The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1892-05-18
RIVERS STILL RISE.
Miles Upon Miles Of Railroad
Tracks Submerged.
GREAT DAMAGE IN EAST ST. LOUIS.

Islanders Rescued from the Roofs
by "A Newspaper Relief Boat-Fif-
teen Thousand Men Out of Work.
ST. Louis, May 1s.-The Mississippi
fiverat this city is higher today than at
any time since the disastrous food of
1858. The river continued to rise during
the night, and now registers 40 feet 5
inches.
AT Alton the water Is above all pre-
yious records, except the water of 1914
An idea of the effect of the flood on
the railroads entering the city from the
Illinois side of the river may be gained
from the following description of tine
situation at East ST. Louis: Above the
Eiaduct the Ohio and Mississippi, and
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy tracks
are from one to four feet under water.
The Chicago and Alton road for dis
tance of four miles from the bridge is
out Of sight. Below the viaduct the
louisville and Nashville road is obliged
to refuse freight. The Big Four will
probably suspend today, and the Cairo
Short line win follow suit Not a wheel
has moved in the Mobile and Ohio yards
for several days.
The Belt line yards are three feet I'M
der water, and the great bridge yards
have closed down. The Chicago and
Alton, Big Four, Clover Leaf and the
Jacksonville route broke at the bridge
junction, near East st. Louis There are
but two engines with fire boxes above
the water, and they are pulling all pas
senger trains from the relay depot upon
the Wabash track to Venice and the
Chicago and Alton road to point be-
yond Nameoka.
The Merchants terminal roads Mt East
St Louis have suspended traffic between
hn 1Il hal h,ttn IL Is
Apprehension i'm East st. Louis.
The greatest apprehension is felt
among the residents of East st. Louis.
The Ohio g. Mississippi railroad em-
bankment is the only thing that prevents
the place from being submerged. The
embankment is twenty five feet high,
and the water is now within few
inches of the top. A portion of the town
of Brooklyn, adjoining East St. Louis
on the north side, is covered with water
TO the depth of three feet. The town
contains large negro population and
Gley threaten to cut the enbankment.
AN armed patrol guards the elnbanll-
ment, and any attempt on the part of
the negroes to cut the dyke will be met
with summary vengeance. Armour's
packing house in East st. Louis is sur
rounded with water, and switchmen are
at work waist deep in water getting out
carloads of meat.
A feature of the suffering from the
Aood is the threatened coal famine
Many factories have shut down from in
ability to procure supply Of coal Ii
lis estimated that 1900 men are idle
from factories and foundries stop ing
work on account of high water.
Rescued from the Roofs.
The flood in st. Charles county,
4wenty miles above here, increases in
gastness and in disastrous results. All
day appeals for help have been received
from numerous families whose homes
are being swept away by the flood. The
st-Dispatch. of this city secured n
Barge steamer and manned with a double
crew for day and night duty. started to
render aid TO the hundreds of persons
%ho are i'll imminent peril near the
mouth of the Missouri river The Post
Dispatch steamer rescued twelve fam
lilies from Stump Slough and six fam
flies from Kitsac island. The water
mad driven these people to the roofs Of
1hUir houses and they had almost given
up hope of rescue when the steamer
hove in sight. the current in the river
was running at tremendous rate of
speed and the work of saving these fam
lilies was accomplished with great diff
Guilty.
The steamer Fawn. from st, Charles,
was carried by the fearful current out of
&he regular channel of the river, and
WAS stranded in Il wheat field an eighth
OF a mile from the river proper. The
Port Dispatch boat, by means of long
hawscrs, succeeded in getting the FaWn
Back into the channel.
A messenger reached Alton after row.
ing ten miles in a skif from an island
southwest of the mouth of the Missouri
river. He stated that there were over
sixty persons on the island, which WAS
Ealidly being inundated. The messen-
ger reported that the water was already
on the first floors of many houses, and
the occupants were climbing to the
roofs of the buildings. On receipt of
this information the board of trade
Abandoned its regular business and or
ganized into IL relief committee. They
pressed the Post-Dispatch relief boat
snto service and taking on board dozen
large skiffs started at once to rescue the
islanders All We're finally rescued with
great difficulty.
The Missouri's Dead.
KANSAS CITY, May l8.-Heavy rains
have been falling ever since early morn
ding all over the eastern part of Kansas
and the streams are all bank full and
rising rapidly. All the tributary streams
TO the Kaw, Platte and Missouri are
rising, and those rivers are also begin
ming to swell, and as the clouds show no
5ndications of breaking away it is the
belief of all that the Missouri will 90
higher than 1t has this spring. The dead
oil the heavy flood are now beginning to
show on the water, and three bodies
noated down the Kaw and two down
the Missouri yesterday. Horses, mules.
cattle and hogs in great numbers are
9foating with the current, and the evil
dences are that great amount of live
sock was destroyed by the high water