The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1881-05-05
Western Waters.

All through the West the great streams were
much swollen last week and immense dam
age was sustained oy property with number
of lives lost The Mississippi and Missouri
over run their banks and injured the towns
along the shores The Missouri was on a
rampage and from its source to its mouth
carried destruction in the track of its mad
dened waters.
Thursday last was day of great excitement
in Kansas City. The waters in the Missouri
continued to rise throughout the night and
day. At nine o'clock Thursday morning a
dyke raised along the Missouri river front of
the bottoms gave way in the neigborhood
called "Helrs Half Acre." and the torrent
poured through, driving the people from their
homes in great terror.
All efforts to stay the flood were in vain,
and within an hour large district was inun-
dated to the depth OF four to ten feet. At noon
the torrent began to pour over Ninth street,
! submerging another district as large as the
| first, and driving the terror-stricken citizens
| before 1t.
| The water backing up the K ansas or Kaw
river submerged large part OF the stock
yards and surrounding district, inhabited by
the families of employees ofFowler Bros pack
ing houses, and surrounding their large board
ing house.
The water stood several feet deep in large
number of stores on Union avenue and James
street, and covered the street railway on these
streets for five or six squares. In the neigh
borhood known as Armoursdale, across the
Kaw river from this point, large number OF
colored families were surprised by the Hood
and at least five persons drowned. The water
rushed over the doomed town so rapidly that
the inhabitants could only flee for their lives
without being able to remove any part of their
household goods. Fully three hundred fami-
lies were thus thrown out of their houses in an
incredibly short time, and were encamped on
the high grounds around Armstrong, with a
strong probability that their houses would go
down the stream At least six thousand pe0-
pie were driven from their homes In East
Kansas City similar state of affairs existed,
rendering homeless, for the time, at least a
thousand people
The Missouri river at Atchison, Kansas, was
twenty three feet above low water mark Thurs
day All the people of East Atchison, mum
bering about thousand, except half dozen
families, were driven out by the flood. Most o.
them took refuge in the city, many occu
plying box cars, generously furnished by the
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad.
|
A farmer, named p Hudson, living at the
Missouri Bottom, opposite Atchison, lost $8,O 0(
worth of cattle and horses. The Atchison and
Nebraska road was submerged or washed
away north of the city. Very great destruc
ton of property was reported in the bottom
above Atchison, both in Kansas and Missouri
Dates to the Bird from St. Louis say the riv
er rose about seven inches yesterday, and il
still rising quite rapidly, Most of the whar
above the bridge is submerged, and in some
buildings the water is standing on the frs
, floors, necessitating the removal of goods te
the second stories. All cellars along the
river front are nearly full of water. In thu
southern part of the city, below Chateau ave
nue. and between the Iron Mountain Railroad
embankment and the river the land is al
submerged, and business operations at various
establishments are suspended. In the north
) ern part of the city more than dozen factor
les, planning mills, elevators, and like estab
lishments have been obliged to stop work.