The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1897-04-01
BEYONDHUMAN CONTROL
THE SITUATION IN MISsISsIPPi
GROUs DIILY MORE EXCiIfNG.
Efforts to Stop the Br.aks In the Le'ees
Are Useless, and Have Been Disco"-
tinuud-L,ss BE cd Computation.

/ Bolivar county last night, and the waters
from the last joining forces with three
other streams are now rushing towards
the South. carrying destruction to houses.
barns. gins. farms, and living stock. For
| tunately, however. the people of the delta
/ had taken time by the forelock, and
either secured their horses and cattle
| on high points and mounds or had
| driven them out to the foothills. whore
they will remain till the waters sub
i side.
I BEYOND HUMAN CONTROL.
No efforts are being made TO stop the
breaks; they having gotten beyond hui
/ man control, and work in that direction
/ is fruitless. but every possible energy Is
/ directed towards the preservation and
strengthening Of miles and miles Of
mushy banks still standing.
Captain j. j. Evans. president Of the
| State Railroad Commission. and Warden
McLaurin, of the penitentiary, returned
! last night from Greenvile. IL which vi
| cinity they have been for a week or
more directing the labor of six hundred
| and fifty cOnvicts I'm preventing the
| breaks and overflow, and report that the
| State farms are now nearly under wa
ter, or will be tomorrow and that the
| extent Of the disaster IS beyond all COM
| putation. SO Tar the levees around Green
willie have stood the strain y o breaks
are reported within less than three miles
on either side, and as the river owing to
| the four breaks above has fallen nearly
| two feet in front the city there is a good
chance that she will escape the awful
calamity that has been so strongly
/ threatened for a week.
GREENVILLE STILL SAFE.
News here this morning was that Green
Vile was six feet under water. coming
| from breaks above. but private advices
received later in the day say the town Is
| still dry. Traffic on the YaZOo and MIS-
sissippi Valley. n part Of the Illinois Cen
trail system. has about been suspended
above Wickburg. and there Is no telling
when a train will be able TO get all the
| way through again.
News from all points along the river At
| Vicksburg, Natchez and other places Is
| that the people are working like demons
| to hold their levees until the breaks above
reduce the volume of water I'm the main
| channel. They have great faith i'm their
| ability to hold out, but the weather to-
night being stormy and blustery, accom-
panied by thunder showers Is not Of n
ntaure to inspire confidence or lend en-
| cOuragement.
SITUATION At HELENA.
HELENA, ARK. March 3l-Telephone
| messages say the Westover levee Is sim
| standing. but there are slender hopes Of
saving 1t. Rumor has it that the Laconia
| Circle levee has broken or is about TO
| break.
The government rescue steamboat Ii
| tan. due East last night. is not yet in.
| 1t is rumOred she anchored five barges
Of refugees off Old Town and then turned
| back to LacOnia 10 save lives and pro-
pcrty at that point. A message from
| Rescue, Ark, says the steamer Kate
| Adams saved nearly three hundred souls
from the relentless flood last night Il
Rosedale and Laconia.
The water is now within short dis
lance Of Rosedale. No power on earth
can save It. and homes, stores, and mills
| will be swept away within twenty-fOur
hours Men by hundreds fought the river
as long as possible. but II was too strong.
| Breaks above have relieved the pressure
| at Arkansas City. Water from Eaton t.
now rushing with frightful speed towards
| GTeenville. Miss There Is another break
| at Wayside, several miles below.
The people of Arkansas City say that
+, they will hold the leyee.
FLOODS IN SOUTH DAKOTA.
NERMILLION. s. D.. March 3l.-The
Missouri river opposite this point ro
four feet last night as a result Of the
breaking up Of the Jim river. The Mis-
souri, has been rising at the rate of five
inches per hour to-day and more trouble
on the bottom lands is feared. Railroad
traffic has been curtailed on account OF
the great washouts between Rcdfeld and
Mitchell. A heavy rain has been falling
here all day making road traffic next 10
impossible
SIOUX CITY. March GA hard rain
commenced here last night and has been
falling ever since Streams are greatly
swollen, and from further up the Big
Sioux and Missouri rivers reports Of
fresh overfows are coming in Both
streams are rising here. From South Da-
kota towns near here similar conditions
are reported. The jim river is especially
troublesome above Vermillion Many
miles of railroad track all over the section
are under water and trains will not be
running regularly again for many days.
NEBRASKA SNOW BOUND.
OMAHA, NEB, March 31.-BecIIse of
heavy SHOWS for the past twenty-fDur
hours hardly a wheel has been turning
on any railroad in Western Nebraska.
and the same condition applies 10 dis
tricts in Colorado. Wyoming and the
Black Hills of South Dakota The t-ni1n
Pacinc experienced the greatest trouble
on ITS ain line betWe n Sidney and
Laramie Wcst-hCund express trains were
stalled at Hillsdale. Wyom.. until this
afternoon, and the fast mail did not sue
coed in getting away from Sidney until
tonight. day late. The fdst-bOund FLYER
got as Tar as Redbutte. Ncb yesterday.
and then was run back 10 Laramie
where 1t was sde-tracked until today
noon.
The Rock Islands oast-bound limit ted
train was tied up al Liner Col. Tuesday
night. and has not reached Omaha vet
The west-bOund fast train was also stalled
al LimOn. together with the limited trains
FROM Kansas City and ST. Joseph IL is
expected tnat the rotary plows Will get
through the drifts some time tomorrow.
on the burlington the conditions were
very much the same. The limited which
lett Denver Tuesday night got as far as
McCOoh, Neb.. where IL stuck i'm drift
The west-bound train was stalled at
Hodredce Neb.. and the local trains Were
tied up all along the road. Not train
is running on the Black Hills. Wyoming
ard Montana Division Of the road
The Elkhorn only suffered on It's Black
Hills lines. all trains being abandoned
west of Chadront Neb Most of the
telegraph lines were down.
ST PAUL FLOODED.
ST. PAUL. MINI, March 31-The
stage of water i'm the Mississippi river
at this point reached the danger point
this afternoon. and the water is rising AT
the rate of an inch per hour. The water
has already crowded out many Of the
inhabitants of the fats under the east
end of the high bridge and others are
iii n "a hlN u It