-
day, rayagng the South Atlantic, ex-
tending from the Ohio Valley to the
ocean and over the greater part OF
Tennessee, Kentucky Ohio, Pennsylva-
MIA. West Virginia, North and South
Carolina. Georgia, Alabama and
Florida In most of those States rail-
road traffic was suspended. buildings
swept away, even the State Capitol OF
Florida partially destroyed. Many OF
the towns Are under water and in COM
plete darkness. their electric light and
gas works flooded, Reading, Pa. de-
clares it the worst stormit has known
since 1850: lebanon, Pa, the worst
flood in it's history. The streams are
all out of it channels and rising rapid
ly. At Jehpstown. Pa. the people
have fed to the hill tops for safety.
Newhayen, Pa. is completely under
water and Harrisonburg, Mckees-
port, Bedford. Connellsville, New
Castle and Oil City are all threatened
with disastrous floods The South At
lantic and Central States report much
the same condition of affairs 1t has
been week of storms and floods seld-
ON before equalled in this country or
extending over a wider stretch of coun-
try.
While the winter in Southern Lou
isiana has been on the whole slightly
severe than usual. this section has. by
comparison, enjoyed splendid weather.
1t has escaped all the severe tempests,
although several have come within two
or three hundred miles Of New Or
leans There has been no loss of lie
or property by the storms and little
Inf any suffering. The country around
New Orleans has again demonstrated
that it is outside of the storm belt. and is
relatively safe from the tornadoes that
sw eep down from the Rockies or those
THAT come up from the Gulf, and it has,
had fewer of them than perhaps any
large city in America. +,-s
But, while We can claim immunity
n this point we are vitality interested
on the storms that have visited the
countrv TO the north. east and west Of
us tThe people of the lower Missis-
si6pi Valley have direct and person
al interest in the weather of nearly the
entire Union. for SCOOTER or later, per-
haps months afterwards, they must
bear the bruntof the snow and rain
storms whenever they may fall within
the great valley of "the father of wa
tiers. 81 5if
| They will read, therefore. the storm
news FROM all these points with deep
interest to see how it is likely to affect
the Mississippi in its spring floods, and
how high we can count on the river GO
ing What are the prospects for a
June rise? e1 tt3 As
At first blush the outlook may APP
pear unpromisiug. A great deal. of
water has fallen and IA great deal of
snow is piled up in all parts of the
country. A hundred streams are now
in food. and when the accumulated
snow melts their number will be i'm
creased But if we look over the atlas
more carefully we viii see that the
Mississippi is affected only slightly.
and that the bulk of the snow and rain
will empty INTO the South Atlantic and
not pour. by New Orleans into the
Gulf The great storm of the earlier
part of the week WAS confined almost
exclusively to territory draining into
Atlantic streams. Eastern Pennsylya.
MIA caught the worst, aud the Della
wara, Schuylkill and other rivers are in
food. And again, in the storm OF
Friday. the South Atlantic States
suffered most. The Mississippi Valley
did not wholly escape. it is true, but II
got only fractional of the rainfall.
The rain in PENNSYLVANIA has swollen
Allegheny, Monnogahela and other
tributaries OF the Ohio. There is like.
~ to be flood at Pittsbnrg. and il
will make itself felt along the entire
length of the Ohio. That river will
catch it from another quarter, for Fri
days storm has sent the Tennessee
Cumberland and other trjbutarje,
ebooniiug." We may look, therefore
for freshet in the Ohio; hut this i
nothing unusual No spring ever
passes @ithvata at least one Ohio fresh.
ct, aud, as matter of fact, we usual
~ have two or three every year since
the destruction of forests along tho
Ohio and the better drainage of th,
land has resulted in pouring all til,
raiHfaliinto Tho streams within a few
days OF It's falling But while rise il
the Ohio make itself felt in the love-
Mississippi alone. it is not dangerou
and no longer creates apprehension
The Ohio is the only tributary tina
4 promises us a freshet, and il is not
freshet' of nnasual proportions. bu
one that win not excite great influenc
on the lower Mississippi In fine. tn
situation is not one that will cause th
least anxiety in the alluvial lands o
the Mississippi. We will hayea mod
crate spring sise, but one that we cal
fully takercsre of in the present condi
ton of our ierees. 1t is not going I,
be Hood year.
Corliss Coon Collar-it looks wei