CHAPTER XIIThe Flood in Eastern Ohio
MOUNT VERNON HARD HIT—MILLERSBURG CUT OFF—THE TUSCARAWAS RIVER—COSHOCTON IN DISTRESS—ENTIRE CITY OF ZANESVILLE UNDER WATER—MARIETTA FLOODED—SCIOTO RIVER AT CIRCLEVILLE—STRUGGLES OF CHILLICOTHE—FLOOD AND FIRE IN PORTSMOUTH—HOMELESS IN EAST LIVERPOOL AND WELLSVILLE—FLOOD WASHES STEUBENVILLE—HIGHEST FLOOD IN HISTORY OF GALLIPOLIS—IRONTON REQUESTS AID—A CRITICAL SITUATION.
MOUNT VERNON HARD HIT—MILLERSBURG CUT OFF—THE TUSCARAWAS RIVER—COSHOCTON IN DISTRESS—ENTIRE CITY OF ZANESVILLE UNDER WATER—MARIETTA FLOODED—SCIOTO RIVER AT CIRCLEVILLE—STRUGGLES OF CHILLICOTHE—FLOOD AND FIRE IN PORTSMOUTH—HOMELESS IN EAST LIVERPOOL AND WELLSVILLE—FLOOD WASHES STEUBENVILLE—HIGHEST FLOOD IN HISTORY OF GALLIPOLIS—IRONTON REQUESTS AID—A CRITICAL SITUATION.
In the eastern part of the state there were two great floods, the flood of the Muskingum River and the flood of the Ohio River. Besides these there were many local floods of grave importance.
Mount Vernon, in Knox County, was hard hit by the flood. Many lives were lost, communication was entirely cut off, and thousands of dollars worth of damage was done. Miles of track on the Pennsylvania, Baltimore and Ohio Railroads were washed away.
MILLERSBURG COMPLETELY CUT OFF
For two days Millersburg was completely cut off. The river rose four feet higher than ever before. It swept through theCleveland, Akron and Columbus Railroad depot two feet deep, driving everybody out. Water, gas and electric light were shut off with the exception of one gas line.
Telephone service was limited, hence nothing could be sent or received for two days—until intermittent communication was re-established.
THE TUSCARAWAS RIVER
The flood in the Tuscarawas River was the worst in its history. All the lowlands were under water, and a highway bridge west of Dennison was carried out by the tide. Two bridges on the Baltimore and Ohio, near Uhrichsville, were washed away, and the village of Lockport was cut off from all communication. Supplies in Lockport were exhausted and two men were reported drowned.
Eighteen families were marooned in the school house at Port Washington, ten miles west of Dennison, on the Tuscarawas River. Operator A. W. Davis, of the Pan Handle Railroad, was isolated in a signal tower for several days without food or fire.
Newcomerstown was isolated for four days. All houses in the village, with the exception of those on Rodney Hill, were flooded by the Tuscarawas River. There was no death, but great damage.
Conditions throughout the Tuscarawas Valley were very bad. From a point near Uhrichsville, about one hundred miles west of Pittsburgh, to Coshocton, a distance of thirty miles, the valley was one great lake. Thousands of acres ofthe richest farm lands in Ohio were under water and the loss of live stock was heavy.
COSHOCTON IN DISTRESS
The Tuscarawas and Walhonding Rivers unite at Coshocton to form the Muskingum River, and it is the water from these swollen streams that poured down to Zanesville, thirty-two miles below, and thence to Marietta.
Reports from points along the Muskingum River, all told the same story of destruction, flooded towns and great property damage. Many days were required to restore railway communication.
Above Coshocton on the Walhonding River many villages were flooded and the loss to farmers was great.
Coshocton itself naturally suffered. A railroad bridge on the Columbus division of the Pan Handle Railroad went out, and scores of highway bridges throughout the section were washed away. All the streams were torrents.
ENTIRE CITY OF ZANESVILLE UNDER WATER
"Entire city under water. It is coming into our office. Have placed the records as high as I possibly can and have done everything possible. The building next door has just collapsed and I am compelled to leave now for safety——"
This message flashed across the wire as the operator at Zanesville fled for life. With fifteen reported dead, and the Muskingum River at a stage of forty feet and still rising, the city faced the worst flood in its history. The big SixthStreet bridge had already been swept away by the flood, and much of the business section was inundated.
At least two thousand had been driven from their homes by the high water. Food was growing scarce and the water was threatening the light and water plants.
