The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1882-03-09
Effects of the Floods.

graphic account OF the disastrous effects Oh
the floods along the Mississippi
1t would require an artists pen to picture
the grandeur of the Mississippi as, at its pres
ent foodtidc, it sweeps with q mighty power
down to the gulf, while its relentless current
everywhere carries upon its bosom the evl-
dence of its destructive powers From Cairo,
ILL.,, to Vicksburg, Miss, there is scarcely
anything to be seen but dreary watery waste,
extending in many 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. Thousands
of cattle and other stock have been drowned
and 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 and
where they would soon sarve were not food
provided Never before within the history of
the country was there SO much suffering ex-
perienced by tho people of the Mississippi val
ley 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
depth of fourteen inches deeper than was ever
before known. This large body of water again
finds its way back into the main channel just
above Helena, Ark, and has caused the great
est disaster to the people below, from Council
Bend, Ark, forty miles south of Memphis, to
Friar's Point, Miss. The river is a foot higher
than it was at The great flood Of 1862,
and is still rising at the rate of two
inches day. Levees that have with
stood all 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
City the water has invaded every dwelling
Half of Helena, Ark, is under water, and the
greatest fears are entertained that tho 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 a deplcrab!e
! condition. Many of our people are now
without anything to eat except the drowned
stock, and unless aid comes in the
| way Of provisions many will perish from hun
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 to 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
| been driven from their homes in Critten-
| den and Phillips counties, AK, have arrived
| hero and are utterly destitute. There are
! many. yet within tbs 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 porchcs and Railways, while tho
owners sleep withil the rooms Negroes arc
living in gin lofts, oa rafs and on platforms"
The inerh"slS rvs u Of this great submer-
rial decrease il acreage. The prospects to the
merchant and planter throughout the valley
| are gloomy, and the outlook for cessation Of
the present suffering is anything but hopeful.
| Greenville (Miss.) dispatch says: " The
Bolivar levee 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
cause the overflow of every plantation
in Bolivar county The river fell
still falling rapidly. Rosedalo, the
county seat of Bolivar county, is six feet under
| water. The Ledger Office and other houses are
washed away. Clark's front leyee 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
| Il the northern portion of Washington county
and tie back lands throughout Issaquena and
| Shercy counties Will go under. number of
people were drowned at Riverton. Accounts
Of suffering and loss of life continue to come
| in, and exceed anything that has ever attended
previous foundations of the Mississippi river. -
Another Memphis dispatch says: "Advices
from Rivcrton, Miss, $50 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 to go to the assistance of Mrs
Bradshaw, and was drawn into the channel
The live stock is all drowned and there
are 10 provisions for the people tc
subsist on. The break occurred about
100 yards above Duncans. At Duncan's
there are no less than twenty three women and
children, and many more are huddled together
on the ovee half naked, frozen and hungry
Every house at Riverton, except three, has
either foated off or Is so damaged that they
will bo unfit for habitation when the waters de-
cline
A New Orleans dispatch gays: "After the
heavy rain on Tuesday gap of seventy-ive fee
wa made in the levee at Carson's Landing
and 100 yards was swept away. The noise o
the flood awoke the sleeping citizens, ant
without taking time to clothe themselves
they fled for their lives. Ben Haines
. keeper of the landing, and two negro
children were drowned. A number of Others
, had narrow escapes. Near Bolivar 25
yards of the levee gave way, and betweeI
Catfish Point and Mount Landing,
distance of six miles, the levee broke in fou
: places. In Arkansas City, Ark, the wate
covers the floor of every store and the lover
floor of every dwelling, and varies in heigh
, from six inches to four feet above the ground
, The floor of the hotels covered to the depth o
:. twenty inches"