Free Washed Away: How the Great Flood of 1913, America's Most Widespread Natural Disaster, Terrorized a Nation and Changed It Forever by Geoff Williams
Authors: Geoff Williams
roofs, fragments of horse-drawn buggies, and, mostly, downed tree branches. Breen and his crew had spent much of Sunday night and Monday tending to this task.
But then, after the dam at the bridge broke apart, Breenâs job instantly became impossible. From out of nowhere, the water from the 500-mile-plus Wabash River, which passes directly through downtown, covered the tracks of the Lake Erie & Western railroad and then invaded Peru.
Breen and his crew spent the rest of their evening trying to warn the town of what was coming.
Some people didnât need to be told. When the dam broke, the fire whistle blew, alerting residents that trouble was coming; but they were already clued in, since the lights immediately died. Glenn Kessler, a visitor to Peru from northern Indiana staying with a cousin, told the paper later that he had just finished dinner, and that he, along with everyone else, it seemed, went outside after the power went out. It was dark and raining, making it impossible to see and hear what was coming.
Once it did, it swirled around his ankles. Kessler rushed back to his cousin, and by the time he found her in the darkened house, the water was at their waists. Neighbors were crying and screaming. Gunshots punctured the air as a warning to others, and in the din, Kessler and his cousin could hear people shouting âTo the courthouse! To the courthouse!â which was seven blocks away from the river, and it was a building plenty sturdy enough to withstand whatever the river had to offer. The courthouse was made of oolitic limestone, mined in Oolitic, Indiana, which twenty years later would provide the limestone for the Empire State Building. More importantly, the courthouse was one of the most modern buildings in the state of Indianaâonly two years oldâand it was three stories high. It was one of the few places in the city people could be reasonably sure of being safe.
Half running and swimming, Kessler and his cousin floundered their way to the courthouse, the sanctuary for the beleaguered and drenched. It was also the destination for resident Alexander Clevenger, who carried each of his children and then his wife on his back through water waist-deep from their home to the Miami County courthouse. After that, he found a rowboat and rescued a neighbor and her baby.
But then if Clevenger hadnât completely figured out what his town was dealing with, he knew now. A telephone pole came crashing down onto the boat, crushing it into oblivion. When he emerged from under the freezing water, gasping for air, Clevenger saved the mother, who had grabbed some wires to help her stay afloat. But her babyâin the crashing of the telephone pole, the confusion, the cold waterâcould not be found.
Many residents inland had no comprehension of what was happening to their community. The river had overflowed its banks before, coming up as far as five blocks in from the water and hitting Fifth Street. But since it wasnât yet at Fifth Street, everyone from Sixth Street, especially those with second stories to retreat to in an emergency, didnât see much reason to panic.
Oblivious to the idea that they were facing something unprecedented, many families went to bed, unaware that the waters were rising six inches every hour.
There was a reason many Peru residentsâand people throughout Indiana, Ohio, and other statesâwere not terribly concerned about the rain over the past three days. Flooding was terribly common, as it had been throughout the nationâs history.
It was common throughout world history, actually. Europe had had ample floods in its past, one of the most famous being in 1236 when the Thames River overflowed into the Palace of Westminster. Palace and rescue workers wound up steering their boats through the halls. On December 14, 1287, a dike broke in a storm in the Netherlands and Germany, and the resulting flood killed ten thousand, and a similar incident happened
But then, after the dam at the bridge broke apart, Breenâs job instantly became impossible. From out of nowhere, the water from the 500-mile-plus Wabash River, which passes directly through downtown, covered the tracks of the Lake Erie & Western railroad and then invaded Peru.
Breen and his crew spent the rest of their evening trying to warn the town of what was coming.
Some people didnât need to be told. When the dam broke, the fire whistle blew, alerting residents that trouble was coming; but they were already clued in, since the lights immediately died. Glenn Kessler, a visitor to Peru from northern Indiana staying with a cousin, told the paper later that he had just finished dinner, and that he, along with everyone else, it seemed, went outside after the power went out. It was dark and raining, making it impossible to see and hear what was coming.
Once it did, it swirled around his ankles. Kessler rushed back to his cousin, and by the time he found her in the darkened house, the water was at their waists. Neighbors were crying and screaming. Gunshots punctured the air as a warning to others, and in the din, Kessler and his cousin could hear people shouting âTo the courthouse! To the courthouse!â which was seven blocks away from the river, and it was a building plenty sturdy enough to withstand whatever the river had to offer. The courthouse was made of oolitic limestone, mined in Oolitic, Indiana, which twenty years later would provide the limestone for the Empire State Building. More importantly, the courthouse was one of the most modern buildings in the state of Indianaâonly two years oldâand it was three stories high. It was one of the few places in the city people could be reasonably sure of being safe.
Half running and swimming, Kessler and his cousin floundered their way to the courthouse, the sanctuary for the beleaguered and drenched. It was also the destination for resident Alexander Clevenger, who carried each of his children and then his wife on his back through water waist-deep from their home to the Miami County courthouse. After that, he found a rowboat and rescued a neighbor and her baby.
But then if Clevenger hadnât completely figured out what his town was dealing with, he knew now. A telephone pole came crashing down onto the boat, crushing it into oblivion. When he emerged from under the freezing water, gasping for air, Clevenger saved the mother, who had grabbed some wires to help her stay afloat. But her babyâin the crashing of the telephone pole, the confusion, the cold waterâcould not be found.
Many residents inland had no comprehension of what was happening to their community. The river had overflowed its banks before, coming up as far as five blocks in from the water and hitting Fifth Street. But since it wasnât yet at Fifth Street, everyone from Sixth Street, especially those with second stories to retreat to in an emergency, didnât see much reason to panic.
Oblivious to the idea that they were facing something unprecedented, many families went to bed, unaware that the waters were rising six inches every hour.
There was a reason many Peru residentsâand people throughout Indiana, Ohio, and other statesâwere not terribly concerned about the rain over the past three days. Flooding was terribly common, as it had been throughout the nationâs history.
It was common throughout world history, actually. Europe had had ample floods in its past, one of the most famous being in 1236 when the Thames River overflowed into the Palace of Westminster. Palace and rescue workers wound up steering their boats through the halls. On December 14, 1287, a dike broke in a storm in the Netherlands and Germany, and the resulting flood killed ten thousand, and a similar incident happened
Similar Books
Scorpio Invasion
Alan Burt Akers
The Key To the Kingdom
Jeff Dixon
A Year of You
A. D. Roland
Throb
Olivia R. Burton
Dreams of Fire (Maple Hill Chronicles Book 1)
Elizabeth Alix
Northwest Angle
William Kent Krueger
What an Earl Wants
Kasey Michaels
The Red Door Inn
Liz Johnson
Keep Me Safe
Duka Dakarai
