The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-03-31
GREENvILLE's DANGER GRAVE.
The City Threatened With Complete
Destruction,


Jackson, Miss, March 3.-From the
great azoo-Nississippi delta comes a wall
of distress, and the cry 1.-The levees have
broken" is heard throughout our valley
of the Nile. Three fresh breaks have been
reported to-day, through which are pour
ing immense volumes of water, carrying
destruction to thousands of happy homes,
and devastation to as fertile a territory
as is to be found on the globe.
SO far no loss of life, except to domestic
animals, has been reported, but may be
by morning, as the great mounds of earth
which protect the dourishing cities of
Greenville, Rosedale, Stoneville, Arcola,
Friar's Point Rolling Fork and others
are water soaked, mushy and liable to
give way at any moment.
The four breaks that have occurred
have flooded, or will flood before reaching
the Yazoo, perhaps a week hence, the
counties Of Bolivar, Washington, Sharkey,
Issaquaena, Yazoo and portions of others,
in which are comprised the finest cotton
farms in the world. In this overflowed
district the state has leased eight planta-
tions, upon which, with her good able
bodied convicts, she was preparing to
make another crop of cotton and corn,
the latter being in fine condition.
The greatest concern is for the city of
Greenville, which, situated as she is, in
the hollow of a crescent formed by the
bend of the river, and surrounded by it
on two sides, would be wiped out of ex-
istence should break occur in the i'm
mediate vicinity. The streets of the city
are twelve feet below the summit of the
levee so that break once formed there
would be no way of stopping the Niagara,
and every house in the place would be
swept from its foundations, and the re-
naming inhabitants hurled into eternity.
Fearing such a catastrophe, those who
could have migrated to the hills, but thou
sands still remain.
The breaks that occurred to-day are
both above and below Greenville, fifteen
and twenty-five miles above, so that the
water will pass to the rear of the city.
The streams of the Delta all flow from
the river and down the opposite side of
the valley. The topography of the coun-
try is level but sloping east and away
from the river for forty miles in some
places, to the Yazoo, and it is down this
stream the overflow water must go to
again reach the Mississippi, seventy-tive
or 100 miles south of where it has left it.
Thousands of people, white and black,
still line the levees and are making
desperate effort to hold what remains. 1t
is a life and death struggle and for this
reason there is no rest night or day.
The question has been asked to-day
does il pay to maintain this great levee
system, and old river farmers declare it
does not, that life and business were more
certain forty years ago, when no one ex-
pected anything but an overflow and pre-
pared for it. Though the federal govern
ment has been most liberal in appropria-
tions to the levees, the planters of the
delta have spent millions more in perfect
ing the present system. Every bale of cot
ton produced in this great delta pays a
tax of 81, which creates a large sum an
nually for levee purposes. There are
doubtless many who after this will be con-
vinced that this 81 per bale might be more
profitably expended. However. the crisis
is on tonight, and by morning 1t IS prob
able several other breaks will have oc-
Cured. The water is reported higher than
ever before known from Memphis to
Vicksburg.