Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-03-23
DEATHS MULTIPLY.
Loss Of Life by Floods in Southern
:. States Increased.
4 TOTAL OF TWENTY-FIVE REPORTED.
It Is Fenred That the List May He
\ Much Larger Before the End
Damage In Wisconsin, Iowa
md, other Stntes.


I, Gavin, Ark, March 20.-For many
miles the country is flooded, and the
water is up to the Iron Mountain tracks.
Hundreds Of section hands are striving
10 keep the water back with dirt bags.
At every station the negroes are gath
ering, waiting to be taken away.
Many get on the trains and are carried
without pay. Superintendent Roe, of
the Iron Mountain, has given orders
that none are to be put off. The list of
fatalities is enormous and probably
never will be known.
Mr.. Middleston, who arrived here with
his family from near Rosebud island,
four miles from Arkansas City, reports
the death of a woman and five children
Wednesday night. The water came up,
and, though the unfortunates climbed
upon the tables and chairs, the flood
finally reached over their heads. Will
liam Cartwright and William Cox, work.
ing on Judge Hodges farm atRose.
bud, lost their lives Thursday. They
were in a dugout starting for stock and
the current upset the dugout. Cart
wright could not swim and Cox tried
TO save him, but both persisted. Jake
Carter lost his life at Gavin Thursday
night. His dugout was upset by rush
ing water. His companion, Sterling,
was saved by climbing tree. Amanda
Chapman, an old colored woman, just
arrived from below, reported the death
Of six persons she could not name. The
father tried to save his wife and chill
dren in dugout, and it tipped, drown
Ing three. The water drowned the
others in the house. Charles Burnley
was drowned while trying to save his
hogs Thursday night near Gavin. He
could not manage dugout.
mountain of household goods is
piled up at every railroad station.
Whites and negroes beg for help from
every train crew. Houses along the
road IRE submerged to roofs, and cattle
are standing in the fields with only their
heads above water. Many corpses of
hogs and COWS are washed up by the
water.
Helena, Ark, March 2O.-The sun
shone Friday after one Of the most pro-
longed and heavy downpour of rain for
many years. and conditions are more
hopeful The observer here says that
from the looks of things above he would
urge all the people in the lowlands to
move out at once to higher ground.
The levees in front and north of the city
are having the attention of the officers
OF the city and the levee boards, and the
leyees are being raised and strength
sned. Heavy rains Thursday and Thurs
day night have partly inundated por-
ton of the northern suburbs of the
city, but the water is now fast reced-
ing.
Another Levee Breaks.
Memphis, Tenn, March 2o-The
latest break in the levee system in this
district occurred ut seven o'clock Fri
day evening, near Austin, Miss, 100
miles south. Particulars are not avail
pble. Reports from other points in
that section indicate positive distrust
of great deal Of the system on the
Mississippi side and other breaks are
expected to occur at any moment. All
that money, engineering and labor can
10 is being exerted, but the water pres
sure is too great.
The steamer City of Osceola arrived
from above Friday afternoon and re-
ports the towns of Ashport and Gold
Dust entirely submerged. It brought
30 refugees, whom it rescued from the
water. There were four additional
cases of drowning across from Mem
Phis Friday, two men, a woman and her
Infant.
Danger mt Nashville.
Nashville, Tenn, March 2O-The Cum
berland river registered 46 feet on the
gauge. There is prospect of the great
est food on record. The highest re-
corded water in the Cumberland river
was in 1883, when it registered IS feet,
nine feet higher than at present The
outlook now is that this mark will be
exceeded. Much damage has already
resulted from the overflow in the low
land and more will follow when the
flood increases. Large sections of East
Nashville have been under water for
several days. The river is already
climbing to the business houses on
Front street. Boats are now anchored
to the sidewalks, and the prospect is
that the first floors of buildings will be
submerged. Dispatches from the south
ern counties of Tennessee and from
northern Alabama report SO hours OF
rainfall and terrible floods in the re-
gion. Great damage has been done to
bridges and fences. Trains have
stopped running on the Nashville
N10rapoa CbafSo1l IN ;1rool
Cairo and Vicinity.
Cairo, ILL.,, March 2O.-The river here
rose four-tenths of foot in "a hours
and the prospect is that it will go tc
high water mark, which is 522 The
leyees show no weakness. The bnck.
water from the Ohio is flowing into the
Mississippi above Beech Ridge, above
Cairo, in a strong current. People in
the lowlands above here had so much
time to prepare that no losses have oc
CURED except to farming lands. A
large area of wheat land has beer
flooded in the neighborhood of CONNER
cial Point, in this county. Birds Poin,
Is entirely under water and the Cotto1
Belt and the Iron Mountain trains can
not enter Cairo.
Fatal Cyclone.
Utica, Miss, March 2O.-A cyclon,
passed this place early Friday morn
Ing, with southeasterly course, blow
Ming down several cabins and lots of tim
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