The Portland daily press., 1882-03-03
wATERY RUIN.
The Terrible Floods in the South
west.
LARGE LOSS OF LIFE AND GREAT
LOSS OF PROPERTY.

New YORK, March "A Memphis despatch
says letter received from across the river says:
"Ihere are 100 families from four miles below
Memphis up to and including Hopetield, on the
Arkansas side, who are utterly destitute, and
who need as much for their stock as for them
selves There are over 100 head of horses and
mules IN the water and on the leyee and many
more cattle, all in a starving condition.
A Greenville (Miss) despatch says. fifteen
people were drowned at Riyerton Landing by
the flood and settlement OF 100 people on
Bogne Phalia east of Riverton, is completely
surrounded by water and will probably pe en-
quilted The river now extends practically from
the bluffs, or bayou Macon hills, In Arkansas,
on the west. to the Yazoo hills or Chickasaw
bluffs on the east, mean width OF 2oo miles.
A Helena (Ark despatch says in that vlcin-
ity forty persons have been drowned and not
less than 10000 head of stock drowned, and
large numbers of those that escaped the Hood
are dying.
In Quitman county (Miss.) the richest por-
tion of that country is affected BY the overflow
through the back water from Coldwater river,
and at least two-thirds of 5000 acres of land To-
Gated around Belen, the county seat, is over
flowed Belen is thirty-two miles southwest
from Helena, and is in the center Of magnih-
cent cotton growing section. bounded ON the
north by Pamela county. Not less than 1000
head of stock have been drowned, and the
losses will be faI greater if the water remains
high great length of time.
Rv the break Of the levee of Riverton, Miss,
the country will be flooded in Bolivar, Wash
ingtop. Lefiore, Warren and Issaqueno coun-
ties. and may reach within short distance OF
Vicksburg. Fully 10000 people will be over
flowed, and no one can at thislti put an es-
innate upon the probable loss. Clarendon,
fifty miles west of Helena, on the Arkansas
Midland railroad and the White river, is un-
der water from stwo to three feet, and the river
is rising at a rate of ten inches IN twenty-four
hou rs The loss to stock there must be very
heavy. Houses at Indian Bay are reported as
floating away.
gentleman from the flooded districts in the
White River Valley says that no person can
estimate the real situation Of affairs. Hun
dreds of families are homeless and without
food and clothing. The sufferers are princi--
pally laboring men, tenants on plantations and
small farmers ,and they have lost everything. 1t
is believed that many will perish from starva-
ton before Government aid can be furnished
them.
Colonel j. A. Woodson, General Superin-
tendent of the Little Rock, Mississippi and
Texas Railway, arrived from Arkansas City,
reports great suffering in Chicot and Desha
counties. AT Arkansas City the water is two
feet above the main street, and is running over
the tops of counters in many stores. People
who have two story edifices are now obliged to
exist in the second story. Two or three people
have been drowned, and it is impossible to es-
innate the value of the stock lost in the water
Arkansas city is now almost rdeserted. "One
J0lGRTdDn
down, and one track is damaged, one hundred
feet being washed out at the iftyeight mile
post and two hundred and fifty feet at the
sixty-two mile post The day before yesterday
we ran one of our heavy locomotives two and
half miles through water averaging three
feet in depth. 1t was strange sight. We
kept man on the COW catcher pushing OH
drift wood. The levee at Arkansas city IS re-
ported as having given away"
LITTLEToN, N. H., March The ram OF
has cad gtraqng
breaking up the ice and doing great damage.
An abutment under one railroad bridge here
was taken out and trains have to cross very
slowly. At Franconia one bridge IS carried
away and another seriously damaged, while the
streets are covered with water and broken 1ce
At Bethlehem junction water is two feet deep
over the railroad track and has driven some
parties out of their homes. The rain has
ceased and the worst is over.
MILFORD, Pa, March 2.-fhe flood in the
Delaware river and tributaries continues. The
river is rising slowly. Fires in the engines at
the spoke factory and saw mill at Milford are
extinguished by the waters. The public roads
in many places are badly washed and impassa-
bIe If the river continues rising until night
it will overflow and cause great damage.
