The morning news., 1897-04-28
NM \ ALARM ANEW ORLEANS.
oon REACHES Az OVERwHELM-
IvG HIGHT A yIeksBURG.

v.onS Tyvent Feet Above the
wafer Mar.ltat the Crescent
THE Weake ed Levees Almost
certain to Give Yny If the water
comes Upon Thet In a Hush-Ahe
a,ectiOn Levee Around the City
re Nearly DOUBLED in Size.
,exees at Natche in BETTER COndi-
tiOH.
,-ou orleans, La, bril "a feeling of
i General The water has been
"'1 u n an Overwhelming hight at Vicks-
and all of this, as we'll as much of
ro,-asse volume must come down to
milf with the liver here at 10 feet
.ho,s the low water this means 20 feet.
1s, comes quickly The weakered banks
rbardlv be able B hold. After work
,~-3av and night fol month, raising and
,,,adening the barSs, the levee boards
s,va heen advised t. do the work all over
ar,in and build as if they were aiming
n meet two feet more Of water
The city, which cans easily hold its
tront but would be epaangered by a Gre
vase in the Ponchartrain system has be-
oun 10 build the protection levee above the
cttv 10 almost double its size.
Natchez. Miss, April 27.-The gauge here
sbovcs a rise of one-tenth and a half in the
last twepty-four hours, or 1876, nearly six
4 foet over the danger line. The weather
4 bse cleared and the hot sunshine of to-day
has greatly changed the crowns and sides
/ Of the Ievees near here from a mushy,
4 Struggling condition to hardened crust.
4 The leyees are reported, with few eXcep-
4 tions to be in good condition and unless the
weather again changes the peop.e are more
boneful that they will withstand the great
strain.
Reports at 6 o'clock this evening from
CLAYTON La, are to the effect that the
Tensas river is rising over an inch an
hour, with very swift current, and is
rapidlv covering the plantations, and will
continue to do so for some time. as the
bulk of the headwater from the Biggs ere
vase has not arrived. -
Similar reports have been received from
Trinity La, but the exact amount of the
rise could not be ascertained.
St. Louis, Mo, April 27.-The flood situa-
tion throughout the neigh boring AIissis-
sipp and Missouri river territory is one
of greatest danger. At several points the
swollen streams have overtopped their
banks and burst through the levees. AL
ready several lives have been lost, and
many people are imperiled by the rapidly
rising waters. Thousands of acres of farm
lands on both the Illinois and Missouri
sides of the Mississippi river have been
inundated, or will be soon. Stock has been
drowned and crops destroyed. According
20 the weather Bureau both rivers will
continue to rise.
While Joseph Johnson, William Dalton,
Minnie Frazier, Mrs Ida Bugg and her
two small children were attempting to
ford swollen stream in a wagon at Jack
son, No, the vehicle was overturned and
the woman and children were drowned.
The Hunt levee, which protected the
Hunt drainage district on the Illinois side
below Warsaw. broke to-day, sending the
Mississippi over one of the most fertile
regions in the Mississippi valley. The
widest excitement prevailed, for fully 30
90 acres of land and hundreds of homes
will be under water in a few hours
The lowest part of the district is just
below the bluffs, seven miles back of the
ieyee, and the water is making straight
Tor the hills BY tomorrow a territory
thirteen miles long by seven miles wide
will be covered with water
Couriers were sent on horseback to the
houses back in the district and a. scene of
disorder and fright everywhere prevailed
Some were unable to save anything and
barely escaped with their lives. II is feared
that some have been caught and surround
ed by the flood.
The levee was. covered to-day with a
crowd of farmers and their wives, hurry
ping their children and their live stock to
places of safety. Many are now camped
out on the hills, with absolutely nothing
left. Poverty and untold suffering must
inevitably follow this disaster
Levee Commissioner Shaffer at once tel
egraphed to Maj. Meigs of the govern
inent fleet at Keokuk, Ia, for aid The
latter ordered the steamer Mae to the
spot with barges of sandbags and he fol-
lowed shortly afterward with the Vixen
The break may be repaired, but in the
meantime the whole district is being food
ed. Efforts are being made to keep the
END OF the levee from being further
broken. This is almost impossi BILE, for the
water rs rushing through the break at a
terrinc rate, and it is unsafe for the
steamers to approach It. The situation
mere and at Alexandra, six miles above
Is practically unchanged. The break on
lhe illinois side is drawing the water
away from here and will prove a slight
!eHeI' although both the Mississippi and
the Des Moines rivers are rising above.
RIC.