The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1897-12-04

Increased with extraordinary rapidlty
Bnt disaster was once more threatening.
The Mississippi river, remorseless and
Unsuitable, having destroyed the island
which had for SO many years stood as Il
bulwark between the town and it's raya.
ges, began to swallow up the struggling
little city. Rod by rod, street by street
block by block, 1t crumbled and dropped
into the foaming jaws of the monster.
Even then, discouraged and demoraliz-
ed by the apparently certain doom that
menaced their homes and property, its
people did not entirely lose heart and
hope. Whole blocks of brick stores
were torn down and removed brick by
brick to safe distance from the river.
During a whole summer homes that
had been built 10 shelter generations
were raised from their foundations and
mare he'd slowly through the streets like
huge tortoises, drawn by groaning tackle
to spots perhaps nearly mile away
| from where they originally stood. The
citizens of Greenyille themselves raised
the sum of $4,000 for the work Of hsr-
Dor protection. The Districts repre-
sentative IN Congress, ever active and
efficient lie serving the interests OF his
! people, pleaded so powerfully for aid in
their gallant struggle against desperate
odds that the great power of the gov
eminent was induced to join forces with
the town, and the result was the estab-
ishment of the fleet of the Mississippi
River Commission at Greenville, and
| the building of more than two miles of
revetment-the most extensive and re-
markable engineering feat of its kind in
existence and which is now visited
and studied with interest by engineers
from all parts OF the union, and has
been photographed and described min
| utely in the most influential magazines
of the country. The conquest of the
river accomplished, and the fear of de-
struction by caving allayed, Greenyille
progressed with seven league boots
from the condition of village to that OF
city. Railroads began to penetrate
the Delta in every direction. Immi-
grants poured in. Vast tracts Of land
were cleared and cultivated. The city
grew apace. Its store buildings became
imposing blocks of modern brick struct-
ures; its residence streets were built up
| with costly dwellings. The finest court
house in the State, built of stone
brought from Illinois, took the place Of
the humble structure which had former
w served. Miles Of street railway
were laid down on its broad avenues,
and electric lamps over the whole city
and suburbs displaced the dingy coal oil
lights. \Greenville and the county were
on boom. Prices oil real estate, both
| in city and country, SCARED TO the skies
The lever OF speculation became cpl
| demic. Commercial houses and profess
sional men loaded themselves down with
/ city and country real estate. LandoWn-
ers mortgaged their plantations for
enormous sums to purchase great tracts
| ofland, and gave deeds OF trust covering
| both the land they owned and that they
| bought to secure the payment. me
end of the year 1889 found the commu-
/ ~nmalous condition. Every
nifty in an an anur;shinp- and
thing was apparently NJ
prosperous. Money was plentllui' nc"
enterprises Of greater and greater mAs
| nitude were every day appearing Law,
ish expenditures and private luxury nao
| become general. But all this seeming
nrosnerity was built upon factitiou'
foundation. The money 80 freely seA'
tered was borrowed, and the amoltlou
schemes were built upon hopes ana pos
sibilities destined never to be reaiizeu
1890 brought with it the usual catastro
nbe of all boom experiences, rendered Il
+ this case a hundred fold worse r. CON
Z, plication with one - the most owe,
"h'ilnlnH ,ertlows the country ha
e' known. Even the CRY OF Greer
y Vile. the highest point in the distrlc
. and hitherto supposed to be above II
. reach of high water, was half summers
ed. and incalculable injury done to
+ credit and commercial interests py u
:, destruction of crops, enforced suspe
= sion of railway communication al
1ro;s IF business at a most impC
N tant period. The three or four yea
IA succeeding 1890 formed dark ana u
a astrous epoch in the history OF Gree
vile and the Delta. Tie reaction TIC
= the delirious energy of the boom peri
- was sudden and complete almost to
= point of collapse. Values shrunk
lv paliingly. Loan corporations wl'hur'
: entirely from the country now co
= nletely Mt their mercy. Men VINO
q been considered, and who fancied the
90 selves wealthy, woke up to reSllL"'
he of poverty, 1t was often sA'it .,.'
y .a,d during the boom days that this
- mat man was very rieh-that he ON
- connie of hundred thousand !
satire now became apparent.
- Plantation after plantation, many
" thom the homes Of the same family
:. generations, passed into the hsndi
new owners, or became the property
ar the mortgage companies to when
ON had been pledged. The great wave
Nd business calamity which swept
the country struck the city oil or
,od Vile. and her commercial conc
Ira crumbled like sand before IT. no
.nt which had dealt with figures runnln
a. into millions and we're regarded a.