Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-05-05
INUNDATED ST. LOUIS.
The Mississippi Steadily Rising-The Low
Lands About st. Louis Submerged
Threatening Breaks in the Levees--Rail-
road Traffic Seriously Interrupted,l and
Creator Disasters Feared.

road Traffic Seriously interrupted j and
Creator Disasters Feared.
ST. LOUIS, May 4.--The situation in East
St. Louis is becoming more and more critical,
and unless the river ceases to rise, of which
there is no immediate hope, the entire city
will be submerged. Everything possible is
being done to prevent this by strengthening
and elevating dykes and railroad embank.
ments, but these have been surrounded by
water so long that they are more or less
soaked, and the pressure in places is SO great,
there being from ten to sixty feet of water
bearing against them, that the prohabil.
tiles are there will be several If not
numerous breaks. and that the whole
CITY WILL DE ENGULFED.
break is already reported in the Ohio & Mis-.
sissippi railroad embankment, about mile
north of the Relay depot, and the vandalia track
is flooded for some distance. Should the break
reach any considerable width 1t will prove
quite as disastrous as erevice in the Madison
levee, several miles north, would be, as it
would let the food direct from the river
swamp out over the bottom to the east and
north, which in short time would circle
southwark and come into East st. Louis from
the rear. Many people have already left East
st. Louis, and others have moved themselves
and their household effects to upper stories of
their dwellings,. Some of the merchants arc
MOVING THEIR GOODS II.
to the city, while others are piling them up
on high shelves or storing them on the Sec
ond floor. Several railroads have taken their
movable property from their yards on the
island, and some decline to receive any more
freight for shipment at present. The G. q A.,
H. NJ, and C. B. & @. dykes across the
slough from the island to the main land, have
either settled to such an extent, or become SO
weak that they are no longer serviceable, and
these roads will remove their rolling stock
from their yards on the island, to safe ground.
in fact the yards on the island are In such
danger of inundation that they will have to
be abandoned. The Cairo & st. Louis narrow
gauge road is submerged in many places on
the bottoms, and has suspended operations.
The trestle of the Cairo short line, leading to
the island south of the bridge, has been aban.
doned, and the road will have to reach it's
freight yard by another track.
The report circulatedSthis morning that the
Ohio and Mississippi railroad embankment had
broken about mile northeast of the relay
depot, was greatly exaggerated. There was
really no break at all, but leak at an old cul-
vert, which might have become serious, had
1t not been promptly attended to. A number
of men were Immediately put at work, and in
short time the leak was stopped. The en-
bankment is the highest. .one that crosses the
bottom, higher than The flood mark
saye the town of East st. Louis from inunda-
ton. 1t can stand an additional rise of four
or six feet.
The water is still rushing through the break
of yesterday in the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy dyke into Cohokis and spreading out
over the bottom. The current caused by this
break has swept away large part of the en-
bankment around the city gasometer, which
is few yards below the Chicago, Burlington
ton to view. 1t also washed out some fifty or
sixty feet on one side of the embankment run.
ming north from the relay depot, upon which
are several of the bridge company's trucks,
and the track of the Indianapolis & st. Louis
undermining one of the tracks and
letting it into the water. A large force of
men was put to work at once throwing rock
and sinking timbers, and by six o'clock this
evening the embankment was considered per-
fectly safe. -
The Madison leyec opposite the mouth of
the Missouri river sprung two or three small
breaks yesterday afternoon and last evening,
but they were promptly repaired. A large force
of men is at work on this levee. and
it is being patrolled by careful watchers under
direction of several large property owners Of
that section, who are vitally interested in max
ing the dyke safe.
The tracks of the Chicago & Alton railroad
and of the Ohio & Mississippi and Wabash
across the slough east of the island are par.
TALLY submerged, but they are still being used
to some extent, and these roads will not at
tempt to do full freight business just at pres
ent The main tracks of roads from the bridge
in every direction are still intact end In good
order ---t' -