The examiner., 1882-03-11
Effects of the Floods


 Memphis dispatch gives the following graphic account of the disastrous effects or the floods along tho Mississippi: .,... It would require an artists pen to picture the grandeur of the Mississippi as, at It's pres ent ioodtidc, it sweeps with mighty power down to the gulf, while it's relentless current everywhere carries upon it's bosom the ev1- dence of it's destructive powers. From Cairo. H., to Vicksburg, Miss, there is scarcely anything to be seen but dreary watery waste, extending in mary localities fifteen miles into the interior from either bank. The damage that has been done to farming interests by the great overflow cannot now be estimated Ihousands of cattle and other stock have been drowned nd hundreds are now daily dying of starva- tion. The inhabitants of the bottom lands have been driven from their homes and are now existing as best they may on ridges where hastily built huts afford them shelter ana where they would soon starve were not food provided. Never before within the hietory of the country was there so much suffering eI- perienced by tho people of the Mississippi val icy as now, and what with the rising waters and the incessant rains, the disasters Of the future cannot be foretold.
 Breaks have also occurred in the levees near Belmont. Mo, and between Belmont and Os- ceola, Ark Through this vast area of country the waters are pouring in mighty volumes into the head waters of the St. Francis river, over | flowing the entire St. Francis river valley to | before known. This large body of water again | finds it's way back into the main channel just | above Helena, Ark and has caused the great est disaster to the people below, from Council Friars Point, Miss. The river is foot higher | than it was at the great flood or lo62 and is still rising at the rate of two l inches & day. Levees that have with | stood ali the high waters that have occurred within the past twenty years have been broken, | and dwellings that were built above the high water mark of previous years have been flooded | to the depth of a foot or more. At Arkansas I xr.- Io1 d fnry Half of Helena, Ark, is under water and the greatest fears arc entertained that the levee | which protects the front of the city will break. | The condition Of those whose lands have been inundated is best described in the follow ing appeal, which was forwarded on their be- | half to-day: "Our country IS in deplcrabe condition. Many of our people are now without anything to eat except the drowned way of provisions many will perish from hum ger. The stock, hogs and cattle are drowning | day after day as they are driven from danger to death. The levees continue to break and the waters rise. driving people from their floating houses, barely escaping with their | lives"
 another account says: "Our stock are on the levee starving 10 death. They are dying day by day, and many people cannot get out of their house, and without assistance from some source many are bound to starve. Hundreds of negroes, who have been driven from their homes in LCritten,
 
 here and are utterly destitute. There are many yet within th inundated region who are cooped up in their cabins, unable to get away from lack of means of conveyance In many dwellings mules have been taken in and oc- cupy the porchrs and hallways, while the owners sleep withia the rooms. Neg1 oes are ligin,y in gin lofts O Tafts and on platforms. D i The inc ble rct IL of this great bubmer- sion must be delay in planting and. mate ' rial decrease iE acreage. The prospects to the merchant and planter throughout the valley are gloomy, and the outlook for 8 cessation O! the present suffering is anything but hopeful I A GreenVille (Miss.) dispatch says: " The Bolivar 1evee broke yesterday morning. River ton, Wade, Clay and Badgat levees also broke through, and it is reported that the Concordia broke the day before. These breaks will in Bolivar county. The river fell here four inches last night, and is still falling rapidly. Rosedale, the : water The Ledger office and other houses are washed away. Clark's front levee on Lake Bulah is gone. This will cause an overflow of what was left of Bolivar county. Williams bayou levee in this county is broken, and all of the northern portion of Washington county and the back lands throughout Issaquena and Sherkey counties will go under. number oi people were drowned at Riverton. Accounts of suffering and loss of life continue to come l in, and exceed anything that has ever attended previous inundations of the Mississippi river. 5
 Another Memphis dispatch says: "Advices from hlVertOD, MlsS., 15O miles below Mem phis, say that the levees broke on Monday night. Several persons were drowned, among the number Benjamin Heyne, shipping clerk, , who tried 10 go to the assistance of Mrs. Bradshaw, and was drawn into the channel. The live stock is all drowned and there are no provisions for the people to subsist on. The break occurred about 100 yards above Dunean's. At Duncan's there are no less than twenty three women and children, and many more are huddled together , on the levee, half naked, frozen and hungry. Every house at Riverton, except three, has either foated off or IS so damaged that they will be unfit for habitation when the waters de- f clino.'
 A New Orleans dispatch says: "After the heavy rain on Tue sday gap of seventy-dve feet } was made in the levee at Carson's Landing, and 100 yards was swept away. The noise of the flood awoke the sleeping citizens, and without taking time to c!othe themselves they fled for their lives. Ben Haines, , keeper of the landing, and two negro children were drowned. number of others had narrow escapes. Near Bolivar 25C yards of the levee gave way, and between Catfish Point and Mount Landing, & distance of six miles, the levee broke in four places. In Arkansas City, Ark, the water covers the floor of every store and the lower } floor of every dwelling, and varies in height , from six inches to four feet above the ground. The floor of the hotel is covered to the depth of twenty inches.' ~.