Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-05-18
STILL THE WATERS RISE
Immense Damage by the Great
 Inundation.
UNION pAcIFIo BRIDeE WRECKED

0tNiON FAOiFIC 6htDGE WRECKED 1ts Eastern Approach Washed Out and
 All Traffic suspended-water Twenty.
 Five Feet Deep in Some Towns-AIarm.
 ing Situation at Many Points.
 OMAHA, May 1S-The eastern ap- preach to the great Union Pacific bridge
 here has been washed out All traffic is stopped.
 ST. LOUIS, May 18.-The flood situa-
 tion is more serious this morning than it
 has been since the water began rising.
 The gauge registers 35.4 feet, with the
 river stationary, although having a
 rising tendency. An inch of rain fell
 throughout the Missouri and upper Miss
 1ssippi valleys last night, and this water
 will begin to reach here very soon. Gen eral rains are reported throughout the valley In all probability the river will
 go over 36 feet before coming to stand still.
 The greatest danger is in American
 bottoms on the Illinois side. The
 levees to the north have given away and only the Chicago & Alton railroad em- bankment is holding back the floods, A great deal depends on the point at which any break may occur as to the amount of damage done. At present three quarters of the American bottoms, which is 8 tract of land % miles long by live miles wide. is under water The principal cities in it, East St. Louis and Madison, are still safe, they being higher than the surrounding country.
 The towns of Venice, Brooklyn, East Madison, East Carondolet, Centreville Station, Forest Lawn and Cahokia are under from five to twenty feet of water. At least 90 square miles of the most fer tile farming land is inundated and thousands of farmers have been driven from their homes and forced to seek refuge on the Pittsburg bluffs, which lie east of the flooded district. They are without shelter, food or fuel. They were forced by the sudden rise of the waters to leave sll their property be- hand them. In many instances the farmers managed to drive their stock to safety, but in many others all they saved was their lives.
 Their condition has become so desper- ate that 8 committee headed by two Catholic priests, Father Dietrich of Ga hokia, and Father Mayfus of CentreviIIe Station, went to Bellville, the capital of St. Clair County, ILL, and appealed to County Judge Boneau and Mayor Weber for assistance. Judge Boneau has come to St. Louis and has arranged with Gov. Francis to secure the loan of 150 tents belonging to Missouri in order that those people may be sheltered. The two priests while at Be1leville said that there were 200 families, constituting about l, 200 people in all, without shel- ter of any kind.
 ALTON, H., May 16.-Numerous res cues of families from the tops of their | residences by steamers and other craft | are reported. So far no loss of life has | been reported. The sufferings of the | people driven from their homes are in ! tense. Nearly 1,500 men have been | thrown out of employment by the com pulsory suspension of the Illinois Glass | Works. Il
 GREENvILLE, Miss, May 18.-The | Panther Forest levee break on the Ar 1 kansas shore is S0O feet wide, with a | volume of. water ii feet deep pouring | through. The big plantations now | under water are those of R. E. Craig, B. | H. Smith, W. B. Halliday, w. O. Crit tenden, Gaines Landing place, Chap | man, Linwood and Brinkley places and | all the plantations on both sides of | Bayou Mason. The Brooke mill levee | break has overhowed almost the remain | der of Chicot County, and when the | two bodies of water meet that part of Arkansas will be 8 vast lake. The | water mas alreauy packed thirteen miles into the country. The river here is sta tionary, despite the heavy overflow at the breaks. |
 GAINESVILLE, Tex, May 18.-From the southern boundary of Oklahoma to this city the land, which has been food ed since Saturday. is just beginning to show again. Miles upon miles of crops are ruined, and 1,700 feet of the Santa Fe road has been washed away between here and Purcell. Nearly all the bridges in this part of Texas have been washed | away by the floods, and no trains from the North have arrived since Saturday
 NEW ORLEANS, May 1S.-The break in Gypsy levee, thirty miles north of New Orleans, on the left bank, is nearly 800 feet wide, and 12 feet deep. The tracks of the N. o. & T. road are submerged for miles. A large force of men were working last night to stop the gap. Engineers say it is we'll nigh impossible to do so. The large plantations are badly damaged. The levee at the point where it broke was eight feet high. This break will lessen the strain in the lower levees to a great extent. The valley railroad and farmers will suffer most from the crevasse, the latter losing everything.