Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1882-03-02
A BELMONTER ON THE WING.

BELMONT CHRoNICLE:-Helena is the
Seat of Justice for Phillips county, and
has population Wandering about four
Thousand souls. During the war battle
was fought over this place, between
Curtis and Steel on the one side, and
Shelby, Marmaduke, and Price, on the
other, which resulted in victory for
the Union forces. took a stroll few
days ago over the hills, ravines, and
flats, where the bloody contest ragged,
and picked up some minnie balls and
buckShot as mementoS Of the conflict.
The Federal forces were stationed on
the bluffs behind the town in an old
cemetery, and this silent city Of the dead
is in the most deplorable condition OF
any burying ground l have ever seen.
The soldiers who were buried here on
the hillside below the old cemetery have
all disappeared and not mark, mound,
or bone, is to be found to in
dicate the place of deposit of their re-
mains, whilst on the crown of the hill
above, skeletons, bones and skulls are
found in prOfusion, where the wild wa
ters have plowed into the graves in the
loose, sandy soil, torn asunder the cof-
fins, and scattered the human relicts all
through the washes and ravines. Since
we have been here the papers have call
ed attention to the deplorable condition
OF this graveyard, and justly remarked
that it became a subject of serious COM
ment by strangers who visited the city,
for ''our crowd" have openly criticised
it severely ON many occasions. Barring
the few relicts to be found on the battle
lield, nothing is left to tell the story but
the old hills themselves, and should the
rain continue to wash them away, they
are very far from being eternal" The
town itself is nearly all new, the greater
portion of it having been built IN the
past ten years. 1t is full of enterprise and
sports four newspapers, three weeklies
and one daily-the Golden Epoch being
published by negro, and is a spicy.
newsy, and well put up sheet. The Daily
and Weekly World, published by Maj.
Burke, is sheet meriting support for
its energy and life as well as neatness
and mechanism. The Yeoman, publish
ed by Maj. Harris, is the best weekly pa
per in this part of Arkansas. and. the
editors of all these papers are as gentle
manly and congenial set of fellows as
one will find anywhere. Maj. Harris
and Maj. Burke not long since INDUCED
in making target of one another for
pistol practice to avenge injured "hon-
ah," but friends interfered and prevent
ed bloodshed before either target had
been hit. These little episodes occur
every once III awhile in this country, and
are looked upon as common occurrences.
The injury Was repaired, l believe, as
everything goes on quietly in both Of
fees, and both "Majahs' come up smil-
ing on the street, and with outStretched
hands and greet their friends as of yore.
Gen. w. 5. Hancock passed through
this city recently on visit to son in
Mississippi, and remained here over
night. He was entertained in a hospita-
BILE manner at a private residence, and
was cordially received by the leading
citizens, but outside of this his presence
was scarcely known, and did not create
much of a sensation. However, [ be-
lieve the General is very popular in the
South, and its support at Cincinnati was
simply an earnest of an honest senti-
ment Political states are being dis
cussed by the Arkansas press. States
more than principles, for political prin-
ciples are rarely discussed, and Gen. j.
C. Tappan, of this city, is being curried,
groomed and doomed for the Guberna-
torial race by his many friends. have
had the pleasure of meeting the gentle
man and find him very agreeable indeed.
The all absorbing topic just now is the
great flood in the Mississippi river. The
| river is higher now than it has ever been
known before in the history of the val
ley. at Memphis and points above, it
is forty miles wide and over, whilst at
this point, the narrowest below Cairo,
it is at least ten miles wide, and threat
ening to inundate the country on all
sides. Men of all ages and occupations
have been pressed into the levee service,
repairing and building up the levees.
Guards are put on at night to watch the
progress of the river and prevent any
one from cutting the levee, and large
forces of men and teams are being work.
ed night and day. MAJ y millions of dol
lars worth of property depends upon
holding this vast volume of water with
in the narrow space marked by the fee
bic and narrow embankments that line
the river shore on either side. At some
points the levee has been cut in two and
in other places sand bags and loose
earth are heaped upon the old levee.
Mud is gathered up from the streets for
this purpose, and dirt hauled from the
hiil-sides. There were no services held
in the churches on last Sunday and bu-
siness is almost suspended during the
week. The levee broke on the Mississ-
ippi side at Trotter's Point, few miles
above here, and at Delta below US, to-
day, and all that country is being flood
ed. The wild waters are rushing through
the widening creVices with denoniac
fury, carrying trees and everything be-
fore them. That of course relieved He
lena some, but there is still great danger
of an overflow here, and the people have
been expecting it for the last sixty hours.
This town is several feet below. and
some of the country further down the
river is thirty feet below the surface of
this raging torrent The situation is
simply terrible, and the like has never
been seen before along the Mississippi.
Houses are vacated through the country,
the people fleeing to the hill tops, cattle
and mules starving and freezing by the
score, and as far as the eye can reach,
nothing but destruction and wild waste
of waters can be seen. Imagine this
torrent of boiling, seething and rushing
waters on its wild course to the sea,
breaking through the narrow confines
marked by the levees on either side, and
sweeping down thirty feet on the coun-
try below, tearing up trees, sweeping
away cabins and fences, and carryii g
destruction in its wake, and you ha> g
the situation in some of these low bot
toms, and just what is threatened to the
country below US. The people are work
ing nobly and heroically to save their
lands and their stock, but it seems as
though they were fighting against fate,
for the river is still towering its majes-
tic head towards the tops of the highest
levees, many, very many times, working
small crevice out of mole hole, or
sweeninp away loose earth on the ton