Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-04-03

the river there is still slowly rising, and it
Is almost IuiracufuIIs- thai tho 1eyEeS- at
Helena have not broken. Thousands of
people have been working day and night,
and their energies are seemingly exhaust
hess. The Missouri Pacific and Cotton Belt
roads have rush trainload after trainload
OF sacks of sand into the beieaSuered. city,
people The railroads have rendered. great
assistance to the levee boards. Tnc lilinols
Central. Missouri Pacific and Cotton BELT
railroads have devoted All their sfcal
forces 10 the work of saving the country,
and that without charge.
Grceuville is OH an island. and Rosedaie,
Miss. i in water from IiYe TO ten feet deep.
The funds of the bank in Rosediile nave
been moved to the second story. Thousands
OF head of cattle are standing on the levee,
and many unfort una tes refugees Steep lhc,e,
with no covering to protect them from the
Back of Rosedale and throughout the
lower and middle delta country. everything
Is under water. In many Villages commu-
nication with the outside world has been
cut of for several days
The threatened rise AT Cairo IS now n GER
tainty. The MISSISSIPPI ABOVE Ialro ana
the Cumberland and Tennessee rivers Will
send great flood into the already filled St
feared that the dcluge will mark high
water figure that will be without prece-
At Memphis ,he river is falling tonight.
the gauge reading 36-3 feet, Il fall of one
tenth of a foot since last night The calls
the river are becoming more and more ire
quent at the headquarters of the relief
committee in Memphis. The commission
is in receipt of information that there are
some eighteen or twenty white people, prln-
eipally women and children; in great dis
tTess at a point near St Clalre's landing
about fifteen miles up the river, which is
some six miles from Mound city. The pe0-
pie are located in houses. the lower fioors
OF which are oyerflowed and they have
no food and no means of obtaining il.
(,rnauyiIIa Miss Anril 9-Afhilp the
is still on an island and the water from
CrevaSses above and below threatens to
food the greater part of ii, there is enough
For the most part, the people are cheerful
apparently perfectly contented with the
state of affairs. Late last night, although
work was pushed along the protection
levee with great yigor, the prospects that a
1ulwark against the flood would be COM
pleted in time to be effective were very
slim, and the people resident on the prin-
cipal thoroughfares confidently expected TO
arise from bed this morning and. instead
of looking out of their windows upon dry
streets and sidewalks, TO see canals So
firmly were some of them impressed with
their idea that they took precautions to
he hauled to their residences and placed
on the ground handy to the front doors.
where they We're made fast with mooring
painters. BugStes were run upon porches
above any anticipated rise I'm the water
and in some instances these vehicles were
hoisted upon the roofs of the stables. These
precautions were. however, happily found
10 be unnecessary for. by early morning
the embankment had been thrown UP suf-
nciently high to protect more than half of
the city, and work is still progressing.
The statement that the overfiowed Sec
while in the main correct, is not applicable
to the entire section, for some of the finest
the best people are in the overfiooded dis.
trict. This morning, the convict force was
again marched up to the enbankment and
strengthening the levees.
vicksburg, Miss, April "A slight de-
cline in the river was observed here to-
day. All excitement accompanying the re-
cent breaks in the delta has subsided aud
men are waiting for the next act in the
through the Yazoo river. This event which
Is not expected TO be long delayed, will
confront the residents of the fifth Louisi-
ana levee district, especially those of the
parishes of Madison and East Carroll, with
a very grave emergency, as its levee COM
missioners and engineers believe. They
agree with the weather bureau in antici-
pating rise of about two feet at Vicks-
burg when the water returns to the river
and will raise their levees from Hender-
sons, in East Carroll parish. to Bedford s.
in Madison, a distance of forty miles. to
the level of three feet above the present
gauge reading in Yicksburg. Planters are
offering substantial assistance in the work
and Madison parish has offered the board
loan of $1,000. Lieutenant Newcomer
was seen tonight after a trip down the
river to inspect the levee by daylight. He
said everything possible was being done TO
the lines. ana IDdI, IN View -OI
these efforts, he believed they would be
held.
Lulu. Miss, April 2.-Jusr at present the
situation at this and adjoining towns is
extremely critical The river is higher than
known for years and there is every pros
pect of further rise and. with the ievees
becoming soft and pSshr, slipping dread
fully and water running over them. 4 is
indeed a time of peril and danger Situated
we are, with the Mississippi river with
in six miles TO the west. the surface of
which is more than fifteen feet above the
streets and with a lake ten miles long this
city is literally surrounded by angry wa
tiers.
The whole town would be swept from its
foundations in case of break in the levee
at this point All the levees near here are
becoming weaker each hour. and no one
will be surprised to hear of a disastrous
break at any moment. Every available man
and boy who is able to swing a pick ham
and day trying 10 ward off the impending
flood.
News comes in every hour of some fresh
slough or sink in the levees. The operator
at the state leyee on the branch road which
ordinarily runs from here to Helena, Ark
but which Is III such bad shape that the
trains have not been able to get to Helena
for nearly a month, has just wired the rail-
road superintendent that the water is run
ming over the levee near his improvised box
car Office and is-now ankle deep in his car.
which is on the outside of the leYee He
states that unless available men, sacks
dirt etc, are sent at once there will be a
break In the levee before morning. Acting
upon such information. the superintendent
has ordered out special train from Mem
phis, loaded with sacks and men.