The suffering during the night was intense. The temperature took a sudden drop and the thousands who were forced to spend the night marooned in buildings or on the hills without heat and proper clothing presented a spectacle to excite pity.
With the break of day on March 27th, disorder and terror prevailed throughout the whole city. The Muskingum, in its rampage, was sixteen feet higher than the previous record mark set in 1898. The city was one vast lake and the waters covered the valley from hill to hill. Only the buildings high on the sides of the slopes escaped the ravages of the deluge. The water varied in depth from one to fifteen feet. Many lives were sacrificed.
Six hundred buildings were torn from their foundations and swept away by the mill race currents, while many others collapsed and were hurled against those still holding.
The water reached a depth of eight inches in the Clarendon and Rogge hotels at noon on Thursday. The court house was surrounded.
In sections which were bearing the brunt of the deluge little could be done to relieve the people who were marooned in their houses and in the large buildings. Every effort was being directed by the city officials and volunteer relief partiesto lend aid to the sufferers, but the swift, onward rush of the waters made the undertaking extra hazardous.
The authorities turned their efforts toward relieving the suffering of women and children driven from their homes by the high water, and some progress had been made. Putnam lay in ruins. Muskingum and Linden Avenues had been washed out, and where three days before stood many residences, watchers from the highest buildings saw nothing but a waste of swirling waters.
MARIETTA FLOODED
The valley between Zanesville and Marietta became a surging lake, which picked up buildings and everything movable and carried them along with incredible speed. The loss of property was tremendous.
Marietta suffered from the swollen waters of both the Muskingum and Ohio Rivers. The situation was serious on Wednesday; by Sunday it was alarming. At eight o'clock Saturday morning the river had reached the stage of 60.6 and was still rising. All the business section of the town was flooded and many residences were under water. There were no public utilities in operation and food and medical supplies were sorely needed. There were many rumors concerning loss of life, but the swift current prevented communication to those parts of the city where persons were reported drowned.
Immediately upon reciept of the message from Whipple, a station on the Marietta Branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad, that Marietta was under water, preparations were madeby the railroad company to send out a relief train from Cambridge. It reached Whipple Saturday night and from there help was brought to the distressed city.
SCIOTO RIVER AT CIRCLEVILLE
The flooded Scioto River, which surged through the streets of Columbus, carried destruction down through farm lands and towns to the Ohio River. Circleville, Chillicothe and Portsmouth, being the principal towns on the river course, suffered most.
At Circleville on March 26th all the bridges had been washed away, and the Scioto River stood three feet higher than ever before. Another rise was promised. The city was cut off from railroad communication, and all trains on roads entering Circleville were annulled.
STRUGGLES OF CHILLICOTHE
Many dead, one hundred houses washed away, and property loss of $1,000,000—such was the tale of destruction in Chillicothe. On Friday, March 28th, the waters had begun to recede, leaving seven bodies hanging on the Kilgore bridge, three miles south of the city, but it was impossible to recover them immediately.
Conditions were much improved, the light plant having been able to resume service, and the water supply also was now adequate. The water had receded from the streets, and all public utilities resumed operations.
The homeless refugees were being cared for in the homeswhich withstood the flood and in school houses. Provisions were plentiful and there was no disorder. Many citizens were sworn in as deputy marshals.
The looting problem was one difficulty for the authorities. Notwithstanding their efforts much looting took place.
Near Omega, to the south, Mr. and Mrs. Hatfield and their family of seven children were drowned when their home, barn and all their other buildings were swept down the river.
FLOOD AND FIRE IN PORTSMOUTH
Portsmouth presented a picture of distress as the flood from the swollen Scioto and Ohio Rivers advanced. On the night of March 27th the Scioto bridge was swept away by the flood. By morning hundreds of persons had been driven from their homes, school houses had been thrown open to the homeless, the streets were filled with household goods and merchants in the heart of the city were moving their wares to places of safety in anticipation of flood conditions more serious than ever before.
On March 29th the Ohio River stood at sixty-eight feet, the highest ever known, and was rising.
Fire broke out in several places and was difficult to control because the flood had interfered with the water facilities.
Efficient management, however, soon brought the situation under control.
The arrival of the steamers, "Klondike" and "J. I. Ware," on March 31st, brought sufficient provisions to supply those in need for a week.
HOMELESS IN EAST LIVERPOOL AND WELLSVILLE
We have already seen the swollen waters of the Ohio at Cincinnati, Portsmouth and Marietta. It remains to treat of the devastation wrought in other Ohio River towns in the eastern and southern parts.
