Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-05-18
A CRUSHING DISASTER.
ANOTHER BREAK IN TIE shy LEVEE
COMPLETES THE HAVOC,

Two Hundred Thousands Acres of Land In
undated-An the Crops Ruined and Hun
dreds of Farmers Destitute with No
Hope oi Retrieving Their Loss-Aid
sorely Needed for the Homeless.
HANNIBAL, Mo, May lS.--The terrible
suspense in which the people of the Sny levee
have lived for the last six days and nights is
over At $50 o'clock yesterday morning the
whistles of the Hannibal bridge sounded the
dread alarm The levee had broken at a
point one mile above the bridge. Soon hun
dreds of people were fastening to the ferry,
seeking transportation to the scene OF the
break and when daylight came hundreds
more climbed the bluffs above the city to wit
ness the work of the flood as it rushed on
through the fields of growing grain,
All night long the men at work on the
levee had struggled desperately to prevent a
break, but each hour the evidence became
more apparent that their toll would be in
vain At o'clock the steamer Gem City
| passed down by the levee at the point of the
break, and the swell caused by her wheel
washed over the top of the embankment, car
rying away the loose earth on top.
The increased force and the securing pro
| cess soon dcepened and widened the way for
| the waves. In few moments great pieces of
| earth gave way and fell over inside the levee
| The men dropped their shovels and fled in
| dismay a rush of waves followed, and
with mighty roar the water plunged
| through the Crcvasse, and advancing eastward
across the farm Of A. j. Stillwell turned to
the south and commenced the work of de
structou. The water spread rapidly over
| the bottom lands and soon the 10000 acres
not submerged by the break at Murphy's bay
| on Monday were under water. The total loss
now reaches 81 100000 Hundreds of horses,
| cattle, and hogs have been drowned
| Many people had thrilling escapes. Enoch
| Lightle, who had been at work on the levee
constantly for forty eight Eours, went home
| to get a little rest. When the levee broke he
was sound asleep, but persons who had
started out in sklffs to render aid awoke him
as the water reached his bed. Two families
| named W oodall and Static we're rescued in a
similar manner and others were compelled
| to wade through water three feet deep In
| reaching places of safety.
The strength shown by the levee in stand
| ing firm for two days after the water
began to flow over it astonishes every one,
| At the time of the break the water had
| reached within one inch of the mark of 1851,
| the highest ever known. 1t is expected that
| by to-day noon the water on the inside of the
| levee will he on level with the river proper,
and it will then be ten miles wide. The eff
| feet of the inundation on the Sny farmers
will be ruinous Several thousand acres are
owned by wealthy citizens of Hannibal,
among them Congressman w. II. Hatch, A.
J. Stllwel, c. M Alger, David Dubach,
James A. Nelson, William A. Munger, H.
Jordan DIR. w. A, Gordon, G. N. Clark, A.
r. Levering, and others Their property is
| .i.:, hos n, tLa and &c
dividedup into small farms, whose owners
had hardly recovered from the loss occasioned
by the break of 1881 and who will be prac-
tically ruined by the overflow of yesterday
| The acreage of wheat sown this year was
large, and it promised magnificent yield.
| Hope is expressed by some that the water
NAV recede in time to enable crop of corn
to be grown, but this is hardly likely.
| For the business men of Hannibal the situa-
ton presents very gloomy appearance.
Having literally aided with their money in
the construction and maintenance Of the
levee, expecting in return the trade of a
| community of prosperous farmers, they
| have four times responded with their pur SEES
to the call for funds to assist in the repair of
breaks The drain upon their profits has
practically kept them poor. Added to their
| other misfortunes, suit has has recently
l
thousands of dollars on the bonds with which
! the levee was originally built. These facts
make it exceedingly doubtful il the levee
| will be repaired, at least for o number of
| years. as there is now no money in the hands
| of the commissioners, and no apparent means
of raising any.
| The territory now covered with water is
| forty five miles long and six miles wide, with
80, 600 acres under cultivation. The depth of
water is from one to twenty feet, consequent
upon the breaking of the levee The damage
to railroad property will he great.
QUINCY, Ills, May ls-The break in the
Sny evee at Hannibal yesterday completed
the destruction in all the levee districts, Not
an acre of ground in this vast territory, com.
| prising fully 300 600 acres, can escape the
flood, and the loss to farming interests issim-
ply incalculable Cattle and horses in the
| fine wooded pastures were overwhelmed in
many localities and drowned. The river
| above and below the city is from ten to ff
| teen miles broad, covering all the farms on
| both sides, and extending from the bluffs on
the Illinois side to the high bluffs in Missouri.
| On the dry places on the embankment are
| hundreds of CATTLE horses and hogs, without
| feed and no prospect of drink, except when
| in danger of being swallowed up by the floods.
Far across on the opposite bluffs are
gathered hundreds Of men, women and
children in small groups, desolate,
forlorn despairing They look upon the
ruin wrought, upon farms laid waste, prop
erty destroyed, homes almost completely
under water, furniture floating away, and
stock drowning. Many Of them are utterly
destitute, having neither sufficient clothing
nor shelter, and some suffering for food, de
| spite the bravery of more fortunate neigh.
| bors, who are making every exertion to re-
| lieve their immediate wants They ara
refugees from a scene Of disaster to plaes
where they are in fearful despair while they
wait the coming of succor from their posi-
tons of distress and deprivation. Steps
have been taken to aid them, and the spirit
Of charity is already pouring its ABUNDANCE
i iii of life