The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-04-16
&UBMERGED.

Destruction OF Property and Loss OF |
Life-The whole Of the Lower Missis- |
sippI Valley Under Water.
ESPECIAL ooRRBsPON DBNCE EVENING TBLEGRAPH.l |
CAIRO, Ill.,, April TO- 1867.
After tour from the head-waters of the Ohio |
river to New Orleans, am led to the reflection
that it would be much more commendable if
the people of the Uiited States would give some
OF the aid and comfort which they are lavish
ing upon the Cretans and Fenians to this section
of their own country No man who has not
passed over this country, which looks as though
the Almighty had selected it as q spot whereon
TO vent His wrath, can imagine the desoation
and destruction which exist from Cairo to
Baton Rouge. The river, which is higher than
1t has been for the past thirty years, has broken
down the levees in thousands of places. and the
country for miles wears the appearance of a
vast inland sea. Houses which few months
ago were the happy homes OF countless families,
are now just visible above the water, which
goes tearing through the many Crevasses, carry
Ing death and destruction before it. Horses,
cows, pigs and in fact everything, have been
swept away, and the people in many places are
left In state bordering on absolute starvation.
In some places portions OF the levees are still
standing. On these strips OF land, six feet wide
and mile long, can be seen men, women, and
children huddled together with horses, cows,
and other stock which have been fortunate
enough to escape the flood and reach these uar-
| now homes OF safety. Here they live, and have
been living in many cases for weeks, with
nothing to shelter them from the sun or storm
but few boards and drit-woOd.
Hundreds, nay, thousands, of the most fruitful
and eleea ant sugar and cotton plantations are
completely inundated, ana the amount OF
destruction is almost beyond computation. Here
and there plantation may be seen where the
levees are still intact but these cases will not
| average more than one IN every fifteen. Those
! who are not already flooded live in the greatest
! dread of the water, which at any moment is
liable TO break through the trail barrier of earth
! and cover the whole country for miles, cutting
! OF IN an instant every avenue OF escape except
! through the medium OF boats. 1t no uncommon
! sight to see the people residing along the river
moving to and from their houses in boats; IN
! fact, there is no other way of moving about
| Life is a very uncertain commodity, and the
people go to bed at night with the expectation
! of finding themselves miles from dry land when
they wake up in the morning. 1t is one of the
most distressing sights TO see the misery and
destruction which exist throughout the length
and breadth of the lower Mlssisslppi and, as
remarked above, it would be far more commend
| able II the people VINO are sVmpatbiHng with
the Cretans and other foreign nations would
halt for moment, and extend little of their
! charity III this direction. | know ii is against
| the feelings of numDer of the N Jrthern people
to lend helping hand to this section: and |
| know, further, that the undisgused hatred
which these people bear towards the North, and
their pride, forbid the asking of the smallest
favor; but let us help them, whether they ask it
or not. / have no fear but that oar charity
would be accepted, and it is our duty as Chris
tians TO give it a trial.
All the elements seemed TO com bine to render
the destruction of this country complete, and
| hey ond the power of human restoration. What
has escaped the water has, in many cases, been
caught up by IRE. ViCksburg, whicn is situate
high up on bluff, has escaped the water but
the charred heaps OF debras which lie about
some of the principal streets give us to under
stand that the place has not escaped from the
general destruction which appears to have been
vile, Mississippi, where | halted Tor a few hours
the other day, scenes OF the most abject poverty
were visible on every hand among the poor
negroes, and yet know that tins place IS com.
paraively rich. greater part of the town has
been washed away during the past two or three
years, aud what is now left OF II is completely
worth of property has been destroyed by the
river, and a boat, which was regarded as the
ark of safety, and in which was stored some
itLy thousand collars worth of goods, rode out
the violence of the water only to be destroyed,
with everything on board by fire.
While wandering about among the desolaton
which existed in the neighborhood OF TINS
place, my attention was called to scene OF the
most distressing character. In little hut on
the bare ground. almost entirely surrounded by
water, lay middleaged negro woman in the
last stages OF typhoid pneumonia. A little
straw and some filthy rags constituted her bed,
and as we entered stencil greeted us which
was almost insupportabe. crust OF hard,
musty corn bread lay beside her, and broken
washed for months, contained her diet for the
day. l endeavored to draw from her the story
OF her misfortunes, but she was too weak To
speak; and after two or three fruitless efforts
sank back upon her pallet OF filth completely
exhausted. collection was taken up among
the passengers of our boat, and quite a hand
some sum OF money was handed over to one OF
the unfortunate woman's friends, with instruC.
tions that in case she did not die before the
next downward boat passed, to send her to the
hospital at Vicksburg.
From what / could learn among those who
waited upon the poor creature, it appears thai
she was found one morning about month age
lying on the leVee, where she had been landed
by passing steamer during the previous night
Here she laid until a snow storm came up, WheI
a, good.hearted blacksmith picked her up anC
placed her in the quarters where first saw her
She says that she was hired by man named
Harris (let his name be printed In letters o
hre), who lives in Kentucky, TO work upon
plantation which he had purchased somewhere
on the lower river; and having been taken sict
while on the road down, was landed by his in
was no agent OF that noble institution, tn
Freedmen's Bureau, in this neighborhood, ant
| hence this poor creature was dependent upoI
the charity OF people who were already in
starving condition themselves.
The passage of the Military Reconstruction bill
will be OF considerable service in this country
The people hate 1t as they hate the most loath
some reptile, but are beginning to learn tha
there Is but one way for them to get along Th
take the bill and indorse it, not that they ap
prove OF 1t, or anything else that emanate
from the same source, but because they ar
fearful that should they SIGHT over II as the
have over all other laws looking towards tht
reconstruction Of the country, they will only d