At East Liverpool on March 27th, more than a thousand families were driven from their homes, five thousand potters were deprived of employment temporarily and the city water works were out of commission as the result of the flood. The electric light plant was seriously threatened and trolley lines were tied up.
The following day the river had eclipsed the 48.8 foot stage of 1884. A stage of at least fifty-one feet was expected.
Conditions remained the same, but the situation at Wellsville, a city of ten thousand, three miles south, was perilous. Over three thousand were homeless. The city is located on a flat promontory, with the eastern portion a slight apex against the fast rising stream.
Back water had already made an island of the city, precluding any possibility of escape to the high hills.
Both East Liverpool and Wellsville were in darkness because of the shutting down of the power plants. All the river front potteries and mills were idle. Street railway and railroad traffic was at a standstill.
Police and fire departments of Wellsville and East Liverpool made many thrilling rescues during the day. Seven Italians, dumped from a skiff, were taken from the water half drowned.
Food supplies were diminishing at Wellsville, there was no electricity or gas, the supply of coal was constantly lessening and the river still rising.
FLOOD WASHES STEUBENVILLE
At Steubenville the Ohio River at 9 o'clock on March 26th was at the 34.4-foot stage and rising at the rate of seven tenths of an inch an hour. The west part of the town was under water and twenty-five houses flooded. Many families were rescued by wagons. Five large manufacturing plants were forced to close down, throwing 1,300 men out of work.
HIGHEST FLOOD IN HISTORY OF GALLIPOLIS
The river at Gallipolis reached the sixty-seven-foot stage, six feet higher than ever before, but was gradually falling. The State Hospital remained unharmed, and was for a time taking care of two hundred people, while the town was taking care of three hundred. There was no loss of life. Traffic was at a standstill, and train service into Gallipolis suspended.
IRONTON REQUESTS AID
Ironton suffered by both flood and fire. A block and a half in the business center of the city were consumed by fire and several buildings were dynamited to check the flames. No loss of life occurred.
A citizen of Ironton wired to a friend in Philadelphia:
"Floods here awful. Any charity funds that can be directed here through clubs or otherwise would be appreciated."
A CRITICAL SITUATION
Even taking into account the tremendous seriousness of the flood in Dayton and Columbus, the situation all along the Ohio River was one that called for sympathy and sustained relief. Governor Cox, of Ohio, in one of his early proclamations covering relief work said:
"There is every indication that the Ohio River will reach the highest stage in its history. Calls for food and clothing are coming from unexpected parts of the State. A critical situation has developed in all Ohio River towns. We are still greatly in need of help."
CHAPTER XIIIThe Flood in Eastern Indiana
HORROR OF THE RISING WATER—THE FOUR FLOODS—DISASTER IN BROOKVILLE—PEOPLE GATHERED IN CHURCHES—NEWS FROM LAUREL—SURGING FLOOD AT FORT WAYNE.
HORROR OF THE RISING WATER—THE FOUR FLOODS—DISASTER IN BROOKVILLE—PEOPLE GATHERED IN CHURCHES—NEWS FROM LAUREL—SURGING FLOOD AT FORT WAYNE.
"Every stream we crossed seemed to be a raging torrent, its waters racing at top speed," said one traveler who arrived in Chicago on March 26th. "We could hear the swish of the waters and hear the cries of people in distress," reported another.
Yet these eye-witnesses could not see the worst of the four vast floods that swept over the state of Indiana, tying up the railroads, rendering thousands of persons homeless, killing scores of others, wiping out whole towns. Just how many persons lost their lives in the great floods will probably never be known.
THE FOUR FLOODS
Indiana had known many devastating floods, but none like to this in either destructive force or extent. On March 26th three distinct flood districts prevailed—the eastern part of the state including the valley of the White Water River and the Fort Wayne territory, the valley of the White Riverand its tributaries, and the valley of the Wabash. Later the flooding of the Ohio River and its tributaries added to the awful tale of disaster. The entire state was practically one huge sea, and every brook, creek and river exacted its toll of damage.
The overflow, coming with astonishing suddenness, caught farmers throughout the state unprepared and the breaking of levees in many places forced persons living along the rivers to desert their homes. In the crowded cities it added woe upon woe.
The appalling swiftness with which the waters rose found city as well as state unprepared. Streams that were brooks Easter morning had become raging torrents on Tuesday. Persons who retired in apparently safe homes Monday were rescued the following day from second-story windows with boats. Lowlands became vast lakes.
The dawn of Wednesday, March 26th, found anxiety in Indiana centered in Brookville and Connersville, on the White Water River, from which frantic appeals for aid were received by Governor Ralston.
