The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-04-02
THE LEYEES HAVE BROKEN,
THE Wall OF DISTRESS FROM
THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY.

Ttrrta ghty Flood Rushing Iand-Peo.
p + seing for Their Lives, Leaving All
behind-"hoie Counties Liable to In
undation Cities Surrounded by High
Levees Now Water.Soaked and Liable to
Burst at any Moment-Historic Planta
tiOn- Doomed.
G~ree1ville, Miss. March 30.-The
levees broke at Mound landing. Miss.
fifteen miles north OF this place.. at 3
O'Clock this morning. Greenville and
all towns west of Deer creek will be
flooded. The ~crevasse at Stead's land
ing. near Perthshire, this morning is
l,50O feet wide. The entire lower half
Of the Delta will be under water with
in three days. All able-bodied men
have been called out to throw up the
levees around the city.
ST. Louis, March 3O.-A special to The
Scripps-McRae Press Association, from
Baton Rouge. La, says that the break
in the levee ten miles below G~reenville,
Miss. is the worst SO far to occur.
Thousands Of feet Of the levees have
weakened under softening by high
waters and are melting away like sand.
The break last night was 1000 feet
wide and the water is rushing into
Mississippi with frightful velocity. The
inhabitants are fleeing for their lives,
leaving all behind. Cattle, horses and
other live stock are drowning by the
thousands, and houses and barns are
being Washed away like drift wood. 1t
10 estimated that fully 1000 people are
already homeless and at the mercy of
charity. The waters have already
reached fifteen miles inland and the
destruction Of hundreds more Of farm
houses is inevitable.
Harvey Klemmer and two sons who
attempted to save some stock had their
boat overturned and were drowned.
1t is also reported that Mrs. John Mar
shall and a son. who were alone in q
little hut two miles from the break,
were unable to escape and were
drowned.
The historic and famous plantation
Of Jefferson Davis n his brother.
Joseph Davis. six miles below Vicks-
burg. are doomed to become a sea Of
water and destruction.
Sixty-two miles below Vicksburg is
the historic plantation Of General Zach
ariah Taylor. With the threatened rise
of three feet it will be a total ruin.
The household goods are being re-
moved and the stock driven to places
Of safety. The little church on the
plantation in which Jefferson Davis
was married to General Taylor's
daughter is threatened with destruc-
ton. The water has surrounded it to
the depth of two feet.
Cairo, Ill, March 30.-The Ohio river
fell tWO-tenths Of an inch during the
last tWenty-fOur hours and the gauge
now reads SIS feet. The reports re-
ceived from uppe Ohio, Tennessee and
Cumberland river points show the
rivers are falling and it is believed the
worst is over.
ST. Louis, March 3O.-The river rose
about six inches in the past twenty
four hours at his city. Unless the
heavy rain continues for several days,
1T is not expected that the river will
go above the danger line. Word re-
ceived this afternoon from Alton, Han
nibal and keokuk state that the river
is about stationary and no fears of a
flood are entertained.
New Orleans, March 3O.-The special
to The Daily States dated Helena, Ark,
March goth, says: The river rose here
| two and a half inches during the last
twenty-four hours. The weather has
cleared and it is bright and sunshiny,
giving a needed breathing spell to
lhC pCOIic VIII are WOIhlIlS on the
levees. The Iron Mountain trains have
been shut out of Helena, owing to
back water in the st. Francis river.
having flooded the track across the
Languilla river bridge north of Ma
rianna. Fifty thousand bags intended
for use here in repairing the levees
were thus stopped and trains on the
Cotton Belt railroad are bringing them
arOund to Clarendon. After the severe
gala of VnCtpr6oU oIpninO rnnnir1 n rn
being made in the whole line of levees
in order to be ready for the bad
feather yet to arrive.
A citizens committee raised Sc, 900
yesterday and another 81, 900 today for
the purpose of prosecuting the work.
Camp Black, established by the relief
committee for the care of the cOlOred
refugees, is now a village of nearly 200
souls. The refugees, both white and
black, are not averSe to work. and
yesterday when the situation was so
critical they went to work with a will.
The rescue steamer Maude came up
from below at noon and reported the
levee blow as bling in good condition
and ready for eighteen inches more of
water. Altogether, the situation is
more reassuring. Notwithstanding the
adverse weather bureau reports.
A special to The Daily States dated
Vicksburg says: The high water rec
ord at this place since 1862 was broken
this morning the gauge reading 1873.
A third crevasse is reported in Missis-
sippi, seven miles above Arkansas City.
Its waters added to the other crevaSSe
will complete the inundation Of the
lower Mississippi delta. The break
reported at Gaines Landing, Ark, has
not been verified as yet. The Louisi-
ana levees are holding, but Lake Prov
idence reports that the water is run
ming over Pitchers Point levee for two
miles. The break at G%unnisOn, or Perth
shire, a short distance below Australia,
which occurred at 5 o'clock yesterday
evening, is serious and damaging. AT
noon today it had widened to 1,600 feet