The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-04-25
THE WATERY PLAGUE
Terrible Scenes of Distress in
the Floods.
THOUSANDS OF HOMELESS ONES
Haadreds 81 square Miles Undsr water
In the South and Millions
Of Dollars Loss.

bAYoc SARA, La, April 2A-The real cordi-
uon OF things in the everdowe6 district is just
cominR TO light No pen Is equal 10 the task OF
pactnf'ng the devastation of the eoansry or the
oesoiasion OF the people. The entire front of
reinte Coapee Is under water. Nos: of taa
tesees are gone ana the water back of the levee
- 50 deep that hundreds Of lives are in jeopsriv.
The snail stretches OF levee still standing are
crowded With men, women and children side by
side wisE horses. mules ant cows In an old
raised gtnhorse so negroes are hud3led TO-
geiher The corditioa of the aatorsunate blacks
- piuaoe- They are pstecusly begging 10 be
taken to some place OF safety.
The crevAsse at Alisndale viii overflow thirty
OF the fines: plantations on the river ard viii
rsaen the Reche country several days in ad-
vance OF the Xorganxa water. when this water
3otus with the Morganxa it viii food the entire
Aichaialaya, La Fouche and Teche countries,
and the damage wiz be inealeulabie. The dis
tress ia the overnowed districts cannot be told
Texas & Pacific boats succeeded yesterday in
saving zoo people from the back country around
Morganza
Ruin ard desolation meets one on every hand
In Pointe Coupee parish the destruction is COM
plete. Not levee Is unbroken, while hundreds
OF families are homeless Thousands OF stock
have been drowned and from the meagre re-
ports received iron the interior il is quite proha
bic that human life has been sacrificed to the
food.
Standing on the deck Of the relief steamer
Dakotah last evening, the full extent of the dis
as;er could be seen. Grouping together on little
knolis between the broken levees. through
which the water rushed with ungovernable
fury, were scores of people. both white and
black. some with babies in their arms, while
Others had dogs secured by cord. Msny OF the n
had nothing else In the world except the clothes
they wore on their backs Whenever the pako-
ah
swung out and the stricken ones were taken
aboard. And an equally sad scene was the poor.
dumb cattle standing in the water ana actually
starving.
New ORLEANS, April 2A-United States I'm.
gineer Douglas teegrsphs that Point Pleasant
leyee. Iensas parish. gave way this morGing.
The water from IT viii no doubt overflow the
greater part of the parish.
Captain John A. Grant superintendent of the
Texas < Pacific railroad. speaking of the Nor
gapsea crcyasse, says: This is one of the worst
calamities that could have been avoided, IL the
people had only made an effort They are 10
blame for It. Now they are creating big hub
buh about sending relief up there. and all that
sort of thing, while. before the disaster oc-
Cured. they seemed utterly unaware OF the i'm
pending danger. II need be. they should have
have been done, too. aud the money would have
been well invested, rs there is 100000 worth
Of property that will now be irretrievshly dam
aged. which little display Of energy would
certainly have averted"
The break in the old Morgansaa is now 400 feet
wide and fifteen feet deep. Afsrgo of stone
will be sent from this city and an effort be made
to mattress ends and thus prevent destruction.
The overflow OF water from the lake, which
caused much inconvenience TO the people in
the rear of the Seventh and Eighth wards of this
city since Sunday. IL at last Rradnaliy receding.
II Ia reported ~ the Texas d Pacific ONCE that
betweet Baton Rouge Junction aud Melville.
The Louisville. New Orleans 4 Texas railroad,
better known ss the Mississippi Valley. has been
the greatest sufferer far by the overflow.
Other roads have not been affected 10 any ex-
tent