Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1890-04-05
THE FLOOD.
People Compelled to Flee, Leaving
Every Thing Behind.
Constant Widening Of Crevasses In the
Levees, Pouring a Mighty Volume of
Water Over Plantations and Towns
In the MisslssiDpi Valley,


MEMPHIS, April IA wall of woe
comes up from the Valley. Levees have
been swept away. Some Of the richest
plantations in Yazoo Delta, the garden
spot of the Mississippi, are flooded,
homes made desolate and the people
compelled to desert their firesides and
flee for their lives. The situation is in
deed gloomy. The expected and dread
ed disaster has been realized, and it
would be hard to exaggerate the deplor-
able condition of planters along the
river tonight, as pitiable as the picture
may be presented. People who have
been compelled to leave their
homes were roosting last night in
the tops Of trees, in gin houses
or on high points on the levees.
They are without food and destitute OF
any means of subsistence, and compell-
ed to stand the cold and drizzling rains
of night waiting till skiffs or relief
boats are sent to rescue them from their
perilous positions. That untold suffer-
ing and great loss Of life are inevitable
is plain to any one familiar with floods
on the Mississippi. The protection
levee which kept back the water from
Greenville is broken and the town
flooded. All business is, of course,
suspended, and people are hurrying
from this place to escape further dis
aster. No loss of life is reported
from that point, but, with the tide con.
stantly rising there is no telling what
horrors may occur AT Huntington,
Miss, the people have deserted their
homes and crowded up levees on railway
platforms and in box cars. There are
eight plantations, aggrcgating 10000
acres near this pla;e, which are now
covered with eight or ten feet of water.
The situation at Arkansas City is some.
what improved. At Austin, Miss, the
levee gave way at midnight Sunday
night The opening started at fifty
feet and at o'clock yesterday morn
ing had increased to 800 feet. All
efforts to close it have been in
vain so far, and as the levee
where the break occurred is built
largely Of sand there is little hope Of
saving it, The tracks of the Louisville,
New Orleans and Texas railroad are
being submerged, and traffic over that
line is suspended, The surrounding
country is being covered by water, and
the inhabitants are fleeing for their
lives, leaving their property at the
mercy of the food. No lives we're lost.
Many head of stock have been drowned.
AT s o'clock last night the crevasse
had become 500 feet and was
still widening. Probably the
greatest suffering has been at
Laconia Circle, 100 miles below Mem.
phis. The water pours over the levees,
and all plantations in the circle were
inundated. People had no time to do
any thing. Their houses, stock and
and every thing was in the water, and
in. some instancsssswashed away, before
they fuzzy rrxsSs6 Win ma happened.
The inundation took place little over
week ago, and the people have been
in the water ever since, While the con-
dition of the people has been deporablo
in the extreme ever since the break up
to Thursday night it was far better than
it has been since that time. They have
lived in the upper parts of their houses,
and had in some cases built false floors,
and in numerous ways had endeavorcd
to fix up themselves for temporary liv.
ing in the water