The San Francisco call., 1897-03-21
Thousands of Hitherto Pros
porous Families Now
Destitute.
Continued Story of Devastation
and Death Along the
Big Rivers.
In Many Places There Are Indications
That the Crisis Is Yet to
Come.

ST. LOUIS, Mo-, NJ arch 20.-The warn
ing sent out by the Government signal
service yesterday that the Mississippi
River and all its tributaries would con-
tinue to rise has been fulfilled to the let
ter. Communication with the flooded
section has been difficult, but dispatches
are received from widely separated poin S
showing that all have suffered alike. 1t
is estimated that section of country with
an area equal to that OF the State of Mis-
souri, is now under water and that the
worst is not over. Advices from Cairo,
Paducah, Memphis and Helena show that
the region beg nning north of New
Madrid, Mo-, west to and including the
valleys of the st. Francis the White and
the Arkansas rivers, in Arkansas, east in
Kentucky and Tennessee, OF the valleys Of
the Tennessee, the Cache. the Obion and
the Yazoo rivers and south to the Red
River are under water. The intervening
ranges of hills and highlands are the only
places of refuge. The dispatches received
here tell but one story live stock drowned
and a country desolate.
At Cairo, ILL.,, to-day the river reached
500 feet and rising slowly, which is but
one foot short of the high record of 1888.
All the country south of there to Mem
phis is submerged. a relief steamer from
the fats below Birds Point brought in
four families. II is reported that a fat
boat containing a number of people was
sunk at Island No. 10.
Bright sunshine this afternoon revived
the hopes of the people about Cairo.
About Nashville the situation is bad and
rain is threatening The easements of
business houses on Front street and the
lower end of Broad street are full of
water and thousands of dollars worth of
goods are irreparably damaged. Much of
this damage could have been prevented by
timely removals if the warnings of the
Weather Bureau had been needed.
In the residence portion OF the Nash
vile lowlands many people continued to
occupy their houses until this morning,
but they are now moving out in boats.
No deaths by drowning are reported.
The Memphis Relief Association has
five boats at work. These boats 60 TO
points that are some twenty miles from
streams navlgable in ordinary stages of
water. The unanimous opinion OF st. Louis
river men is that conditions must become
worse before there can be permanent relief.
DES MONIES, Iowa, March l0.-The
Des Moines River rose four feet at this
point from last evening to noon to-day,
and is aow about stationary. It is four
teen feet above normal, ana the situation
is much worse thar at any previous time.
During the forenoon Mayor McVicker was
called upon by delegation from the north
part of town and asked for aid. The
sudden rise in the morning lad flooded
many houses. and people were taken out
in boats. Crocker Wood Park is under
wafer. and great damage has been done to
buildings, walks, lighthouses and other i'm
provements. Water has backed into the
sewers, and cellars in the lower part OF the
city are flooded.
The great gorge in the Iowa River at
Iowa Fails went out this afternoon. and
aside from the damage to the mill and
dam at Alden, no damage was done.
Onawa dispatches say that the Little Sioux
is out of its banks there, in places four
miles wide, and is still rising fast. At
Cherokee the situation is worse than ever
before.s The Little Sioux has flooded the
lower part of the town and hundreds of
people are driven from their homes. The
town is cut off from communication with
the outside world by rail. From Cherokee
to Sioux City the Illinois Central is
swamped, bridges are out and grades
washed away in several places. The only
encouraging feature of the situation is
that the weather is much colder tonight
and the snow in the north part of the
State has ceased melting. The rain that
was threatened Yesterday seems to he
averted for the present.
The Das Moines is rising fast at IL
O'Clock tonight, and it is Just reported
that the water has invaded the power
house OF the City Railway, and the fire
under part of the boilers has been
quenched by it. There is another battery
of boilers few inches higher and if 1t is
reached, as is now expected, it will be i'm
possible to produce power and the entire
city has good chance to be without
streetcar service tomorrow. The power
house is new one on the east side of the
river.
SIOUX CITY, Iowa, March 2O-Re-
ports OF damage by floods are coming in
tonight from towns all over the territory
about Sioux City. The Big and LitIie
Sioux, Vermilion, Jim Rock and Eikhorn
rivers are few among the more import
ant streams which are giving trouble
Bridges are nearly all gone on all of them,
towns on their banks are inundated and
thousands OF acres Of farm lands are under
water.
No lives are reported lost. but damage
to buildings. grain and livestock will De
enormous. Railroad traffic is about at a
standstill.
OMAHA, NEBR, March 20.-The gen.
eral thaw OF the past weer has started the
ice in the Logan and Elkhorn rivers and
towns along their banks have been threat
ened with floods. but only two of any i'm
portance have been seriously damaged.
Pending, or the Logan River, is tonight
partly submerged, and Norwalk, the
sugar-beet town, is in several fee of water
While the Missouri River is very high.
Indian Creek, which runs through the
heart OF the city of Council Bluffs, rose
suddenly yesterday and fooled some of
the streets.
at Norfolk thousands of dollars worth
of damage has been done. The Elkhorn
overfiowed its banks last night, and First,
Second and Third streets are rivers only
passable by boats. All the business por-
tion OF the city is uncer from three to six
feet of water. The newspaper presses in
the city are under four feet OF water and
publication is suspended. The Oxnard
Hotel, one of the largest in the city, is
completely surrounded by water. Chan
nels have been washed out through the
Cnicago, st. Paul, Minneapolis and
Omaha Railroad yards, and freight cars
are badly piled up.
ECKPOINT, S. D., March 2O.-Ths food
which has been threatening this valley for
weeks reached Vermilion to-nighi. The
gorge. which has been viewed with appre-
hension by the people for some time,
formed about five miles be ow Vermilion
this evening and the water has been rising
rapidly ever since.
The Missouri and the Vermilion rivers
meet just below Vermiiion, and trouble
has been apprehended for long time.
The gorge formed three miles below here,
and the water began to rise slowly after
H. hA i'm hnfA I'D