Other despatches from the same region declared that the smaller towns of Metamora, Cedar Grove and Prenton were swept away completely.
DISASTER IN BROOKVILLE
Sixteen persons were drowned at Brookville, when they were caught by the east and west forks of White Water River which meet in that town. Survivors told of attemptsof men, women and children to escape by the light of lanterns. Cross currents rushing along streets and alleys carried them down to a united stream a mile wide just south of the town.
Five children, all of one family, were seen clinging to posts of an old-fashioned wooden bed when they were swept into the main stream and lost.
The person from Connersville who first talked with the Governor said that a break in the White Water River levee had flooded the valley, sweeping many persons before it. After that it was impossible to re-establish communication even for a few minutes. Militia were ready all during the night to hurry to the town, but no train was operated in that direction.
PEOPLE GATHERED IN CHURCHES
Five wagon bridges, the Big Four Railroad bridge, the depot and a paper mill were utterly destroyed. Fifty summer houses on White Water River south of Brookville were washed away, foundations and all. People, bowed down by the calamity, gathered in churches, where religious services were held. None of the bodies were recovered for several days.
Hall Schuster was drowned Thursday night in an attempt to cross the West Fork of the White River at Brookville to rescue Harlan Kennedy, a hermit, formerly a Methodist minister.
Two hundred and fifty children rescued from the flood had only night clothes. Wagon trains carried food and clothing from Connersville to the stricken people.
On Friday, March 28th, the list of known dead in Brookvillewas sixteen. Heavy loss of property and a food and fuel famine imminent were the precise situation.
There were six persons missing, and it was feared that they had been drowned and their bodies washed away or buried in debris that had not yet been searched.
Brookville was practically under martial law, and twenty men were driven out of the city after they were discovered looting damaged homes and buildings.
NEWS FROM LAUREL
News from Laurel reached Connersville on Saturday when Deputy Postmaster George Lockwood came through on horseback. He said the White Water River valley, eleven miles around Laurel, was flooded, and the damage estimated at $300,000.
Four buildings and many small houses were wrecked in Laurel, but no lives were lost. Several farmers in the valley between Brookville and Laurel were missing and their houses had disappeared. Several other towns in the valley were inundated and many houses had been swept away.
SURGING FLOOD AT FORT WAYNE
At Fort Wayne, in the northeastern part of the state at the confluence of the St. Mary's and the Maumee Rivers, the flood surged for three days.
A keeper in the Orphan Asylum and five men in a surfboat did splendid work in saving seventy-five inmates of the asylum from drowning. All life-saving stations in the floodeddistrict devoted their utmost efforts to the work of rescue and used their funds and supplies without stint. The relief work was in every way well organized.
SITUATION UNDER CONTROL
On March 28th, with the flood receding at the rate of three inches an hour, Fort Wayne had the situation in control and stood ready to assist its less fortunate neighbors. Many of the refugees were able to get back into their homes. The property loss was estimated at $4,000,000, and it was almost certain that the loss of life would not exceed six.
The pumping station had been started up the previous night, two locomotives sent by the Lake Shore Railroad furnishing the power. The water was being pumped from the river. The only drinking water available for several days was brought in bottles.
CHAPTER XIVThe Desolation of Indianapolis and the Valley of the White River
THE TWO FORKS OF THE WHITE RIVER—WORST DAMAGE IN INDIANAPOLIS—SYSTEMATIC RESCUE WORK—THIEVES BENT ON PLUNDER—PREDICAMENT OF WEST INDIANAPOLIS—THE RECEDING WATERS—FLOOD VICTIMS HELPLESS—AN APRIL WEDDING—OTHER TOWNS AFFECTED.
THE TWO FORKS OF THE WHITE RIVER—WORST DAMAGE IN INDIANAPOLIS—SYSTEMATIC RESCUE WORK—THIEVES BENT ON PLUNDER—PREDICAMENT OF WEST INDIANAPOLIS—THE RECEDING WATERS—FLOOD VICTIMS HELPLESS—AN APRIL WEDDING—OTHER TOWNS AFFECTED.
The two great forks of the White River and their tributaries drain about half of the area of Indiana. Indianapolis, the capital of the state, is situated on the West Fork. In this city and more particularly in West Indianapolis the torrent roaring through the White River valley did its worst damage.
Hundreds of spectators were watching the river on Tuesday evening, March 25th, when, with a roar that could be heard for blocks, hundreds of tons of dirt in the Morris Street levee crumbled under the pressure, and great walls of water rushed through the opening.
