Daily globe., 1883-06-27
ST. MARY's LEvER

Mary's leyee, opposite that point in Mis-
souri,, broke Sunday night, and the st.
Mary's bottom, large wheat growing sec
ton, is now nearly all flooded. It is said,
that 10000 acres of wheat are under water
in this bottom alone. From Chester to
Grant Tower south ward on the Illinois side,
a distance of twenty-five miles, averaging
ten miles in width, embracing an area of
$50 square miles, is nearly all submerged
and the crops destroyed, entailing
great loss. To the north of Ches-
ter, nearly all the way up to st.
Louis, the country is said to be inun-
dated, except here and there high ridge
which cuts the water. Information from
all this region is of general rather than
a specific character, but it Is safe to say
that if all these bottoms were Geluged as
stated, thousands of familys are living in
flooded houses or have fed to the bluffs
for safety, and that the loss to crops and
general farm property Is almost incalcula-
BILE. The American bottoms extend from
Alton to Cairo, something over 200 miles,
large part of which is pretty thickly
settled. All this great tract is subject to
overflow from freshets like the present,
and it can be readily imagined the
loss of property and the distress
and misery brought upon the inhabitants
must be immense The town of st. Mary,
on the Missouri side of the river, is partly
submerged, and on the Illinois it is to he
abandoned, the people there having sent to
Chester for steamboat to carry them
away. A level three miles above Cape
Girardeau, Mo-, about fifty miles above
Cairo, and another at Prices landing,
twenty-five milss further down, broke Sun
day night and let a large volume of water
rush over the bottom. Other points on
both sides of the river below here, particu-
larly on the Illinois sine, are in about the
same condition, and it may be said that
pretty much all the bottom between there
and Cairo has more or less water on it.
The best available information is that
the river is falling slowly in East st. Louis
on the river side of the Chicago & Al
ton track, and still rising out on the bot
tom east of tnat embankment. The fall,
if any is small, but it is enough to create
a strong hopeful feeling that the worst is
past and that a gradual subsistence of the
flood will now take place. The situation
at East st. Louis and the bottom to the
north presents no notable change from
Brooklyn and Venice on the river and
northward to Newport. Oki and Mitchell
on both sides of the Chicago & Alton
embankment and from along the Vandalia
track eastward, thence north up the bot
tom for dozen miles or more there is
nothing but broad expanse of water and
the scene is one of desolation and ruin
Perhaps there isn't farm Ia all this re-
glon from the river to the
bluff that is not submerged,
to greater or less depth, and only here
and there can bit of land be seen where
the top of knoll higher than the common
level shows above The watery waste. Some
distance north OF Mitchell the bottom
rises, and as Alton is approached, where the
blut touches the river, some Of the land
has escaped inundatlon. Three-fourths of
Brooklyn is::under water, and only one street
IN Venice and bit of high ground i'll the
north part of town is above the food 'evel
In East st. Louis all the low land is inun-
dated to a depth varying from ten to
twenty feet, and hundreds of homes within
the city limits have their lower floors flood
ed and many Of them their second stories.
South of the city the entire bottom for en-
indefinite distance, including the villages
of East Carondolet, Cohokia and
other small hamlets are submerged, and
all farms for miles down the river are
under water. Crops are destroyed, and
families of farmers who owned or rented
them are scattered along the ridges and
bluffs. Many of these poor people are in
destitute condition and wholly dependent
upon the generosity or charity of others,
and will have to be for some time to come.
The loss by the destruction of crops and
other farm property cannot be stated with
any accuracy. 1t can't even be approx
mated, for no specific information is at
hand upon which to base reliable calcu-
lation, but there is hardly doubt but that
the aggregate loss in the American
bottom between Alton and Cairo
will run into the millions.
and this is not half of the story, for near
II as much bottom land skirts the river
on the Missouri side, most of which as sub
ject to overlooking and hundreds of thous-
ands Of acres of land along the Missouri
river and its tributaries, between here and
Kansas City, now lie under the devastat
ing food and have been swept of their
crops.
Advices from the southeastern section
of st. Charles county, Mo-, in the region
Of Portage des Sioux, give individual
losses of about one hundred farms. which
aggregate over 100000. These range
from 500 to $4,000, and represent wheat
and corn, no account being taken of other
property destroyed or greatly damaged,
except in less than half dozen cases.
THE UPPER MISSOURI WATERS.
KANSAS CITY, June 26.-At IL o'clock
the Missouri river stood % feet inches,
about an inch higher than last midnight,
and thirteen inches above the gauge on
Sunday night. 1t is now nearly stationary,
but indications show that it will continue
slowly to advance. A few inches more
will start water over the east bottom and
West Kansas City, and people in these
suburbs are watehful. The Kiowa is very
high and is reported still rising. The
water is feet 10 inches below the flood
of 1881. Dispatches received to-day
state the river has risen 6 inches at Sioux
City in twentyfour hours, and has risen 3
inches at Leavenworth, and is stationary
at st. Joseph.
KANSAS CRY, June 26-The river rose
about three inches during the forenoon,
and in the afternoon remained nearly
stationary. The old river men generally
agree in the opinion that the June rise
has not yet appeared here, but antici