The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-05-18
The High Wafer.

| QUINCY, Ills, May 1.-THE Uppe
shy Levee gave way near East Hanni
bal this morning and the destruction
of the leYee district in this section o.
the Mississippi Valley is now complete
MANY thousand acres of the most pro
ductive farming lands are covered with
from six to fifteen feet Of water. and the
loss from the great flood cannot be est1'
mated. The river has risen six inches
since morning and reports FROM above
state that the water is still rising. 10
night a largely attended meeting was
| held to devise means for the relief OF
destitute families along the low lands.
ST. LOUIS, May 17.-Advices from the
Mississippi river towns above here say
| that at Is o'clock this morning, q
break occurred in the shy Levee at a
point about two miles below hannibal
bridge, and this was followed at 6 45
o'clock by a larger and more serious
one above the bridge. The widest ex-
element prevailed in Hannibal and
among the few farmers, who stuboornly
refused to leave the bottoms. Two
hundred men, who had been engaged all
night in the working of stopping seeps
aud placing bags OF sand on top
of the levee to keep the water back,
attempted to close the breaks, but
without success. More sensible farmers
had removed all their stock to the
bluffs, six miles distant, but some re-
NAMED until the moment of calamity.
Consequently they sustained severe
losses. Hogs, COWS and horses could
be seen swimming in the flood until
they came IN contact with some oh
stacle upon which their bodies would
be mangled. Smaller houses in the
bottom were wrecked. No loss of life
has been reported yet. The territory
now covered with water is forty-hve
miles long and six miles wide,
with $4,000 acres under cultivation.
The depth Of the wafer Is from one 10
twenty feet consequent upon the break
ing of the leYee. The water is reced-
ing rapidly. Tenants state that If the
ground gets in favorable condition by
the middle of June, they can raise late
corn. Their loss is incalculable The
damage to railroad property will be
great. From Keokuk, the word comes
that it was thought the werst was over,
but very heavy rains set in
there this morning, and the Des
MoiDes River is rising rapidly. There Is
no telling what the result will be. The
overflow IS constantly increasing. Gov
ering more land every day, and the
water is getting deeper. A vast guam
tity of water is creeping over the levees
mile north of the Alexandria, which
flows swift current that sweeps
through town, and threatens to carry
away Il number of houses whose foun-
dations haye been weakened. Many
families have abandoned their homes.
QUINcY, May I7.-This evening,
MSS meeting was held TO devise means
for the immediate relief OF the destitute
sufferers from the floods. For the past
two or three days helpless people have
been coming to the city in boats, a
single rowboat often containing entire
families, with such household effects as
could te quickly gathered together.
For ten days it has rained steadily, 10
add to the suffering from the flood. At
the meeting tonight money was freely
subscribed TO provide provisions and
clothing, to be delivered in The morn
ing. Tue country north and south Il
Quincy is IN charge of citizens relief
committees These committees will
make careful investigation through
out the flooded districts and relieve the
immediate wants of the people. A
committee was also appointed to solicit
aid from citizens generally, and boats
will be loaded and sent to the flooded
country. The water is steadily rising
tonight and the worst of the flood has
not yet been reached.