The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-04-01
LIKE AN INLAND SEA.
The Mississippi Still Spreading
- 80 Over Thousands Of Acres.
LEVEEs CONSTANTLY GIVE WAY.

All the Forces OF Nature Against the
People, Rainfall and Wind Intensi-
flying the Danger-Enormou Loss of
Stock, but Few Human Lives Lost.
Memphis, April IA heavy rainfall,
accompanied by-a strong gale from the
west. is adding to the gravity of the
flood situation in the Mississippi delta.
There are four breaks, and each is let
ting In stream as large as the Ohio
river at Cincinnati or the Hudson at
Albany. This tremendous outflow has
caused fall of only one-tenth at
Vicksburg, Immediately below the last
break. The rain and wind will prob
ably cause more breaks. The river is
now like an inland sea, and last even
ing a telegram from a point below
Rosedale, Miss, announced that the
waves were pounding aseinst the levee.
This being true, there will be in all
probability more crevasses today. All
the forces of nature are against the
people. The rainfall and wind intensi-
fies the danger. If the wind were from
the east it would mean little, but the
gale is blowing from the west.
On the Arkansas side the levee from
Helena to Arkansas City Is as full of
holes as the outer wall of a fortiflca-
ton after a siege. There Is break at
Westover, which occurred at an early
hour yesterday morning. A thousand
men were at work on the levees when
the crash came. First a thin thread of
water began to trickIe from the inner
wall of the embankment. Experienced
levee men saw the danger and cried
out a warning, and the laborers rushed
back, and in but five minutes a gap so
feet wide and six feet deep was torn
in the wall of earth. The break grew
until it Is now over hundred feet
wide. This crevasse is ten miles below
Helena, and the water rushing through
1t will destroy dozen splendid planta-
tions. and may back up to Helena
Other breaks will probably occur in
the Arkansas side.
The Laconia Circle country, a few
miles below WestOver, is under water.
This circle is surrounded by a levee.
The levee in the rear went to pieces
Monday and the water rushed in and
spread itself over 10000 acres of the
plantations giving support to no less
than 5000 people.
Gunnison, Miss, Rosedale and doz-
en- other small towns are under water.
and the prospects are that the whole
country will be inundated. The water
is spreading over the territory from
Perthshire, Miss, to point ten miles
north of Vicksburg and back from the
river 20 or 40 miles. Already the loss
Of cattle has been enormous. Corn
that was planted and growing is un-
der water, and preparations for cotton
planting were well under way. The
plOwed earth will be swept into the va
200 and thence into the Mississippi.
1t is difficult, to estimate the loss. A
thickly settled country containing an
area Of about 1000 square miles, dotted
with farmhouses. negro cabins and
small villages, will be flooded. Labor
will become demoralizcd and negroes
cannot be secured in sufficient num-
bers to cultivate the crops when the
water subsidies. The Yazoo and Mis-
sssippi Valley railroad will have $50
miles of track under water before the
flood is over The loss of human life
so far has been small Not q half
dozen people have been drowned in ths
delta. and probably a dozen on the
Arkansas side south of Helena. The
upper floods, which have prevailed in
the Saint Francis basin for two weeks.
claimed probably so victims, all colored.
Greenville, Miss, is still safe. Water
Is in Rosedale, coming from the Perth
shire break. while Gunnison is badly
flooded. This might with the wind and
rain, bring forth the supreme catas-
trcphe, the breaking of the levee i'm
mediately in front of a town. Those
directly behind the levees are Helena,
Frlar's Point. ROsedale and Greenville.