low-lying farm lands and roads in places have water enough over them
to float an ordinary steamboat.

Leaving Pittsburgh Saturday morning on the valley road, we ran past
millions and millions of feet of lumber. From the city to the junction
opposite Freeport the river was almost choked with debris of broken and
shattered houses. In places the river was fairly black with floating
masses of lath, shingles, roofs, floors and other lumber that had
formerly been houses. The sight was appalling and spoke louder than any
pen can describe.

At Red Bank the river was filled with a different kind of lumber,
including huge saw logs ready for cutting. From the estimates of an old
lumber man who was on the train I was told that between the stations
named we passed at least ten million feet of lumber, which means a loss
of fully $100,000 to the owners. A big portion of this came out of the
Clarion river, the estimated money loss from that section alone being
anywhere from $500,000 to $750,000.

All along the Allegheny river were gathered people trying to catch the
logs, risking their lives, for the logs swept down the river in a
current that was running fully ten miles an hour. The work was very
hazardous. The catchers are allowed by law six and a quarter cents for
each log captured, and the river was almost lined with people trying to
save the property.

At Red Bank, which we left at noon, there were at least six feet of
water expected from Oil City, and with it, according to the reports from
up the river, was an immense amount of lumber. Leaving the valley road
at Red Bank we went up the low grade division to Bryant, where immense
sawmills, the largest in the vicinity are located. The current was
rushing along at a rate anywhere from twelve to fifteen miles an hour,
tossing the huge logs around like so many toothpicks and carrying
everything before them. So great was the current and mass of logs that
the big iron bridge at Reynoldsville, sixteen miles above Brookville,
was swept away, as were two wagon bridges and several small foot
bridges.

Hundreds Homeless and Suffering.

Many houses here and there along Red Bank Creek were turned upside down,
some of them floating clear away, while the more secure ones were
flooded with water clear into the second floors. Many of the smaller
cottages and shanties were covered, leaving only the peaks of the roofs
sticking out to show the spots that families had but a few hours before