The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1897-04-07
FEAR OF FAMINE.
FLOOD Sufferers Face to Face with
Starvation.
D'stressing situation Of Affairs In
the Mississippi Valley High
waters Causing Ruin I'm
the West.

7-N PciSOHS Will lhLn-
me. This is the shocking result of the
hoods in the lower Mississippi valley.
which are spreading with every hour
that passes. All of the country must
come TO the rescue of the homeless ref
ugees, or hunger, possibly pestilence,
Will make dire inroads on the victims.
AZ {. Graves and j. S. Menlin. of the
Memphis relief committee, have gone
TO Washington TO ask the general gov
eminent TO lend assistance. Ten thou
sand dollars have already been eX-
pended by the local committee. ard
probably $4,000 more in provisions
have been distributed. 1t now looks
as if famine is ahead. Many thousand
p1bple have been made homeless. and
appeals for aid have gone forth. In
the lowlands of Arkansas a call for
food has been made. and the people of
Little Rock will take immediate action.
Rosedale, Miss, April 5.-Hundreds
OF negroes are without provisions and
with no possible means of getting any.
There are fully half million acres OF
the finest farm lands in the country in
undated. Each plantation presents
scene of desola.ior and ruin. There
are In Rosedale 1000 destitute persons
who cannot be cared for unless relief
comes from outside.
Memphis, Tenn, gApril Another
disastrous break in the Mississippi
levee occurred Sunday morning at eight
o'clock at Flower lake, six miles below
Tunica. Miss. The crevasse. while not
yet of great width, is fully Is feet deep,
and the water is pouring through the
opening with fearful velocity. This
will probably be the most destructive
break that has occurred in the delta.
The most fertile farm lands of Missis-
sippi. lying in Coahoma, La Flore, Quit
man and Tallahatchie counties, in the
northern part of the state. will be in
undated and the newly planted corn
crops will be laid in waste. Fortunately
no loss of life is reported, the inhabit-
ants of this stricken section having
made preparations for just such catas-
trophe ms exists there.
The condition of the poorer classes
throughout the flooded area is indeed
critical. Thousands of refugees are be-
ing huddled on levees and spots of land
waiting for relief. The towns of Rose
dale and Tunica report that everything
possible is being done for these poor
people. but that funds and provisions
are fast becoming exhausted. In the
little city of Rosedale alone 1920 refu-
gees are being cared for by the citi-
Iens. Half a hundred towns stand in
six feet of water and the yellow stream
is creeping up slowly but surely.
Advices received tel! of break in
the levee two miles south of Helena,
Ark. This is the levee for which the
people of southeastern Arkansas have
made such desperate fight. The
waters from this break will flood
great area and in all probability will
back up into the streets of Helena. The
relief steamer Ora Lee arrived at Mari
emma, Ark, late Sunday afternoon, hav-
ing made an expedition Up the st. Fran
els river. There were on board 160
rfugees and 200 head of cattle. The
steamer went up the st. Francis river
as far as Cut Off, and then worked her
way down stream, rescuing people from
perious positions. The suffering along
the st. Francis river is appalling. The
water throughout the entire neighbor-
ing country is from six to fifteen feet
deep.
ST. Paul, Mimi, April 5.-The relief
societies are busy all day extending sue
cor TO the suffering. The number of
people who have been forced to leave
their homes is about 1900. The water
east of State street is so deep that sew
eral houses have fioated from their
foundations.
Ortonville. Mimi, April Sunday
was the fourth day that Ortonville has
been completely cut off from commune
cation with the outside world in every
direction. train cannot go 90 miles
from this city in any direction. Lac
Qui Parle lake, Minnesota river, Big
Stone lake and Lake Traverse form one
lake 100 miles in length. Bridges are
gone in many places, and boats are in
demand in the vicinity of the depot and
the railroad yards. Rain has been fall
ing steadily for week, making the
country roads impossible and keeping
farmers off their fields.
Quincy, H., April 5.-The flood ex-
tends clear back TO the bluffs. and steam
boats are taking excursion parties on
trips through the tops of the trees and
over lDt lie boats
go from six TO ten miles inland. and the
only landing places to be found are the
second stories of the houses which the
owners have been compelled TO abandon.
In many places the steamers go right up
TO the second-story windows and sail
over the farms without any trouble en-
cept the fear of striking the fence posts
under water. Between here and Hanni-
bal the water is on both sides of the St.
Louis, Keokuk a. Northwestern railroad
tracks, and for miles the only land in
sight is the narrow embankment on
which the track rests. Between here
and La Grange the water is tapping the
ties and the gale is dashing the waves
clear over the track.
Burlington, Ia, April 5.-A land
slide occurred on the bluff along the
river near Fort Madison at noon Sun
day, covering the Burlington railroad
track ten feet deep with a mass of
putty-like clay, rock and trees. Four
trains were blocked at the point for
several hours while big gang Of work.