The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-03-31
Mississippi Floods Beat Down
the Great Levees.
CHEvAsSES BIG AS THE HUDSON
NoshinE Vow Can Save the Delta
From the Most Disastrous over
now i'm Its History-Immensc
Breaks in the Lev~e.-water Cow
crs Thousands of Acrcs-pciuxs
Charges Through the stokes
Plantation. After Almost super
human Efforts 20 Control the
Floods.

MEMPHIS. Tenn. March sn--There ara
now three breaks in the levesS that pro-
tect tie Mississippi delta from ire waters
or the river. Oae Is seven miles oe1ow
Greenville, Miss, at waysi3e. which Is 100
feet wide. The second is forty miles north
OF Greensilss at the head Of the delta,
which Is 1000 feet wide ana heconinS
deeper ami longer as tho water rlsShes
tarough IL The third occurred At an early
hour this morning, seven miles north OF a
point opposite Arkansas City. snd at last
reports stream wide the Hua-
son was tearing through It and covering
the country for miles IN the interior.
The river from the north 70 the south
break - like a mighty crescent. with
Greenvslle. Gunnison and many other
small towns bolwe~n the arc and lts
chord. which Is the riverside division OF
the Yaxoo 4 Mississippi valley railroad.
The watsr from Tire upper or PerthSairs
crevaSSe has already cut through the rail-
read. and Is tearing through tho planta-
tsons % IRE south Al the middle creyaFsKs
the floods from the north have already
Joined forces with these waters and to-
gether they are inundating the country
southward. The upper waters viii reach
the lower creyasse tonight. and the united
water frc IN the three Hood gatos will, with
hourly increasing force and volume. rush
over the country and finally be thrown in-
10 the main river AZ the mouth OF thu
YaGoo. few miles north of Nicksburg.
Probably l0.0oo people are working with
a desperation born OF despair 10 save their
homes and property. The whole machinery
OF the state. and the Illinois Central rail-
road Is being brought into play.
IL is currently reported tonight that tha
levee in front Of Laconia Circle. Ark. has
broken. II this should be true and most
possibly IL Is correct &c. 60 acres OF fertile
cotton land will be flooded by morning.
AT Helena a rise OF but two-tenths Of
foot in the twenty-four hours ending today
is recorded.
At Arkansas City. instead OF a consider
able rise. fall of two-tenths OF "a foot 10
indicated
The river Is stationary al Memphis to-
night. the gauge indicating 36.2 feet.
The river at Arkansas City is 81 feet
above danger line.
AT Greenville Miss. a similar fall OF two
tenths OF foot is indicated.
News received here at 10 O'Clock OF un-
questioned authenticity. confirms the re-
port tina; break OF immense proportions
occurred at o'clock tonight at the
Stokes plantation. in Bolivar county. seven
miles south OF the Perthshire break four
miles below Gunnlson and few miles
above Rosedale. The crevasse is IN an Inn
rnense levee, and the water viii Join with
that OF tho Perthzhlre break and add to
the distress OF the people OF the Bogue.
Phalia and Deer creek sections OF Bolivar
and Washington counties.
Almost superhuman efforts have been
made 20 save the lsvee in the section OF the
break. The levee board ard residents have
spared neither time nor money for ma
rerial but IN vain. The work OF the river
proved greater than that OF the men and
the food continues. The last break is sit
uated 80 that the water flowing through it.
added to that OF tho PerthShire creyasxs
VIII soon stop tho trains on both the
Yazoo and MsSissippi valley lines and
also on the Southern. The heroic efforts
OF the people or the delta have not been
able 20 prevent one Of the most disastrous
over1ows IN the history of this great
delta. This much is now a settled fact.