Men, women and children fought through the water toward a near-by bridge, which seemed to offer the only safety. Many houses were torn to pieces by the rush of the water,and others were carried away. Families in one-story homes were at the mercy of the sudden rush of water that followed. The people were literally trapped in their own houses.
OTHER TOWNS AFFECTED
Other towns affected by the flooding of the White River and its tributaries were Muncie, Elwood, Anderson, Noblesville, Bloomington, Washington, Newcastle, Rushville, Shelbyville, etc. At Noblesville the river was the highest it had been in thirty-three years, at Muncie a dike in the water plant broke and the city was without fire protection. At Rushville Flat Rock Creek waters rose with a roar, and clanging fire bells warned the people to flee. The entire business section was submerged. One person met death in Muncie; one in Newcastle; one in Rushville, and five in West Indianapolis.
Indianapolis awoke the following morning to find the waters higher than ever appeared before, with a property loss that two days before would have been unbelievable. It was hard to bring the full realization of the damage to the people, who had no thought of a flood from streams that ordinarily are unimportant, aiding only in beautifying the city's parks and boulevard driveways.
A NIGHT OF DISASTER AND FEAR
During the night the water advanced upon the exclusive residence section along Fall Creek. It tore away one bridge, destroyed the city's most pretentious driveway and forcedthe families living along its banks to desert their palatial homes.
A few hours before they had no idea they were in any danger, and were awakened by the militiamen to be ordered from the threatened buildings, only to find every hotel in the city full. They were cared for at the homes of friends.
The Washington Street bridge over the White River that connects Indianapolis and West Indianapolis, which was closed for traffic late Tuesday night, in the early morning was torn apart by the waters, the floor of the structure being carried away.
A DESOLATE CITY
With the breaking of day came the proposition of feeding the refugees. The city appropriated money to supply immediate needs and a relief fund was started. Drinking water was at a premium, and water for bathing was practically unattainable.
Schools were closed, and there was a general suspension of business. The water in some of the streets north of Fall Creek, only fifteen miles from the business district, swept everything before it. The street cars remained standing in the streets where they were stopped when the power house was flooded. All interurban lines were at a standstill and the steam roads had poor success in getting trains out of the city. Passenger trains were shut out of the city on the lines entering from the West, and the passengers were forced to share the lot of the homeless refugees.
By Thursday conditions in Indianapolis were such that Governor Ralston was impelled to issue a proclamation asking for general relief. Five hundred refugees from West Indianapolis were brought in small boats to the Blaine Street wharf. Some of these had been clinging to trees for hours. Others were taken from floating houses. Women with babies were taken from the upper stories of houses. The refugees said that many had been killed in Wolf Hall when the floors of that building gave way under the strain of hundreds who had taken refuge there. Reports of death were everywhere exaggerated, owing to the difficulty of accurate knowledge and the shattered nerves of the sufferers.
SYSTEMATIC RESCUE WORK
Systematic rescue work was rendered more difficult by a storm of snow and sleet. Tomlinson Hall, the great civic gathering place of the city, was converted into a temporary hospital. The homeless men, women and children from West Indianapolis, Broad Ripple and other suburbs devastated by the White River were taken to the hall and were fed and given medical attention. From Fort Benjamin Harrison 500 blankets and 500 mattresses and cots were obtained. Citizens' committees were in charge of the work of distributing food and of raising money. It was estimated that 10,000 persons in Indianapolis alone were in need of immediate assistance.
The situation was rendered graver by the outbreak of contagious diseases. Five women rescued and taken to TomlinsonHall were suffering from pneumonia, and cases of whooping cough and measles were discovered among the refugees.
There were numerous cases of pneumonia. Measles and whooping cough attacked the children. Nearly all of the doctors of the city volunteered their services and asked for volunteer nurses.
Those suffering from contagious diseases were removed at once and inspectors from the city board of health aided by a corps of nurses detailed from various hospitals of the city set to work to prevent exposure of the refugees to contagion and to take care of the other sick.
THIEVES BENT ON PLUNDER
Thieves took advantage of the wrecking of lighting plants to plunder deserted houses and even to rob survivors of the flood. In West Indianapolis the vandals and robbers became so bold that Governor Ralston placed that section of the city under martial law and sent a company of militia to guard the streets. Orders were given to shoot on sight any one caught at robbery.
PREDICAMENT OF WEST INDIANAPOLIS
The greed of provision dealers angered Governor Ralston to such an extent that he started an investigation. Before the supply of bread available on the West Side had been exhausted, loaves were selling at twenty cents each. The supply of meat was entirely exhausted.
