The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-05-20

Terrible State of Affairs Near St Louis
Many Illinois Towns Flooded.
Special TO the Indianapolis Journal.
ST. LOUIS. May 19.-The Mississippi came
to stand at 8 p. NJ, the gauge registering
363. 1t will. however, commence rising
tomorrow. as it IS raining all over
town of five hundred inhabitants,
was flooded this afternoon. This was
caused by the breaking of the Chicago &
Alton embankment. East st. Louis Is now
the only town in the American bottom not
completely under water. Another rise will
inuDdate it. A meeting has been called on
the Merchants Exchange for tomorrow
afternoon to raise funds to aid flood suf-
ferers. Within q radius of twenty miles
around st. Louis two hundred square miles
of land is under water. Fully ten thou
sand people are without shelter. In the
city over twenty thousand people have
been thrown out of employment by
factories being inundated. Over twenty
thousand head of cattle have been drowned.
The loss will aggregate in the millions.
At midni ght the weather reports showed
that rise of three feet is coming down
the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. This
will cause the river here TO rise at least
one foot within several days. This means
that the entire country from here to New
Orleans will be flooded, as the levees will
not be able to stand SO great body of wa
ter.
A dispatch from Grand Tower. ILL.,. states
that all the railroads are washed out Two
louo ha I'm
10 very bad between there and Cairo. ALI
the country is flooded. One of the broken
levees was opposite Cape Girardeau. Mo-.
and the other at Gorse Brule. Ten
thousand acres of wheat were inundated
and thousand families rendered home
less. The wind blew tiercely all morning.
dashing with frIghtful force against the
low levees until they succumbed. Thou
sands of cattle were drowned by to.dsy's
breaks.
A northwesterly gale. blowing sixty
since last night. doing fearful damage
tricts. The six mile wide river
rolled like the ocean. and no
signals of distress conld be answered by
the relief steamers. Fearful damage has
the railroad embankment In the bot
toms. washing out miles of track.
Train service is entirely aban-
doned, and all attempts to repair
Der of people are thought to have been
drowned, and several are missing. but the
inability to reach the flooded districts pre-
vents the gathering of positive news.
Difficulty in Reaching St Louis.
srecfal 20 the INDIANAPOLIS Journal
BLOOMINGTON. Ill, May y-19.-Dispatches
received tonight at the headquarters of
the operating department of the Chicago
& Alton. in this city. indicate that the
company has gotten the best of the water
at Kinder Station, this side of Venice.
where the Mississippi was destroying the
Atoms embankment. The road has so far
been preserved intact from Alton to East
st. LOUIS. except that the Cakakia- creek
bridge went out O day or two ago. The
Alton. which had been running its pas
senger trains to and from ST. LOUIS via the
Jacksonville Southeastern. and the Van
da Ia between Gerard and East st. Louis
wss to-day compelled to abandon that
route owing to the shaky condition of the
}. S. +. track, on which Wabash passen-
ger was derailed; sending Two sleepers
into the ditch. The two night express
trains will now be run via Louisiana, Mo-.
using the Keokuk road. known as the long
line between Louisiana and ST.
Louis. This involves detour
of eighty miles. but the track
all the whole way is in prime condition
and the loss of time will not be great. The
two day express trains will, for the pres
ent. ply between Chicago and Alton. and
at Alton transfers will be made to and
from the steamer Spread Eagle. which
plies between Alton and st. Louis. These
trains will be run on time. 1t is stated to-
night that freiRht traffic with st. Louis
cannot be resumed by the Alton for some
time. as the yards at Venice are four feet
under wAter