The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1892-04-14
DEATH AND MISERY
Pitiful Scenes Witnessed in
the Flooded Country,
LOSS OF LIFE ONLY GUESSED AT
Places that Were Once Called Homes
Will Be Mudholes.

No Deaths Reported Yet Among the
whites-They Have Good Boats to Use
in Case of Danger-nIeotings Being Held
to Devise Means for the Relief of the
Suffering People-Three Hundred Tents
from the War Department.
New ORLEANS, April ID THE death
and desolation caused by the flood have
so demoralized the entire population
that the days are as quiet and business
as idle as any Sabbath.
While communication has been re-
sumed with the northwestern part of
the country, still the city is waterbound
from every other direction.
Later reports rather enlarge than di-
minish previous estimates of the loss of
life and destruction of property.
A general idea of the effects of the
flood can be stated in this way;
A belt of country ranging from five to
fifteen miles wide, running north and
south, is one stretch of debris made up
of ruins of houses, fences and carcasses
of animals, and it is doubtful whether
there is left standing in that belt a dozen
houses.
The pitiful scenes Of the past few days
! have opened the houses of all, and pub
/ lie and private charity prevents the cruel
! suffering of those who were rescued
When the water subsidies there will be
| left in this place 1000 to 1,200 negroes
| who have not one cent and no credit, and
! the places that were their homes nothing
! but mudholes.
| The landlords of the tenants are in no
| condition to replace these destroyed
farms, and this is the future of the
( negro subsisting now on public charity.
The impoverished condition of the
white people prevents them from main
tanning the colored people long by char
ity, and IL is too late in the season to
! give them work. The board of supervi-
sors of the county are celebrating as to
whether to put in operation the stock
law in the overhowed districts, without
which 1t is impossible to make any crop
whatever, as in the entire district there
is not the vestige of fence, and in
many places it is so badly washed it will
be impossible to locate where the fence
line was.
At the present time any estimate of
the loss of life is purely guesswork, but
the death list is a long one. As yet no
death is reported among the whites, as
these low lying lands are inhabited al
most exclusively by the negroes and
such whites as lived there were always
kept well protected by keeping good
boats.
The old mound builders built wiser
than they knew, as these old Indian rel
les saved the lives of hundreds of ne
groes, besides countless numbers Of
stock.
A mass meeting of citizens has been
held here to devise ways and means to
help the poor in this hour of their need.
The Mayor was authorized to ask of the
Federal Government the loan of 1000
tents to give them shelter.
The students of the State Industrial
Institute at this place gladly joined the
citizens in making such contributions as
they could. By common consent they
agreed to go without their usual Sunday
dinner that it might be given to the suf-
ferers.
By the combined efforts of the Georgia
Pacific and Mobile and Ohio railways it
is thought that temporary track will
be completed on the latter road along
its lines between this place and West
Point in a few days
The Georgia Pacific is running trains
from here to Birmingham. The waters
are going down slowly, having fallen
only about nine feet in the last foul
days.