Birmingham state herald., 1897-04-09
ALONG TIE MISSISSIPPI
 4 1sys7- Reports To SecretaryAIger the Engineer Corps BRING DISTRESSING NEWS Thousands Of Acres of Land Buried Beneath the Waters and Untold Suffering
 Exists.

Washington. April S,-Socretary Alger is pushing forward the work of rslief for the flood sufferers, and within a few days the disbursement of rations provided for by congress will begin. Today the secre- tary was in consulta ton with Col Gil- lespie, president of the Mississippi rivsr commissions, wh1 had been summoned here by telegraph by the secretary for shat purpose Col. Gillespie has just 1e- turned from visit of inspection of the flooded districts along the lower Missis- sippi and. backed by his experience in the river Improvements, was able to give the .seeretarya fair idea of the needs of the situation |. is felt by the engineer officers that with the approbr.a ticn of $250DO0, already placed at their disposal by congress for the protection of the inn provement works they will be able 10 re- store the broken leve,es and get the river banks into normal shape wherever they are protected by the levees constructed by the national government and are not state works. Already Capt. Fitch, at Memphis, has been authorized to draw upon the appropriation to the extent of $20,000 for Lhe repairs necessary in his district, which lies up the river from Memphis.
 With view to the ascertainment of the exact state of the levees, as far as possl- ble to learn it at this time, Gen. Wilson, chief of engineers, has :elegraphed to the officers of his corps along the river to report the facts to him. These reports came along this morning. They have reference solely to the levees, and are as follows:
 of Engineers, United States of America:
 Telegram received. No breaks in my line as yet. Levees under severe s:rain now, but the worst has not reached my district We are making every effort all along the line to prevent any breach.
 Memphis, Tenn, April 7.-Levees west of the river in my district are practi- cally intact. One crevasse of little ina- portance on Amos bayou, about two miles from the upper end of the levee system and through this crevassa water has inundated a small area, including Ar kansas City. Btu. little damage or des- titution is apprehended from this Four crevasses have occurred in my district in Mississippi, che opposite Island 70, one on the southern side of Concordia bayou, about eight miles above Rosedale; one at Stop Landing, Choctaw Bend; one on the northern side of Lake Lee, about eight miles below Greenville. Width of breaks about 500 to 1000 feet, April 2. Land oVerfiowed, or that soon will be from these breaks, is roughly estimated at about 20 by 120 miles. No reliable in- formation yet as to the amount of loss
 
 will depend largely upon the time the flood continues. Interior points hitherto accessible by railroad will probably soon exhaust the supplies on hand and can ba reached only by skiffs. I think vague press statements of enormous damage and suffering are very much exagger- ated as to present conditions
 Memphis, April 7.-Breaks in St. Fran cls levee at Charlottesville, Mo-, 1000 feet wide; just above Arkansas and Missanri breaks pa T1a i Coo ln, between Osceola and Modem, Ark. seven pfeaks aggregating mile in width This basin is practically overfiowed from Cav osa, Mo-, to the mouth of St. Francis riv- CT for twenty to twenty-five miles back. The overflowed area is estimated at 2.500 square miles. Breaks in White river lev ees are three miles below Hale, 500 feet wide; five miles below, 1000 feet wide: IA miles below, 300 feet wide; below Mo dock, Ark. and foot of Island 64, are six breaks, the lower being three-fourths mile wide. Others will aggregate about 5000 feet Between Knowlton. Arkansas, and two miles above are three breaks az gregating 2,000 feet. Laconia levee has broken inundating Laconia. The over flowed area of White river basin is esti- mated at 800 square miles. In the upper Yazoo district there is one break oppo- site the mouth of the St. Francis river about Soo feet wide No information in which to base the system of overfiowed area of the upper Yazoo district No data for approximate estimate of loss and destitution, which however, is great.
 FITCH.
 Touching the matter of relieving the people in the flooded districts which has been separated from the matter of re- pairing the levees, the secretary of war has made some changed detail of officers announced yesterday. The service of the engineer officers are so badly needed in other directions that the two members of the corps, Colonel Haines and Captain Gaillard, were relieved and two infantry officers substituted, so that the detail now | stands; Major Sanger, inspector general; Major Craig, signal corps; Captain l Clarke, ordinance .department Captain 1 tenant Reichman, Ninth infantry, and !, Lieutenant Rowan, Nineteenth infantry. | The last two named officers are now on 1 duty in the information bureau here. After further consultation among the 1 army officers respecting the procurement 1 of supplies it has been decided to make | the purchase not only at Memphis but | at St. Louis and New Orleans. At the | two last named cities there are already l sta toned officers of the commissary gen l erals department and this morning Com | missary General Sullivan ordered Cap- |, tain Davis, one of the best officers of his l corps, from Chicago to Memphis to su- l perintend the purchase to be made there 1 The attention of the secretary of war has | been called to the fact that under the 1 terms of the resolution passed by con gress yesterday only rations can be pur- | chased. It is regarded as absolutely nec- 1 essary to authorize the supply of forage l and such stores to the people who have | herded their cattle and horses remaining | on tho levees and high grounds in the | flooded districts It is likely that an | immediate effort will be made to secure | the passage of another resolu tion amend |