The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1874-05-02
THE FLOOD.
A Hall Million Acres Inundated
and fTS,0GO People
Starving.
Statement OF the Particulars OF
the Great disaster.

NEW ORLEANS April PA dispatch
| from Nandalia, Concordia parish, says
public meeting assem bled here to-day;
! 5000 people in this section are repre-
sented as suffering for food. a COM
mittee has been appointed to procure
supplies. The mayor Of Trenton tele-
| graphed: "Ne are all oVer!loWed.
Send us 5000 raticns by Ouachita Belle,
if possible. The colored population in
particular are in Distress Large
quantities Of provisions We're shipped
to the sufferers to-day. The relief
com,nittee have got fairly to work.
Demands upon them are much greater
than was at first expected, and lncfeas-
ing daily, rs the water from the crew
asses continues spreading. Another
/ great rise is coming out o. the Red and
Ouachita rivers. Mayor Cobb, Of Bos-
ton, to day telegraphed Mayor Wilt
to draw at sight for $4,000, making
so, 900 contributed by Bostonians for
the overflow. Mayor Wilt yesterday
reported $1,000 in bank to the credit
of the relief committee. ..
Captain Blanks, in Il letter to mem
ber OF the relief committee, says: |
have Just returned with the Ouachita
Belle from Camden, Trenton and Mon
teith, through the overllowed district
of north Louisiana, and see that effort Is
have been and are being made to re-
lieve the suffering occasioned by the
overflow. j have also seen tabular
statement which was presented hY You
to the meeting of citizens from the
overflowed districts, held in the senate
chamber some time last week. From
personal knowledge and direct infor-
nation derived from Others within the
last few days, / am satisfied that said
estimate is by far too low. Asyou have
been requested by three different pub
lie meetings held in the oyerilowed dis
trict of Louisiana, to represent their
wants and condition, / now present
you o statement of the localities and
numbers needing help Mt once, so that
you may present the same to the gov
ernor and committee on distribution
appointed by his honor, the mayor:
Lower Black river, 300; Mardis, inclu-
ding that part of Concordia parish on
Black river, 500; Wilson's on Black
river, 400; Trinity, including ten little
rivers, 200; Harrisonburg, including
bayou Louis, LOCO; Starbs' Landing,
including Braine's Landing, 300; Car
ter's Landing, 400; Bunker Hill, inclu-
ding both sides OF the river and swamp
Batavia, on Ouachita and Boeuf, l,5OO;
Columbia, including Franklin and
Ouachita. or Boeuf, and between
Ouachita and Boeuf rivers, 1000; st.
Adams, including the bottom oD both
sides, 1,500; HopeweU and Waco, in
Guiding Black swamp up to Ouachita
line, 1000; Monroe, 1900; total II 500.
| Now, at the lowest estimate, this num-
| Der may be said to be in actual want,
and many have been SO for days, as
they have now been under water for
| for some two or three weeks. They
have lost all their Hogs and nearly all
their cattle are either lost or starving.
The people themselves have neither
money or credit, no place to go to nor
nothing to do. But this estimate by
no means discloses the distress of those
residing on the small bayous and
creeks who have been overfiowed by
the backwater, and also by the floods
caused by rain. They generally have
| been inland, but have lost much OF
I their stock and improvements, and are
out of provisions and provisions
making crops are so discouraging that
none are willing Or ableto advance the
supplies. They must suffer or receive
assistance. If these be added the mum.
ber needing help is not short of 10000
people in the district referred to.
The Times says the extent of the
damage which has resulted from the
great overflow is just beginning to bC
fully understood. That it was vast wa.
readily conceived, but that it should
involve 5,000.000 of acres and popula'
tion of l7s,0O0 was apparently beyond
a reasonable. calculation. Vet such j,
. really the case. In the cotton regions
id is now aseertained that nine of tn,
largest and richest parishes producing
. cotton have been Inundated. Th'
. parishes of Carroll, Morehouse, Rich
| Land, Madison, Franklin, Tensas, Cald
well, Concordia, and Catalonia, are al
overflowed, and embracing fully z, 500
!, 600 acres. The amount of cotton Ian,
} in these parishes, in actual cultivation
I is ascertained to be 10000 acres, be
: sides 100000 acres in corn. These est
! mates include only large places, leay
: ing out hundreds Of small farmers an