That section of Indianapolis lying west of the river, wheremartial law was proclaimed, is the poorest in the city. The supply of meats, eggs, milk, coffee, bread and butter was practically exhausted before noon. Little except canned goods remained on the shelves of the grocers.
Relief trains loaded with provisions were unable to enter this district. Members of the board of public safety and other city officials inspected the entire flooded district from motor boats and directed efficient organization of the relief workers, aiding the state troops and state officials in every possible way.
THE RECEDING WATERS
By Friday the White River had begun to fall slowly, and the work of caring for the suffering could be prosecuted vigorously. It was estimated that the property loss in the city and environs would reach $10,000,000. Part of this loss was in destroyed bridges. The Vandalia Railroad bridge over the White River went down Friday, carrying with it ten loaded cars.
By Monday, March 31st, White River waters had returned to almost normal channel, and the areas that were covered were being searched to locate the bodies of any who might have been drowned. The city board of health prepared typhoid serum for 50,000 treatments to aid in warding off an epidemic. State troops were withdrawn.
On Tuesday hundreds of homes were cleaned and, with furniture which could be salvaged and that supplied by the Relief Committee, the owners were able to resume housekeeping.Relief funds were still increasing and all persons who lost homes or furniture in the flood were being cared for.
Many persons in the West Indianapolis flood district were treated with an anti-diphtheria vaccine, and Dr. T. V. Keene, in charge of the medical relief work in the flooded districts, said he feared no epidemic.
FLOOD VICTIMS HELPLESS
Hundreds of thousands of dollars were reported necessary to relieve suffering among the flood refugees in Indianapolis, according to the report of the General Relief Committee, made on Wednesday, April 2d, at a meeting in Mayor Shank's office.
Plans for raising a vast sum of money, to be made available immediately to the sufferers, were discussed and it was decided to start popular subscriptions and designate places for contributions.
Joseph C. Schaf, one of the investigators for the committee, said:
"The flood victims are helpless. They need money and need it immediately. The men are trying to hold their jobs and let the women clean up the homes, and it is a disheartening task for which many are not physically able. Give them money immediately so they can pile their water-soaked mattresses and other furniture in the street and touch a match to it. That will give them new heart."
Mr. Schaf increased his donation by $1,000, and several other members of the committee did likewise.
CHAPTER XVThe Roaring Torrent of the Wabash
A BITTER TALE OF DESTRUCTION—MANY PEOPLE DRIVEN FROM HOMES—ALARMING CONDITIONS—THE PLIGHT OF KOKOMO—THE HOMELESS IN WABASH—DISTRESS OF LOGANSPORT—MILITARY CADETS AID IN RELIEF—NEW DISASTER AT LAFAYETTE—A SECOND HORROR IN TERRE HAUTE—THE RECEDING WATERS.
Bitter was the tale of destruction in the valley of the Wabash River and its tributaries. A traveler journeying over the Wabash Railroad on Easter Sunday would have seen only the usual quiet little towns of the Middle West; three days later, if he could have looked down over the same territory he would have seen nothing but a raging torrent sweeping through the region like some fiendish monster devouring and destroying as it pursued its mad course. He would have found the entire Wabash Valley, including Logansport, Wabash, Lafayette and Peru, a desolate scene, its scores of prosperous cities absolutely paralyzed and cut off from the outer world. Telephone and telegraph wires were down everywhere; trains were not running and roads were obliterated.
MANY PEOPLE DRIVEN FROM HOMES
As early as Monday, March 24th, northern Indiana had suffered severe loss, due to the heavy rains of the previous twenty-four hours, which had carried away bridges, stopped railroad and interurban traffic, flooded store basements, driven people from their homes along the river banks, and washed away houses. At Hartford City there were seven feet of water in the paper mills and the merchants had lost heavily from flooded basements.
At Portland water was standing three feet deep in the center of the city and the loss to merchants from damage to goods reached $100,000.
The wind, which followed heavy rain, cut a path several hundred feet wide.
At Kokomo the light, heat, power, gas and water plants were out of commission and the river was still rising. The city was without fire protection; South Kokomo, with 6,000 inhabitants, was cut off from the main city.
It was declared to be the worst flood known in Wabash since 1883; and rain was still falling. Hundreds of residents of the lowlands abandoned their homes. Interurban traffic was paralyzed.
