The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-04-05
ANOTHER BAD BREAK.
The I,evee at Flower Lake, Miss,
Yields to the Flood.
GREAT SUFFERING ENTAILED.

Tho Distress of the Poor Along the st.
Francis River Is Appaliing-Steam-
ers still Picking Up the Inhabitants
of Submerged settlements.
Memphis, April b.-Another dlsas-
trous break in the Mississippi levee
occurred at s o'clock yesterday morn
ing at Flower Lake, six miles below
Tunica. The crevasse widened rapidly.
and is now 1870 yards wide. through
which the water Is rushing with
deafening sound that only can be COM
pared to that of Niagara falls. The
levee was 20 feet high at the point
where it broke So rapidly did the
crefasse widen that the water rushing
through 1t was sufficient to reach the
lake, which is five miles east OIL the
break, in remarkably short space OF
time, and within an hour had raised
the lake eight feet.
This will be the most destructive
break that has occurred in the delta.
The most fertile farm lands of MISS
issippi, lying In Coahoma, Lahore,
Quitman and Tallahatchie counties, In
the northern portion Of the state, VIII
be inundated, and the newly planted
corn crops will be laid waste. For
tunately no loss of life Is reported, the
inhabitants of this stricken section
having made preparations for just such
q catastrophe as exists today. Inc
condition of the poorer classes through
out the flooded area Is indeed critical.
thousands of refugees are being huu-
died on levees and spots of land walt
ing for relief. The towns OF Roseoaie
and Tunica report that everything pos
sible is being done for these poor peo-
ple, but funds and provisions are fast
becoming exhausted. In the little city
of Rosedale alone there are L2OO refu-
gees being cared for by the citizens.
Half a hundred towns stand in six feet
of water, and the yellow stream is
creeping up slowly but surely.
Adylces Just received tell of break
in the levee two miles south Of Helena
Ark, This is the levee for which the
people of southeastern Arkansas nave
made such desperate fight. The
waters from this break will flood a
great area, and in all probability will
| back I'D into the streets of Helena, Ihe
| relief steamer Ora Lee arrived at MARI
anna, Ark late yesterday afternoon
| having hade an expedition up the ST.
| Francis river. There were on board l5o
refugees and 200 head of cattle. The
steamer went up the st. Francis river
as far as Cut Off, and then worked
| her way down stream, rescuing people
| from perilous positions.
The suffering along the st. Francis
river is appalling The water through
out the entire neighboring country Is
| from 6 to Is feet deep. The relief boat
had on board the body of Mrs. Nc
| Main, of Rasgio City. The body was
found at Raggio, and 1t was taken to
Mariana for burial there being no
land at the former place on which to
give 1t interment. The st. Francis is
rising from three to five inches daily.
At Memphis the river is slowly rising
again, the gauge registering Sb.4 rect
At points below Vicksburg the river
Is rising. 1t is the general opinion OF
old river men here that if the levees
below Vicksburg hold the great volume
of water in it's regular channel 1t Will
be little short of miraculous.
On Friday the plows were running In
the fields adjacent to Shaws, Miss.
Twenty-four hours later boats were
running through the main business
street of the town, and the fields were
from four to six feet under water II
is impossible to estimate the number
of stock drowned, but it will go into
the hundreds
Governor McLaurin continues to
make dillgent inquiry touching desti-
tute flood sufferers. He will, perhaps
be compelled to state TO Secretary OF
War Alger that the amount of $4,000
mentioned in his telegram Of Saturday
nieht will be wholly inadequate to al
leviate the want and suffering. The
governor in doing all in his power for
| the food sufferers