The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1897-04-21
STILL UNDER WATER.
Situation In the South and West
Practically Unchanged
Thousands of Acres Are Flooded
Much Suffering In Representations
dreds Of Persons Are fn
Need of Assistance.

Il
and all points south, and the situation
along the Louisiana system of levees Is
acute. The waters are being hurled
outward with tremendous force and
several thousand men are working and
watching night and day in one grand
effort to hold the embankments intact.
Much suffering still exists in the Sun
| flower and Bogue Phalia country, where
| hundreds of negroes have deserted their
cabins and are huddled on high grounds
| and the railroad tracks. Many cabins
are submerged to their very roofs, while
several have been swept from their
foundations and carried away by the
swift current. On plantation ten
miles west of Helena, Sylvester Sanders,
a colored tenant, his wife and five chill
dren, were overwhelmed by the current
and all persisted.
Near Greenville two negroes were
drowned in an attempt to reach dry
land.
Ten Thousand Acres Submerged.
Quincy, H., April 15.-Ten thousand
acres of the best land in the district are
now submerged under from four TO ten
feet of water, and the rest of the region
is SO muddy that horse could not make
his way through it. There is no pros
pect of decline in the flood, and the
farmers say they will be satisfied now
If the water goes down in six weeks,
20 that they can plant corn crop.
Farms Under Water.
On the Iowa side of the river, south
of Council Bluffs, the water has mum
dated farms for distance of three or
four miles back from the stream. The
water came up in the night and the
farmers report much stock drowned.
These reports are coming in from every
point along the river as far south as
ST. Joseph. The flood is the worst
since the inundation of 1881 and is do
ing immense damage to property along
the rivers edge. The flood seems 10
have reached its height and will prob
ably fall from now en-.
River Six Miles Wide.
Burlington, Ia, April 16.-The river
is six miles wide at Burlington and COW
ers n wide area of valuable bottom farm
land in Illinois. The farmers there have
given up hope of getting in their crops,
and much loss will result. The river
rose five inches Thursday, and is IL
feet five inches above normal, and still
rising rapidly.
In Need of Food.
Washington, April 16.-Army officers
detailed to distribute supplies in the
flooded districts in the south report that
over nine-tenths of Washington, Issa.
quena, Sharkey, Sunflower and consid-
II
Mississippi are overlooked and that co.
600 persons need food.
Another Levee Breaks.
Vicksburg, Miss, April 1.-THE
levee at Biggs, 2h miles below Delta,
La, broke at ten o'clock Friday night.
The crevasse was 100 feet wide 20 min
utes after it gave way. Delta is directly
opposite Vicksburg.
Capt. Clark, of the ordnance depart
ment, who has visited the territory from
Vicksburg TO the mouth of the Red
river. arrived on the steamer ST. Joseph
and states the suffering and restitution
ut Davis island is great, and, in his
opinion, there is great probability of
further loss of life. The island is %
miles long and many places of it not
accessible, except by small yawls or
skiffs and he fears that when the great
flood passes away that quite number
will be missing. Many families coming
upon the different relief boats are scat
tered, and at times their meetings when
each thinks the other lost, is most
touching to the hardest heart.
Relief for the Destitute.
Washington, April lit is sug-
gested that n ten days supply of ra-
tons be sent at the earliest practicable
moment to supply 1000 destitute per-
sons and 100 head of stock in Quitman
county, Miss, in wh,ch - townships
arc inundated; also for 5000 destitute
persons and 500 head of stock in Goa
homa county, where IL townships are
flooded for 5000 destitute persons and
90 live stock in Bolivar county, where
nine townships are inundated. On the
Arkansas side it is reported there are
5000 destitute and 400 live stock in
Phillips and Monroe counties requiring
assistance. Thirty to A. days is the es-
timated period of time before laborers
can 60 to work in the inundated area.