Daily globe., 1883-06-25
THE DYKE BURSTS.
FIVE BREAKS IN THE MADISON
DYKE At EAST ST, LOUIS.
Thousands of Wheat and Corn Fields I'm
der Water-Persons Driven From Their
Homes-The Railroads Interfered With
A Sea of Water in All Directions.

ST. LOUIS, June 23.-Reporters who re-
turned from Madison Dyke tonight, say
that five erevasses were opened during the
day and that when they left the scene, all
the upper end or new part of the dyke was
practically washed away and that there is
clean sweep of water 160 yards wide and
fifteen deep rushing inland and spreading
out over all that part of the bottom west
of the Chicago & Alton railroad track,
which is on high embankment, and lay
ing waste scores of farms and thousands
of acres of wheat, corn and vegetables.
The water reached Mitchell on Long
lake, three and half miles east of the break
this afternoon and it is now making it may
southwark, it having been tarned in that
course by the Chicago Il Alton track. 1t
has also spread out to the westward again
aad will reach Venice tonight. A large
force Of men are now working to eat the
levse q couple of miles below the break to
equalize the pressure and permit some Of
tbs water to run back into the river If ID
will.
good deal Of water alss found it's way
into Long lake at and near Mitchell and
this after raising the lake to the common
level will overflow and spread out east
ward and southwark and down the base of
the bluffs and only stop when it reaches
the Ohio & Mississippi railrod embank-
ment. which crosses the bottom directly
east of st. Louis. Should it pass the bar
rier it would run directly into East st.
Louis from the rear and inundate nearly
all the town. The Chicago & Alton track
is in a precarious condition in spots, but a
large force of men are doing all that can
be done to save it, and the prospects are
largely in favor of its preservation. The
rails are = under water in two or three
places, but an elevated track has been laid
where it is necessary and the trains still
run.
The situation in East st. Louis proper is
about the same as last night, the water a
little higher, but all the barriers which
really protect the business part of the place
are still intact and will resist an additional
rise of several inches. Southwark. in the
vicinity of Carondelet and the bottom,
which was flooded yesterday by the break
ing of Fish lake dyke, there is no change
other than that greater breadth of land
is submerged. All the settlers excepting
few negroes, who still cling to the second
abandoned their homes and sought safety
on the bluffs and in the neighboring towns.
4 good many negroes are huddled in
churches and school houses on high and
dry ground and are making the best of
their unfortunate situation. The river has
risen five inches since last night and is
now thirty-four feet and four inches, with
aprospect for rise of another foot.
DYKE BROKEN.
ST. LOUIS, June 23.-Madison dyke, be-
tween here and Alton, on the Illinois side
of the river, broke about s o'clock this
morning in two places, one near Mitchell
about twelve miles from East st. Louis,
the other further north, near the head of
the dyke, not far from Alton. The crevas-
ses are not very wide yet, but are growing
rapidly and the water is rushing through
them at fearfgl rate. It is expected the
entire bottom north of East st. Louis, en-
bracing so to 60 square miles, will be
flooded. Farmers are leaving their homes
as rapidly as possible, many of them 60
ing to Alton, others to different points of
the bluffs. Five or six miles back from
the river the destruction of crops and to
farm property generally will be very
great.
OMAHA, Neb., June 22.-W. G. Starkey
arrived here yesterday on the first train
out of Pawnee county since the food
which has prevailed there. He relates that
the whole southern part of the country
was flooded by the rising of the Nemah
river caused by heavy and extensive rain
John Berg's family formerly living near
Cincinnati, Pawnee county were compell-
ed Sunday night by the food to leave their
home and they started in small boat for
the neighboring hills. While crossing
stream the boat was upset and his wife
and four children were drowned.
All of the bodies were recovered,
the funeral occurring Thursday. At Lakes
ford, seven miles above Cincinnati, an old
man named Aker and his wife were drowned
while trying to escape from their sub
merged house. In the same vicinity Bo-
hemian family of ten persons undertook to
reach place of safety and were drowned
One woman was saved by tying herself to
tree, where she remained for eighteen
hours, and was nearly dead when rescued.
1t is also reported that two men were
drowned in Long Branch creek, near Table
Rock. This swells the list of drowned in
Pawnee county to sixteen. The damage to
crops and personal property is very great.
The floods are now subsiding.
EXPLOSION OF MOLTEN IRON.
SOUTH CHICAGO, June pa terrific ex-
plosion occurred this morning at blast fur
mace No. 5, in the North Chicago rolling
mills. Thirty tons of molten iron
were scattered in every direction. Two
men were horribly burned and Will die.
One of them was named Joseph Onions,
and the other was a new conner, whose
name is unknown. Fifteen men were more
or less severely burned, it is believed none
of them seriously. Meagre reports by tele-
phone only can be had. The explosion
occurred just as the day men came on duty
and is believed to have been caused by a
defective fue in the steam blast which got
clogged and melted.
FIRES.
Troy, N. Y, June 22.-Mrs. G. N. Hop
kins' laundry burned this morning, with
5000 dozen collars, cuffs, etc, owned by
different manufacturers. Loss $4,000; in
surance $4,000. A panic occurred among
the operatives, and there were many mar
row escapes.
THE MISSOURI TORNADO.