The Washington times., 1912-03-03

IVY HEN daN broke residents
W. along the water front in
" Manhattan found their Gel
lars flooded and South and
West streets swimming with water.
which was continually rising. 1t was
noted that the hour was that or Hood
tide, but nobody had ever heard OF
tide So high as this.
Alarm deepcned into terror when the
time for the tide to ebb arrived ana
there was no ebbing. On the contrary
the water continued to rise. The GOV
eminent observer at the Highlands tel
ephoned that Sandy Hook was sub
merged. Soon it was known tnat Coney
Island, ROCkaway, and all the seaside
places along the south shore of Long
Island were under water. The mighty
current poured in through the Narrows
with the velocity of mtll-raCe. The
Hudson, set backward on its course
rushed northward with a raging bore
at it's head that swelIed higher until it
licked the feet of the rock chmneys oil
the Palisades
But when the terror inspired by this
sudden invasion from the sea was AT It's
height there came unexpected rellcf.
The water began to fall more rapidly
than il had risen. 1t rushed out through
the Narrows faster than 1t had rushed
in and ships dragged from their an
rled out seward, some being stranded
on the sand-banks and shoals IN the
lower bay.
Now again houses standing on made
ground, whose foundations had been
undermined. fell with a crash and
many were buried in the ruins.
Notwithstanding the immense damage
| and loss of life, the recession or the
waters Immediately had reassurinG
| effect, and the public, in general, was
| disnoseI to be comforted Ivy the eX-
PLANTATION of the weather officials, VINO
| declared that what had occurred was
| nothing more than an unpreceuehleuIy
| high tide probably resulting from seine
| unforeseen disturbance out at sea.
| The phenomenon had been noted al
| along the Atlantic coast. Inc cnle!
| forecaster ventured the assertion Una!
a volcanic eruption had oGcuTreu
to Bermuda. He thought that the
! proba BILE location of the upheaVal mao
| been at Munn's reef, about halt way
between these points, and the more nc
| discussed his theory the readler ne
became to stake his reputation on Its
correctness, for, he said, 1t was i'm
possible that any combination OF inc
| effects of high and low pressures
ocean, while d volcanic wave, com
bining with the regular oscllau0n o.
the tide, could have done it easily.
But Cosmo Versal smiled at this eX
| PLANTATION. and said in reply:
THE whole Arctic ice cap is dis
| solved. and the condensation of thu
nebula is at hand. But there is wors'
behind. When the wave comes back
will rise higher"
As the time for the next fiood-tid
grew near anxious eyes were. on In
watch to see how high the waite
would go. There was something II
the mere manner of Its approach tina
made the nerves Jingle.
| 1t speeded toward the beaches
| Combing into rollers at an unwonte
distance from shore; plunged wit
shadows, as If 1T would annihilat
them; and then, spreading swiftly, IA
with terrific speed up the, strand
seeming to deyopr everything
higher and roared louder and grey
, blacker with the mud that it ha
ground up from the bottom Miles In
land the ground trembled with tn
fast-repeated shocks.
Again the Hudson was hurled back
I ward until a huge bore of water hurs
!, over the wharves at Albany: Ever
! foot of ground in New York less tina
? twenty feet above the mean high It'd
I level was inundated. The destructio
was enormous, incalculable Ocea
| liners, moored along the wharve
were in some cases lifted above tn
level of the neighborinE streets an
, sent crashing into the buildings alon
the water front.
Ethercgrams told. in broken So,
n trnces. of similar experiences on II
western coast Of EuroDe, and from II
: Pacific. came the news Of the floOdir
g of San Francisco, Los Angeles. Por
r land Tacoma. Seattle, and, in fac
every coast lying town. ON the wcS
. ern coast Of South America the incOn
ing waves broke among the foothil
II Of the Andes,
ID II was as IL the mighty basins of n
% wCI Ids two great aSt oceans were belT
a rocked to and fIo, sending the waite
e spinning from side TO side.
n And 20 add to the horror of tho sit Il
ton, every volcano on the Globe seeml