St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-07-03
ten LIVES ARE LOST,
Hundreds of Unfortunate Peo-
pie Imprisoned by the
Rescue Cpevasse.
Ten Persons Drowned Bef ore
They Could Escape
the Flood.
Starvation and Exposure Liza
BILE to Find Further
Victims.
The Floor Of but One House
in Twenty-Five Miles
Above Water.

New ORLEANS, July 2.-Suddenly
and almost without warning the relent-
less waters pouring through the Rescue
creyasse, now 800 feet wide, swept
down the New river basin Saturday
night, carrying destruction and terror
in their path, not only imprisoning the
unfortunate people in their houses and
cabins. but driving them into the gar
rets, and in many instances to the roofs
OF the buildings. There many of them
are yet huddled, enduring the pangs of
hunger, for they have no means of cook
ing food; and it will be fortunate, in
tion and exposure find victims among
them. So far as reported up to this
evening, ten lives have been lost. a
white girl, three colored men-Reed
Saal, Tom Jones and the latter's father
one colOred woman, mother of Tom
Jones, and five colored children, whose
names have not been learned. The
white girl was brought in skiff to the
health office, New River lane, and Just
after stepping from the bow to the river
embankment, she
Fell to the Ground
and died, doubtless from the combined
effects of fright, exposure, nervousness
and physical exhaustion. The New
river country has frequ emily suffered
from overflow, but no previous flood has
compared in depth, extent or the sud-
denneSs of its coming with the one that
now covers it. Places that were wholly
unaffected by the crevasses of 1882, 1891
and 1892 are several feet under water,
and localities heretofore believed to be
above overflow are sub merged today.
Presuming that the water would rise
gradually,as has been the case. in former
seasons or inundatioh; and that they
would have a week or more within
which to remove their families, stock
aud household belongings, large ma
Jority of the people of this unfortunate
section had made no preparations what
ever for this terrible visitation that
came upon them in single night. An
idea of the extent and depth of the flood
may be formed from the facts that there
is five to seven feet of water at Dutch
town, and that Capt. Henry DoyaPs
house is the only one along the entire
extent of New River settlement, dis
tance of some twenty-five miles, with it's
floors
Above the Surface
of the flood. The water was at stand
at Capt. DoyaPs all day yesterday, and
it is hoped that the steady decline of the
water Will affect the bacKwater at least
sufficiently to prevent any further rise.
The first news of the fearful condition
of affairs on New river to Reach Don
aldsonyille came Thursday night in
letter sent by a special messenger from
R. T. Hart, of DonaldsonYille, to the
editor of the Chief, and Mr.. Hart's i'll
formation was derived from Mr.. Bou-
dreauX, one of the oldest and most re-
spected citizens of the OverfloWed cOun-
try, who had with much ifficulty made
his way to the river in search of means
to rescue his family and neighbors from
their alarming predicament. Measures
of relief were at once instituted. 1t is
thought the two fleets of skiffS sent,
added to the considerable number pro-
Der procurable in the overflow or gath
cred from other p oints, will be sufficient
to accomplish the work Of bringing all
the people of the flooded sections to
pl aces of safety.