FEARS OF OIL CITY

Oil City, on Oil Creek near its entrance to the Allegheny River, was in a serious plight. Oil Creek overflowed its banks and covered the portion of town that was devastated by the great fire and flood of 1892.

The town was in a condition bordering on panic and business was suspended. More than seventy-five persons were removed from their homes in wagons, the water being from five to six feet deep. Railroads suffered heavily.

Newspapers and industrial plants at Oil City were shut down because of flooded power rooms. Fires were prohibited and railroad locomotives were ordered to extinguish their fires to avoid any danger of igniting the oil.

GIRL DROWNED AT FRANKLIN

One death and extensive property damage were caused in the vicinity of Franklin by the flooded condition of the Allegheny River and French Creek.

Every one in the flooded district was ordered to extinguish all fires, as benzine from the t.i.tusville refineries was floating on the rising waters.

GRAVE SITUATION OF PITTSBURGH

In Pittsburgh the flood situation became serious by the evening of March 26th, and continued to grow rapidly worse. The gauge at Point Bridge shewed twenty-six feet at eight o'clock, four feet above the danger point, and the rivers were rising steadily. Rain was falling throughout the western watershed, and every stream in western Pennsylvania a.s.sumed the proportions of a raging torrent.

In the Pittsburgh district 100,000 were idle, the workmen having been driven from the manufacturing plants by high waters. Ten miles of streets were converted into ca.n.a.ls. In parts of the North Side the streets were under twelve feet of water. The policeboats patrolled the flooded district, carrying coal and food to families marooned in the upper floors of their homes.

Pittsburgh's suburbs down the Ohio were all partly inundated. Ambridge, Woodlawn, Sewickley, Coraopolis and McKees Rocks residents were forced to desert their homes or take to the upper floors.

Downtown the pumps were working in most of the hotels, theatres and office buildings. Business was nearly at a standstill. Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of store goods was ruined. The Exposition Music Hall was holding four feet of water.

No trains were running to the flooded regions. At least a score of railroad bridges had been destroyed, and miles of tracks carried away.

The railroad damage contributed largely to the estimated total damage of $50,000,000.

TOLL OF THE FLOOD AT SHAMOKIN

In Central Pennsylvania, especially along the Susquehanna, the flood gripped many towns. At Shamokin mountain streams overflowed their banks, and in some instances water flowed down mine breaches and found its way to the lower levels of collieries. Mine pumps were run to their greatest capacity to prevent inundations. The Shamokin Creek, in Shamokin Valley, overflowed its banks in the lowlands and spread over acres of ground on either side of the creek channel.

COLUMBIA AND MARIETTA FLOODED

More than three inches of water fell at Columbia in a period of twenty-four hours. All the streams overflowed and much damage was done.

Trains on the Columbia branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad ran through eighteen inches of water. The storm was accompanied by high winds, which unroofed scores of buildings.

At Marietta, after a storm reported as the worst in many years, the flood situation was grave. The river rose high, fields were flooded and residents on Front Street were obliged to move to second stories. Two men upset in a boat along the York County sh.o.r.e while after ducks were drowned.

DESTRUCTION AND DAMAGE IN MINING TOWNS

Many of the mining towns in Pennsylvania were distressed by unprecedented floods. At Scranton the Lackawanna River overflowed its banks in various places. Richmond No. 1 and No. 2 collieries and the Delaware and Hudson "slope" colliery in North Scranton were compelled to shut down by reason of the water flooding the engine rooms. The Ontario and Western tracks at Providence and the Delaware and Hudson tracks at d.i.c.kson City were washed out. Water surrounded the Frisbie and the Bliss silk mills in d.i.c.kson City and the girls were marooned for the night.

Six hundred people living on "Hungarian Flats," in the northern end of the city, became panic-stricken when water broke through the streets, and, taking their cattle and household goods, they fled to the hills at Throop.

