The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1882-03-23

AZ Ocuuds NcV. SIcaI hVdlAHClc Oh
snow buried three whites and fifteen Indians.
John Mott, telegraph operator and
station agent 1t Glendale, No., has been ar
rested on charge Of participating in the Chi
cago and Alton express robbery 1t Blue Cut,
Sept. Z, 1881.
MISSISSIPPI FLOODS.
Death and DcsolatiOn Prevalent
Throughout the Vast ElO0ded Dis
trict---A Narrowing story.
Telegram to Chicago TimsAl
Tho half has not been told about the inunda-
tion OF the Mississippi valley. For distance
Of 1000 miles it IL under water to width Of
from ten tQ 12O miles. No such Aood has o.
CURED in history, according to the accounts Of
cid river men. The Times correspondent has
talked with several old pilots and Captains,
and with one accord al unite in saying that
the overfows OF 1861, 1867 and 1874 did not
compare with the foods which are now laying
waste hundreds Of thousands OF acres OF the
most fertile land the sun ever sh0ne o., In
1877 there was great overflow of the Mlssis-
sippi, but less damage resulted than has al
been gathering In force for two months. The
ILLINOIS, WabasF, Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland,
on The east, &nd the st. Francis, White, ArkAn-
sas and Red rivers on the west, together with
scores and hundreds OF lesser streams, have
been emptying torrents into the Father Of
Waters for long time. Since the lst Of Janu-
ary tho fall OF rain has been continuous
throughout the whole region west Of tho Alle-
ghenies and the southern extension Of that
range, and south Of q line running east and
and west through Central Illinois. The delugs
has averaged from ten to twenty-five inches on
. dead level. insignificant creeks have swollen
to the proportions Of raging rivers. Through
Southern Missouri and Illinois 1t has not been
30 bad, but in Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas,
Mississippi and Louisiana the destruction Of
bridges and roads, to say nothing of buildings
and other property, has been enormous and DO.
yond computation. The food has been little
less disastrous in many sections than tho war.
The greatest suffering on account Of tho
food 10 found between Memphis and vicks-
burg. The section Of river country in Ken
lucky and Tennessee ID overaowed, and the in !.
habitants arc living on rations contributed by
the Government, and by benevolent societies.
Az far south as the Mississippi line the bluffs,
or highlands, ~ : general thing, are not further
back than mile or two, and oftsntimes above
Memphis, on the way south, the face Of the
country changes, and only patches Of high land
are to bo seen. There is not an inch OF blum
on the west side OF the Mississippi from .
point above Cairo TO the gulf Excepting at
the town OF Helena, there is low, fat land
on either side of the river, extending back
from twenty to seventy-iiye and one hundred
miles. This immense country il under water,
and almost isolated from the rest Of the world,
and but for the forests it would be simply 1
great lake. The Arkansas has been boiling
like mountain torrent, washing away railroad
tracks, telegraph lines, and cutting I
swath OF destruction through the State from
one remote corner to the other. The sufferinga
Of the population Of the Mississippi and Arkan-
sas inundated districts have not been exagge-
lated nor adequately described they have only
been guessed ut. Thousands Of families living
few miles back from the river in little settle
nlents for twenty, thirty, forty and even fifty
miles IN the interior, have been cut on from,
snccor for the reason that they have no meana
Of letting tho world know their situation,
and because tho.e who are safe can not
reach them with provisions. The loss Of life
is already known to have been large, and the
lowest estimate places the number at 100. The
Government rehef boats cannot reach the
places whore the suffering is greatest. They
can only toEch at few OF the landings.
Thousa ands Of human beings are left like drown
ing rats to perish. The picture il not over
drawn The victims deferred fleeing to the
highlands until it was too inte, trusting that
every inch Of rise in the inland sea would mark
flood tide. The cruel waters kept creeping up
aud up. and eIcroxching upon territory that
had been considered safe, and finally cutting
on means Of escape and surrounding them with
q dead waste on back water. Tho ground
saturated to its tuil limit, held the water like
cemen' floor. 1t can only get out the way il
came-by flowing back again into tho Missis-
sippi.
Capt. Coryille, Of the steamer Dick Jones, ha.
Just arrived from St Francis and the sunl
lands, and tells . tale Of Woo almost incredible
those points aud Helena, aud thus far no aid
has reached the people from without. The peo
pie oil these districts are chiefly white. They
cultivate good grade Of cotton and were vel
on. Now they are drifting about on rats with
no subsistence whatever, actually starving, and
even devouling dead beasts tnAt have beer
floating in the water for several days. Al
sought after and devoured. The bodies Of thu
| dead ANIMALS have large slices cut from
tncm where the starving have been butcherinl
them. For 800 miles there il not vis
| ible spot of land, except four Indiar
| mounds, which rise 30 high that their tops ar
| our OF water. The Tyronga il tributary to th,
st. Francis, and ia settled by families from Ken
small tributary is Little river and Buffalo island
| where here aud there settlements are to b,
| found These, of course, are like tht
! others. They cry pteously for help and food
but it is Aeart-rending to zee strong men y
| give way under their affections. They hAv,
literally nothing OF their former homes left
and they are now roaming about in the water
| exposed to tho fury of the wind aud weather
aud with no food. The rstions sent from her,
! . ew days since to their relief did not reach q
! far, SO many hundreds between here and Their
meeting and looking for the supplies, and the,
were wholly insufficient to fiji the demand
When supplies reach them they will have to b
placed on the tops OF the Indian mounds, q
these are the only possible landings.
! LIEuT. G. B. SATTERLEE, who was specially de
tailed to gothrough the overAowed districts il
the vicinity Of Arkansas City, has examined th
Arkansas and White rivers and points south Q
| the Arkansas. He reports that nineteen
twentieths of the country is under water. and
considerable portion Of the colored population
| is in destitute circumstances. Lieut.. Satterle
estimates that fully $500 people have no mean
| Of subsistence. The State authorities are dc
| ing nothing to alleviate the suffering, trustin
/ to tho suificiency Of the Government bounty
| There will be little or no stock lei
/ in the flooded district. A gentleman win
made the trip from vicksburg to Yazoo Cit
reports the condition Of the inland district
| as bad or worse than reported. Suntiowcr, La
fore, Bolivar, Coahoma, Tallahatchie an
Fnnica counties are entirely under water Isss
quena, lazoo Holmes and Washington cour
ties are about one-half and Warren count
about one. quarter 80. The total population q
these, by the last census, was l63, A. and {
these ut least LOO, 900 are colorcd iaborers mad
absolutely destitute by the flood, and VIII
must be supported by outside contributions NJ
I'll tho river falls aud work is resumed
The region south Of Memphis il swarming wit
lnffalo-gna,s, which are killing what little stoc
WAS saved from drowning One result Of til
overflow has been to prove to the satisfaction z
the natives that tho levee system IL a faiinrs
Millions Of money may be spen. IN repairin
the damage ALREADY done, but, in the opiniol
Of the knowing ones, it will be thrown AVA.
Reports received ut the War Department
Washington estimate that there are 50, 600 de-
tltnte sufferers in the flooded regions betWee
Cairo, ILL.,, aud the Gulf Of Mexico. 1t is bt
liesed that an appropriation Of Sl,0OO,0 600 !
Congress viii be required before these peopl
can again become self-supporting.
Webster'S Brother.
The widow of Ezekiel Webster, brotl
"A ~