ALARMING CONDITIONS
Reports on the following day were still more alarming. The worst conditions prevailed in Kokomo, Wabash, Peru, Logansport, Lafayette and Terra Haute. Thousands of people all along the Wabash were crying for food and shelter.Wabash, Kokomo, Peru, Logansport and Lafayette were entirely cut off from communication with the outside world. A big snowstorm on the heels of a drop in temperature added to the suffering.
Rescue work was carried on by volunteers, police, firemen and the state militia, and every place where there was a dry home was thrown open to the flood refugees.
From many places frantic appeals for aid were received by the state officials, but lack of all means of transportation and crippled telephone and telegraph service forced the submerged towns to rely entirely upon their own resources.
THE PLIGHT OF KOKOMO
At Kokomo the water in some of the streets was eight feet deep and rushing like a mountain torrent. Schools and business were suspended and state troops patrolled the town as far as they were able. The homes of a thousand persons were submerged. No lives were lost, but there were many narrow escapes. Several persons were rescued from second story windows by the few boats available. Rafts could not be used because of the swiftness of the current.
THE HOMELESS IN WABASH
Seven hundred and fifty persons in Wabash were rendered homeless as the result of the high flood in the river. The city was without gas, water or lighting facilities.
The mayor on Thursday, March 27th, issued a proclamation ordering that all saloons and business houses close atsix o'clock. He instructed the police to keep people off the streets.
There was no loss of life, but the property loss was estimated at $350,000.
There was no communication with the outside world from Monday until Thursday afternoon.
DISTRESS OF LOGANSPORT
The business district and the south and west sides of Logansport were under water on Tuesday. The bridge at the country club had been washed away. Other bridges over the Wabash had been flooded. The moving vans were unable to handle all the persons trying to move out of the danger zone and the firemen of the city gave aid. The electric light and water plants were endangered. There was great suffering among the poorer people. Logansport was also cut off from telephone and telegraph communication. Two deaths by drowning were reported (later corrected to one) and ten houses were washed down stream.
MILITARY CADETS AID IN RELIEF
On Wednesday the flood waters of the Wabash were sixteen feet deep on the floors of the Pennsylvania Railroad Station, and cadets from the Culver Military Academy were rushed to the city to aid in the rescue and relief of scores of people marooned in the business districts.
The Third Street bridge had been swept away. The bridge at Sixth Street was being washed out. The peoplewere fleeing to the hills, where they were housed in school houses and churches.
By indirect telephone routes on Thursday, Governor Ralston received an urgent call from Logansport for troops to aid in rescue work and to patrol the city. The city had been cut off from reliable communication with the outside world since Tuesday evening. The continuance of the high waters added hourly to the heavy property losses, and the snowstorm and bitter cold caused intense suffering.
NEW DISASTER AT LAFAYETTE
At 2 P. M. on Tuesday, March 25th, two spans of the bridge over the Wabash River at Lafayette went out, carrying a number of people with it. Boats below the bridge succeeded in rescuing all but one man.
At 3.15 P. M. West Lafayette, where Purdue University is located, was cut off from Lafayette by the breaking of one of the levees and the submerging of the other. The river was two miles wide and business houses were preparing to move their wares, anticipating a three-foot rise during the night. No interurban lines were being operated and steam lines were making little effort to maintain train service.
The business district and the south and west sides of Logansport were under water. The bridge at the Country Club had been washed away.
A SECOND HORROR IN TERRA HAUTE
All down the length of the Wabash the torrent raged. Hardly recovering from the daze of the Easter tornado, treatedin another chapter, Terra Haute inside of forty-eight hours faced its second disaster, when the waters of the Wabash left the banks, flooding part of the residence section.
The river was then rising at the rate of five inches an hour. Railroad traffic was suspended and interurban traction service had been abandoned. Residents of Taylorville, Robertsville and West Terre Haute deserted their homes, fleeing before the approaching waters. Five hundred homes were under water and the coal mines near the city were flooded.
For two days the situation seemed to grow hourly more desperate. On Thursday the river had reached a stage of thirty-one feet six inches and was steadily rising. Four thousand persons were homeless, and those whose homes were on higher ground were without gas or electricity. Traffic was at a standstill.
THE RECEDING WATERS
But slowly the waters receded and the work of reconstruction was begun. On down the river the disaster-bringing torrent traveled. Throughout all southern Indiana the river reached unprecedented stages and hundreds were driven from their homes. Railroad lines were covered with water through many counties, and on March 31st the river was reported forty miles wide between Upton, Indiana, and Carmi, Illinois.
