The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1882-03-23
WIDE SPREAD. RUIN.
The Situation of Flood Sufferers Around

u Il
= Helena.
HELENA, Ark, March 19.-The river
here has fallen two inches in the last
hours. The Arkansas Mid
land train went through to Clarendon,
the first time in nineteen days, running
in twelve inches of water The over
flow has departed from Clarendon ex-
cept on the lowest places and White
River is falling rapidly. Col. A. H.
johnson, president of the Midland rail
road, returned this morning by way of
Little Rock to NJ ldison, and was trans
ferred by steamer Katie Hooper to the
reSents the situation as very
distressing, and thai the losses will be
beyond computation. The stencil of
decaying carcasses is already befouling |
the atmosphere, and when the water shall |
go down ii will be unbearable. Judge |
l.. ii. Mangum, commissioner for Ar |
kansas for tie distribution of the sup
Piles voted by congress, returned upon /
the Belle Memphis last evening to make |
Helena his headquarters in future, as it |
is the center of all the suffering and dis |
tress, and il is much easier to receive in |
formation from interior points there than |
any other point and a far better |
for the issuance of raIions. Judge Man |
gum remarked to your correspondent |
to-day that there were at least % 600 |
people on his list as being fed by the !
government, and on halfrations at that
He thought the number would be large
ly increased now since he could reach !
all parts of the compass from Helena. |
In his opinion the government would
have to feed the sufferers at least once
month yet, and il would be three weeks
before the overflow went off the lowest
bottoms under the most favorable circum-
stances. Large numbers of people were
in distress. he has received but one
shipment of the supplies, on account of
the lack of transportation from Men,
phis, and the failure TO learn of every
particular case, and these would be at
tended to at the earliest opportunity.
He has had some trouble in making dis
| tributions on account of local jealousies,
which he was sorry to see. He gave the
Dick Jones, which lett last night for the
sunk lands region, an order for the ra-
tions put off by the steamer Tiger at
Wittsburg, to take them to her destina-
| ton for the sufferers there, who are al
most reduced to cannibalIsm, as they
have been eating drowned carcasses for
several days, and have all the appear
ance of people about to become insane
by starvation. The judge receiyed the
following kilograms and made reply to
Secretary Lincoln: The number here
in before given, at least 5000, are on
half rations.
ST. LOUIS, March $50 L. H. Man
gum: The government steamer Gen.
Barnard will leave St. Louis tomorrow
for Memphis and Helena. She will
have $4,000 rations for you, to be left at
Helena. A small steamer will soon be
sent to Helena.
(Signed) BEcKwITH, CommIssary.
WASHINGTON, March 1S.-To Gen.
L. II. Mangum, Commissioner for Ar
kansas: Your telegram received. FIT.
ty thousand rations for you will start by
steamer tomorrow from st. Louis.
Please give your latest estimate of the
number of people being subsisted by
you.
(Signed) ROBERT 7. LINCOLN,
Secretary of War.
One of the highest places of Old Town
Ridge is that of Judge Chas. E. Fenner,
| of the supreme court of Louisiana, and
| generally known as the MCGEE pianta-
| ton, twenty-three miles south of Helena.
The higher points of this plantation are
among the few small quantities of earth
in all the
| VAST COTTON TERRITORY
| of the Old Town region, and there may
be seen now large numbers of all the ami
mails of the domestic kind common to
this country, the property of neighbors
| for miles around, who have been unable
| to remove their stock from the overflow.
| Many of the owners of these animals are
colored people, who are living off of the
government, and as a matter of course
have not the means TO purchase food,
| and in consequence the dumb creatures
are wandering around eating sticks and
pieces of plants, ect. Several are not
| ahln ~ ~ n from the orn1n6 haV-
ing dropped from weakness incident to
hunger, and many it is thought would
die before any feed could be sent to
them, if it was easy to obtain, which is
the reverse of the situation. Hay, corn
and oats are exceedingly scarce in this
! market now, and then the cost and the
trouble of transportation more than
twenty miles through the woods is terri
BILE. 1t strikes me that this case in itself
is enough to convince congress that the
overflow sufferers, next after being fed
themselves, need feed for their cattle,
uron which so much depends. The
steamer Dean Adams. which passed up
this afternoon, brought the sad report
that the condition of the overlooked suf-
ferers below continues 10 be very dis
tressing, and the scenes at the landings
are enough to melt theihearts of any per-
son capable of feeling sorrow. The hun
CRY look in the face of the people and
the appeal for bread, which is heard on
every side, tells of the horrors they en-
dure At every landing the suffering is
found, and at Riverton, Rosedale.
Knowlton's and Bolivar the mind can
picture nothing more terrible. The loss
in the way of fencing and houses will
be very great, and many buildings
which were considered to be safe are
settling back into the water, and will be
totally destroyed. Large numbers OF
these people have gathered their little
personal property together, and are look.
ing for the high lands to begin anew the
struggle of life. There are no rations
here and thousands are applying, to be
told that their hunger cannot be appeas-
ed, but more will arrive by tomorrow
night perhaps. The front levee here
still holds the fort, and the back-water
alone troubles US, which is stationary,
and from three to six feet deep.
Cattle Growers Convention.
WELLINGTON, Kas., March 2O.-The