Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-07-22
MORE HEAVY RAINS.
Over Four Inches of Water Fell
Throughout the State.

IFrom Fridays Daily.1
During the twenty-four hours just
finished Ottumwa has been subjected
to the heaviest rainfall that has visit
ed the city in years, the total amount,
as registered at the local weather sta
ton, being four and quarter inches.
The river at this point rose two feet
between midnight last night and z
o'clock this morning and continued to
rise since that time, although not
SO fast. Reports from farther up the
stream are to the effect that there
have been big rises there, caused by
the excessive rains. From all that can
be learned the rain has been general
all over the state. Railroads are tied
up and Inconvenience is being felt in
every line.
A Heavy Rain.
At midnight last night the river here
had TALENT about four feet and four
inches from the point it had reached at
6 o'clock Monday morning. The rain
which commenced about $3.50 o'clock
yesterday afternoon and which stop
ped for few hours, began again about
$50 and continued almost all night. AT
midnight, when the storm was the
most severe. the streets were flooded
and Market street was like a stream,
water coursing down it and extending
almost from curb to curb.
River Rises Fast
1.-THE river commenced rising at mid
night and mas continued since that
time. BY o'clock the rise amounted
to about two feet at the Market street
bridge, although at different places the
distance was measured differently.
This is easily accounted for by the fact
that the water spreads out over much
territory as it rises and the lay of the
land makes the rise faster or slower
as the territory is more or less level.
However, as all the water must pass
under the Market street bridge that
Is the only absolutely correct place to
compute the amount of rise. At that
point the rise today has amounted to
about three-quarters of an inch an
hour since o'clock, but this afternoon
it Jacks almost two feet of being as
high as it was on Monday morning.
Much Inconvenience Caused.
The speed with which the water
came up during the night surprised
many residents of the low portions of
the city and many were compelled to
leave their houses very suddenly dur
ing the night. Not little loss is re-
ported in the way of clothing and fur
niture, and the fund for the aid of the
victims of the high water will be tax
ed.
Cellars in the business district
which had been cleaned and had be-
come dry after being flooded on Mon.
day and Tuesday, are again under wa
ter and although the loss of goods is
very small because very little had been
Replaced, the inconvenience added by
the sudden rise is considerable. The
merchants are, as a rule, taking the
Joke philosophically however, and on
some of the cellar doors on South Mar
ket street signs are displayed like the
following: BOATS to Let" "Any Kind
of Bath, 25 cents, " mo fishing allow.
ed" etc.
Terraces Suffer.
Several terraces in different parts
of the city have suffered notably that
at the home of Frank Fielder on
West Fourth street, where the stone
wall and large amount of earth were
carried out upon the sidewalk during
the rain. At the home of Mrs. Maria
Jordan, on North Court street, near the
Lincoln school the terrace has slipped
considerably. Small slides are report,
ed from nearly every part of the city
where terraces exist.
On South Side.
The sewer in the 'Inskeep slough