At Wilkes-Barre the Susquehanna reached the flood stage. The water went over the lowlands on the west side and Wilkes-Barre was cut off from many of its suburban towns, all traffic being stopped. The towns of Edwardsville, Kingston, Westmoor and West Nantic.o.ke were partly under water. Five hundred families were driven from their homes and forced to seek safety. The water rose so rapidly that it was necessary to rescue women and children in rowboats. Considerable damage was done to property, but there was no loss of life.

In Westmoor, Edwardsville and West Nantic.o.ke the water reached the first floors of the buildings. Families were compelled to depart and leave their furnishings to be damaged by the water.

As a result of heavy rains the water rose high in many of the mines of the Hazleton region. Railroad men were warned to be on guard for washouts.

The Beaver Brook and Hazle Mountain mines closed on account of high water. The mules were removed from the Ebervale, Harleigh and Beaver Brook workings.

At Shenandoah the storm that raged for two days did untold damage to the mines. At Kehley Run Colliery the water main that supplies the boilers with water was washed away and the colliery was compelled to shut down.

The fires were hurriedly drawn, thereby preventing an explosion. At Bast Colliery, near Girardville, the water rushed into a mine breach and flooded the workers. It was with difficulty the miners escaped.

Electric-light, telephone and telegraph wires were down in Shenandoah, and many homes in the lowlands were flooded. The trolley and steam roads were hampered by the heavy rains, and in many places tracks were washed out.

Heavy floods caused the entombment of six men at the Buck Run Colliery, at Mount Pleasant, and a rescuing party worked up to their necks in water to get the men out alive. The softness of the earth caused the sagging of a breast, which was followed by a sudden rush of water, cutting off the escape of the entombed men.

CHAPTER XXVIII

THE FLOOD IN THE OHIO VALLEY

PERIL IN THE OHIO VALLEY--DISTRESS AT WHEELING--PARKERSBURG UNDER WATER--KENTUCKY TOWNS SUBMERGED--IMPERILED TOWNS IN INDIANA--SHAWNEETOWN SUBMERGED--CAIRO FACING CRISIS--SITUATION HOURLY WORSE.

While Dayton, Columbus and other cities of the Middle West were pa.s.sing through the worst floods in their history, the Ohio River was preparing new perils. All along its course it carried destruction.

DISTRESS AT WHEELING

At Wheeling, as early as March 26th, several persons were drowned and many narrowly escaped death when a freshet swept down Wheeling Creek through Barton, Ohio.

Two days later, with the crest of the flood past, Wheeling turned to take up in earnest the task of caring for her thousands of dest.i.tute and homeless.

Although the loss in money ran into millions, few of those able to aid seemed to think of anything but the alleviation of want and suffering.

Before noon Mayor Kirk had raised more than $6,000 for the relief fund, and most of the wealthy men and women of Wheeling had contributed.

Churches, schools, clubs, auditorium, public halls and hundreds of private residences were thrown open to those driven from the lower quarters.

PARKERSBURG UNDER WATER

More than half the business district of Parkersburg and part of the residence section were under water on March 28th, with the Ohio River still rising. The gas, electric and water plants went out of commission soon after noon, and street cars stopped operations. All the newspaper plants were flooded out except that of the Parkersburg _Sentinel_, whose editorial force was taken to the building in boats, and worked on the second story while water was flowing through the rooms below them. A single page, printed on a proof press and containing the flood news of the a.s.sociated Press report, was delivered to newsboys in boats, who sold each copy at a fancy price, as the printing of the edition was limited to two a minute.

KENTUCKY TOWNS SUBMERGED

The crest of the Ohio river flood reached Louisville April 1st, with a stage of about forty-five feet.

The railroad situation in Louisville became acute. The Louisville, Henderson and St. Louis suspended traffic entirely. The Louisville and Nashville from Cincinnati could reach the city only by detouring through Jeffersonville, Indiana, crossing the swollen Ohio on the Big Four bridge and returning via the Pennsylvania bridge to reach the Louisville and Nashville station, which was used also by the Pennsylvania trains.