CHAPTER XVIThe Plight of Peru: A Stricken City
LAST MESSAGE FROM PERU—AT ONCE TO THE RESCUE—THOUSANDS MAROONED—TALES OF STRUGGLE—FAMINE AND DISEASE—GREED ABROAD IN THE CITY—REFUGEES URGED TO LEAVE—SEARCH FOR THE DEAD—SHAKING OFF DESPAIR.
Of all the cities devastated by flood in Indiana, Peru was the most desolated. Situated on the Wabash River just below the entrance of the Mississinewa, it suffered more than any of the stricken cities through which the angry, swollen waters of the Wabash flowed.
"This probably will be the last message you will get from Peru," said the man who telegraphed to Governor Ralston on March 25th, asking for coffins, food and clothing. "Two hundred or more are drowned and the remainder of the residents are waiting for daylight."
AT ONCE TO THE RESCUE
Governor Ralston immediately communicated with State Senator Fleming at Fort Wayne and asked him to forward the coffins and other supplies as requested.
When the messages of distress from Peru were sent forth South Bend and other cities sprang nobly to the rescue. They found the people half crazed from exposure, want and fear. One of the rescue party who made the trip in the first boat that entered the city said:
"The cry to be saved from those who saw the first boat was heartrending. Some of them threatened to jump into the water if we did not take them aboard. But it was impossible with the scant boat supply to take all away at once."
THOUSANDS MAROONED
Relief parties from South Bend were the first to arrive on the scene. They found hundreds of people huddled together in the court house square, which was three miles from the nearest dry land; hundreds more were marooned in the upper stories of buildings already rendered unsafe by the high water. There was no heat, no light, no water, and sanitary conditions were horrible. The only motor boat had broken and it was too dangerous to venture into the raging torrent in rowboats. This made it impossible for the South Bend relief volunteers to get blankets and food to the sufferers.
TALES OF STRUGGLE
Death faced hundreds of persons who were clinging to the roofs of buildings, where they sought refuge. Currents of muddy water from ten to twenty-five feet deep were running through the main streets at twenty miles an hour.
Harry Lumley, a despatcher, lay on a table all Wednesdayin the Peru station of the Lake Erie and Western Railroad, which the water had invaded, and kept open the line for relief trains.
Dr. W. A. Huff, a dentist, started to South Peru with an unknown man Tuesday night. The boat capsized and Huff lodged in a tree, where he remained until Wednesday morning. His condition was critical.
No effort was made to count the dead. "Our energies are being devoted entirely to saving those still living," said Lieutenant-Governor O'Neill. "It is impossible for us even to try to learn the whereabouts of the bodies just now."
A VIGILANCE COMMITTEE
Citizens, finding lawlessness in every block of the city above water, organized a vigilance committee with orders to shoot looters.
On Wednesday night several thousand persons were still marooned in the court house, hospital, factory buildings and other structures because the various relief parties sent from South Bend and other cities had not sufficient boats to carry them to the nearest dry land. Snow was falling heavily and the suffering was intense, because of the lack of heating facilities. The city was in darkness, except for a scant supply of lanterns.
FAMINE AND DISEASE
But the height of the flood had been reached. On Thursday the water was receding three inches an hour. It had fallen four feet since the previous morning, but the currentwas still so swift on Canton Street and in South Peru, that it was impossible to investigate in rowboats the district in which the heaviest loss of life was supposed to have occurred.
There were three inches of snow on the ground and it was still falling. Recovering from the flood, Peru organized to meet greater menaces, famine and disease. At a meeting in the courtroom at the county building, Lieutenant-Governor O'Neill was chosen head of the committee on organization.
Hundreds of persons marooned in the second stories of their homes appealed to passing boats for food, fuel and water. Fishermen seized some of the boats and were taking the curious sightseeing. Persons who appropriated boats and tied them up were arrested.
There were 500 persons at the Bears Hotel in Peru. Their only fire was a grate in the lobby. Two meals a day were served. The water had receded so that a Lake Erie and Western relief train was pulled up to the canning factory in the northeast part of the town and took out 200 persons marooned three days. They were taken to towns along Lake Erie. It was estimated that 2,000 persons had left the city and were being cared for in towns and school houses to the north. The relief committee discouraged the influx of people who came to Peru to see and eat, as there were more mouths to feed than there were provisions.
Lieutenant-Governor O'Neill remained in Peru to insure whatever aid the state could give the sufferers. He ordered the Indiana Board of Health to send experts to make the city sanitary. These specialists had the co-operation of city and county medical societies and a score of physicians who came from other cities.