Harpers Weekly
Journal of Civilization
New York, Saturday, February 23, 1884
scans from newspaper collection of
Ruth Adams-Battle
transcribed by Linda Boorom 2007
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| Headquarters of the Police Patrol and
Relief Boats, Cincinnati |
In the Suburbs, Cincinnati |
THE GREAT FLOODS.
We devote a large amount of space
this week to pictures of the great floods which have devastated the
valley of the Ohio, and spread ruin and suffering over a wide extent of
country. At Cincinnati the river rose to the unprecedented height of
seventy-one feet above low-water mark, nearly five feet highter than
the great flood of last year. The Grand Central Depot in that city had
from six to eight feet of water on the floor, and Lincoln Park was a
lake. The sudden cold of the 13th inst. added greatly to the distress
and suffering in the flooded portions of the city, as many were
destitute of fuel, or without the means of using it. As a rule, people
clung to their houses undtil the danger was absolute and immediate, and
in many instances were rescued only a few moments before their
dwellings were swept away.
The hills on each side of the river became its banks, the bases being flodded, and houses were everywhere torn away by the current. Several villages were almost utterly destroyed. In Point Pleasant, the birth-place of General GRANT, only two houses were out of water. The farmers from the surrounding country rendered all the assistance in their power; but the misery, destruction, and distress can not be overdrawn. Thousands of people were homeless and out of food.
Lawrenceburg, on the Indiana side of the river, was for a time entirely shut off from outside communication, except by means of skiffs, over a body of water several miles in extent, and from six to eight feet deep. The waters of the Miami rushed through the streets, carrying before them everything not heavily anchored or tied with strong ropes. Dwellings, barns, saw-mills, and lumber were jumbled together in huge masses of ruin.
Accounts from Gallipolis, Ohio, gave a terrible picture of suffereing in that region. On the 13th inst. every city, town, and village except Gallipolis, which is on high ground, was inundated, and inaccessible except from that point. The territory contains about 75,000 inhabitants, living on the banks of the Ohio and Kanawha rivers. At least 2000 houses were swept away, or damaged to such an extent as to be unhinhabitable after the flood has subsided. The farmers lost largely of their horses and cattle, nearly all their grain and feed, and all their fencing. The merchants and manufacturers lost their stocks, and the mechanics were thrown out of employment. Coal mines and salt works were flooded, and everything was desolate indeed. It will be weeks and months before business can be resumed, and help will be needed long after the waters have subsided.
Similar accounts come from almost every part of the Ohio Valley. It is the same sad story over and over again; and it is repeated from Pittsburgh, Wheeling, Louisville, and other cities. Measures for the relief of the sufferers were promptly taken at Cincinnati and other places, and steamboats laden with provisions and clothing were sent to the flooded districts. The United States goverment appropriated $60,000 for the relief of sufferers as far south as Ironton, the Kentucky Legislature voted $25,000 for the same purpose, and the amount of private subscriptions has been generous and prompt. Still a great deal remains to be done. So many thousands of people have been made homeless and destitute that wide-spread suffering can be averted only by the most energetic measures.
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