Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1913-04-03
SURVIVORS TELL
Of FLOOD THRILLS
Lecturer Saw e Bodies Ree0V-
cred at Delaware, O.
MEANEST MAN A BOAT OWNER
College Girls Relate Death Scenes
and Heroic Rescue Work by the
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES of Other
Refugees.

Chicago-Thrilling stories Of the
flooded districts in Ohio were told By
Rev E. o. O'Neal. who returned 10
this city from lecture tour. He
saw rescuers take IS bodies from the
river at Delaware, o.
All Of the small towns along the
river have been swept away" he said.
The greatest problem is food The
victims are starving and freezing to
death Those who are able to work
are making every effort to rescue and
help others. There is no communica-
tion between towns
When at Delaware / saw college
students make many thrilling Tescues
by swimming out into the swift cur
rent and swimming back with a food
victim. One young man swan out and
and rescued 80 persons in one day. He
was the bravest fellow ever saw.
Women and Children AfIoat.
I saw a house with one woman
and three children cIinging to the roof
floating down the stream. The house
was whirIing and bobbing up and
down in the water. The woman was
screaming for help. Persons on the
edge Of the food had a small boat,
but they could not row fast enough to
caech up with the house
The house bore down on the Penn
sylvania railroad bridge and crash
ed against it. The mother caught the
bridge and went down. The children
went down, but came up again near
Il tree. The eldest child helped the
other two and help on to the tree. The
boat put out and rescued all of them.
A few minutes later a house with
man about rs years and his wife
loated down the stream. The woman
was lying on the roof. The old man
was holding her Suddenly the house
struck a tree and the brick chimney
fell off Then we saw the old man
lift his wife in his arms and carry
her to the chimney hole in the roof
and let her down into it. When the
rescuers put out in a boat and caught
up with the house, one of the res
cuers inquired of the woman.
She is dead, said the old man
She died two hours ago, and l was
afraid to let her lie on the roof be-
cause the water would carry her
away.
Sees Man and Woman Drown.
I saw another house with a man
and woman clinging to the chimney
to keep from falling off The house
struck q tree and the chimney crum-
bled. Both went down before the
boat reached them and we never saw
them again. These are only a few
instance of the horrible things seen
in the flooded district
Il went from Delaware to Prospect,
and the same tragedies were repeated.
At Prospect | saw the meanest man
in the world. The meanest man,
think, is a farmer who owned a boat
at Prospect. He lived across the riv-
err from the town. He lent his boat
TO a Baptist minister who used it for
rescue work. They saved more than a
dozen women and children during the
day, 1t was the only boat in the
town.
Farmer Demands His Boat.
Although the minister could res
cue but two persons at time he
was doing noble work. Many persons
were swept away before the boat
could reach them Late in the after
noon the farmer came to the shore
and announced he wanted the boat
He declared he would take the boat
by force. He said he wanted the boat
to go across the river and attend to
some business.
The minister refused to give up
the boat. but offered to row the farm
ct across the dangerous river, if he
conld keep the boat. The farmer
grudgingly assented, and newspaper
man from Marion and the minister
T0wed him across. 1t was the first
attempt to take the boat across the
swift river and was extremely danger
Gus
The preacher declared he would
take any risk III order to keep the
boat They landed the farmer across
the river with much difficulty. They
started back and when in the middle
of the stream the boat capsized, and
both went down. With the boat hun
dreds of persons could have been res
cued
Bread Famine at Delaware.
The victims need food more than
anything else. There is a bread fam
inc at Delaware. To show they were
willing to do anything TO help the suf-
ferers more than 100 students at Yves,
leyan college volunteered to leave the
city so there would be 100 less to