PROVIDENCE, March 2.-The mill trench at
Arkwright, on the north branch of the Paw
tucket river, gave way this morning. The
flood swept away a stoneEbuilding containing
boiler and clothroom with about thirty bales OF
goods. Loss $4,000.
ALBANY, March 2.-Advices from along the
Mohawk valley state that the Mohawk river is
the highest for ten years. The Central railroad
track is too feet under water in some places,
and all trains are delayed. The water tore up
the rails off the track there. The Hudson is
nine feet above the usual level and rising. The
piers and quay are under water and commerce
along the river front has to be reached IN Doats.
WHITEHALL, March AT P'attsburg this
Joro MT of done
by high water. The new. bridge on the Cha
teaugny railroad, costing $4,000 was wrecked.
The furniture factory of E. W. Pierce 20.
was damaged several thousands. On the An
sable branch OF the Delaware % hudson rail-
road several culvertS were washed out and the
bridge at Lapham's mills thrown out OF place.
At Port Kent, on the main line, is bad wash
out, and no trains can probably pass to-day
All Port Henry the Lake Champlaln Manu1ac-
turing Company's building was considerably
damaged.
GREENvLLE, Miss, March 2.-There was
perfect wreck of the Bolivar levee yesterday
morning Riverton, Wade, Clay and Badgat
levees broke through and Concordia is reported
broken the day before. These breaks will
overflow every plantation in Bolivar county.
The river fell here four inches last night and IS
still falling rapidly. The Bolivar breaks will
probably save the levees off w ashington and
Issaquena, but the loss to the district in levees
alone is not less than $4,000 Clay and Bad
gat are the largest levees In the district except
Hushpuckane. Several lives are reported lost.
Rosedale is six feet under water. The Ledger
officer and other houses were washed away.
Clarke's front levee, on Lake Bullah, IS gone.
This overfows what was left OF Bolivar coun-
ty. Williams bayou levee, in this county, is
broken. All Northern Washington and back
lands throughout Issaquena and Snarkey will
90 under, A number of people were drowned
at Newton. The river is falling rapidly here.
There was one break at Hughes front between
Wade and Clark's. Accounts OF suffering and
loss of life continue and exceed anything
which ever attended previous inundations.
These crevasses are all above Greenville
GLEN FALLS, N. Y, March 2.-The rain
caused the Hudson river at this place to rise
eight feet within the last twelve hours and still
rising. Booms and piers have been carried
over the falls and considerable damage done to
the numbering interests.
WORCESTER, March 2.-Perrys reservoir in
Dudley was washed out to-day, tearing out
forty rods of the embankment of the New
York & New England road to Southbridge
The reservoir covered about forty acres.
EAsToN, Pa, March THE Delaware river
is % feet above low water mark and IS stiii
rising. The river is filled with lumber and
broken RATS. Considerable damage has been
done.
NEW ORLEANS, March IA despatch from
Lake Providence reports the crevasse in Long
wood has been closed effectually and all dan
| ger is over.
MEMPHIS, March Private letters from
Riverton, Miss, 100 miles below Memphis, say
| the leyee broke Monday night and the loss OF
| property is fearful. Some people were
drowned, stock all drowned, and there are no
provisions for poor people to subsist on. There
is break at Wright's, one mile below, and
another at Judge Miles place, two miles be-
low RiYerton. Mules, horses, cows goats and
houses pass by continually. In Duncan's
house there must be not less than twenty-five
women and children and good many more
are huddled together on the levee They are
half-naked, frozen and hungry. Every house
in Riverton except Duncan's and Frank Rein
ach's has either foated off or been SO damaged
by the washing away of blocks that they will
be unfit for the inhabitants when the waters
decline Blackburn's broke on Tuesday morn
ing and the water is over Concordia. They
are building scaffolds to take care of stock.
The river rose three inches there in "a hours.