The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-05-28
THE FLOOD At FL PAN.
Headgate Of a Canal Breaks and
Increases the Danger.
FAMILIES FLEEING FROM HOMES.
Many of the Houses Washed Away by
the Rushing Waters and Furniture
Carried or by the Flood-Four Hun
dred Families Homeless

Many OF the Houses Washed Away by
the Rushing Waters and Furniture
Carried or by the Flood-Four Hun
bred Families Homeless.
Ell Paso, Tex, May 2s.-Yesterday
morning the river showed a rise of six
inches over Wednesday night, and the
water was sweeping down the river at
terrific rate. Early in the morning the
headgate of the canal which is above
the levee, began to give way, and 500
men with logs, sacks of sand and will
low bales were put to work to pre-
vent a break at the headgate, while
about 1000 men were stretched along
the improvised levee at the other side
of the city, where the water cotinued
to creep up. -
At 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon the
headgate gave way with a rush, and
the river poured into the canal The
fire alarm was sounded to warn people
in the lower districts, and in an hour
1t was impossible to make any organ
lied effort to take another stand
against the waters, which were soon
over the banks of the canal, inundat-
ing the territory on both sides.
The people living along the banks OF
the canal are the poorer laboring class
es, and their homes were soon under
water. Men and women had to wade
through the water from their homes,
taking their children in their arms.
The houses, being in most cases built of
adobe, melted away at the touch OF
the rushing waters, and household fur
niture, clothing, etc, were floating
around in all directions, while men
were at work trying to keep the waters
from crossing the Santa Fe yards,
where they would flood the passenger
depot and pour down on the gas and
electric light works and manufacturing
plants and wholesale houses located
just north of the Santa Fe yards.
The levee at the foot of Ell Paso
street broke, and in short time 20
little residences in that locality were
flooded. By this time the people for
three blocks north of the flood were
out, and the streets were thronged
with wagons, carts and wheelbarrows
loaded with the belongings of those
fleeing from the rising waters. For
nearly three miles across the town
and the river front everybody is
moving up into the business portion of
the city and to the more elevated resi-
dence sections.
General Malloy, in charge of Old Fort
Bliss, received telegram from De-
partment Quartermaster Sampson, at
San Antonio, authorizing him to allow
the homeless to move into the houses
at Old Fort Bliss.
AT 4 o'clock in the afternoon the levee
on Sixth street was abandoned by the
city, as Mayor MagOffin put several
hundren men and teams to work
throwing up a new levee on Fourth
street The waters cannot reach the
fashionable residence portion of the
city, which lies north and east of the
business center The river is still ris-
ing.
The break yesterday afternoon re-
suited in leaving at least 400 poor fam
lilies homeless. One hundred feet of
levee on the Mexican side has been
washed away, and quite a number Of
houses are flooded. Men are hard at
work trying to save the two street
railway bridges. If the river rises ten
inches more 1t will flood the business
portion of Ell Paso.
A dispatch from Santa Fe, N. M.
says a rise or eight inches in the Rio
Grande is reported from the Colorado
line, and it has been raining continual
~ over the Rio Grande watershed,
north of this city, all day. The pros
poets are that a fresh flood, carrying
from one to two feet more water than
is now flowing, has started toward El
Paso. Dispatches report a downpour
all day along the Colorado line. This
will serve to increase the freshets al
ready flowing in the Rio Grande trib.
utares. At Chamita the river has
reached the highest point known in
ten years, and in Espanola valley the
current is quarter of a mile wide.