Omaha daily bee., 1897-03-20
TWO NEGROES DROWN IN FLOOD.


Covers an Immense Territory.
|, MEMPHIS, Tenn, March 1S.-Two negroes
lost their lives today as result of the great
flood which engulfs hundreds of acres oi
land in the Arkansas bottoms. The two mer
were drowned in Fifteen Mile bayou, neal
Marion, Ark.
There Is no cessation in the rise of the
river and tonight the gauge registers 37.2, a
rise of one-tenth since the morning report
Cairo reports 50-4 feet, rise of four-tenths
of a foot in twenty-four hours since yester-
day. Heavy rains continued last night
throughout the entire region of the Ohio
valley, the drainage from which swells the
upper Mississippi. At Marked Tree, Ark
on the st. Francis river, there has been a
rise of one foot in the twenty-four hours
ending this morning.
Throughout Arkansas and Tennessee heavy
rainfalls were the rule during the past
twenty-four hours, as during the preceding.
At Helena the rainfall was immense, meas
uring 1865 inches In Memphis it was 1.S6
inches, with 1.24 inches at Nashville, and
Chattanooga Helena, Vicksburg and points
below report a steady rise.
The first ray of sunshine in five days to-
day penetrated the gloom which hangs over
the overflowed country.
A telegram from MOdoc, where the levee
was reported to have broken, calls for mate
rials for strengthening the levee at this
point. 1he leVee Is intact yet tnougn
break is feared. Arrangements have been
made TO send the necessary assistance.
The railroads are heavy sufferers from the
high water. The Iron Mountain road is the
only one available from the west. The Mis-
siSsiEpi Valley road had to abandon the sale
of tickets over its line on account of a
washout near Lakeview. The Memphis &
Charleston trains have been forced to stop
running for the same reason.
The gloomiest feature of the distressing
conditions is the fact that there is little or
no hope of the abatement of the high water
within the near future, because of floods re-
ported in the upper valleys.
Today the most alarming reports concern
ing the condition Of the levees above and
below Memphis have been in circulation in
Memphis. The levees are in mcst places
built to extend three or four feet above the
highest water mark in the locality where they
are constructed 1t seems now that this
allowance of altitude has also been consumed
by the rising water.
The United States engineering force for
the districts south of this city has been do
ing everything possible to relieve the suf-
ferers and protect the levees. The Misss-
sippi River commission, complying with
urgent requests, has transferred some $l0,-
000 from the fund at It's disposal to be used
in the protection of those districts during
the high water. There is very reliable in
formation to the effect that at Modoc, Ave-
nue.. Hugheys and other points below Helena
the water has gone over the levee. and the
levees being In such mushy condition from
the rains, it is not thought possible to pro-
tect them much longer from the ever-rising
flood.
The government steamer Abbott has car
rled a large number of sacks of sand to the
Modoc locality and to points below. At that
place the government has only recently
spent many thousands of dollars in complet-
ing the strengthening of the leyees.
There is positive information that the
leveo constructed under the direction of the
st. Francis Levee board near Charlottesville,
Mo-, has been cut, and the belief is preva-
lent in that locality that the work was done
by persons living on the Tennessee side,
who hoped by making an opening for the
flood in the Arkansas side, to decrease the
flood and thus save the property on the
Tennessee side.
The reported break in the levee at Glen
dale cannot be confirmed, and it is thought
to be premature.
Hundreds of refugees were landed here by
the relief steamers today and tonight and
are being cared for by the relief commit
tees.
Tonight a report is current that the levee
has broken at Hillhouse, Miss, flooding the
fine farms in that locality. A steamer with
men and sand, has been dispatched to the
scene Of the reported break.