Freshet in the Potomac

GREAT FRESHET IN THE POTOMAC.– The rains of last week melting the masses of snow on the Alleghany Mountains caused a sudden and heavy freshet in the Potomac River. The water rose higher than at any time since the great freshet of 1836. At Harper’s Ferry fears were felt for the safety of the bridge by which the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad passes to the Virginia side, but fortunately the water did not reach the bridge and it escaped damage.

The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal was injured, though not to the extent feared from the fullness of the flood. The Railroad was but very slightly injured. Farms along the river suffered much. Fences are washed away, and the bottoms are covered with mud. Many of the shantees for the laborers on the works were washed away. In Cumberland, the damage was slight.