The San Francisco call., 1897-04-17
One CreVaSSe That
Means an Increase
of the Floods.
1t Will Play Havoc With the
Louisiana Parishes and
Cover Many Acres.
Island Is Intense and Many
VIII Perish.

VICKSBURG, Miss, April 16-The
Queen and Crescent road train dispatcher's
office at midnight tonight reported that
Blggs levee, in Madison Parish, broke at
10 o'clock, and that the break was 100 feet
wide twenty minutes later. The break is
four and half miles south OF Delta, La.
The telegraph operator at Delta sent a
message of warning along the line of the
railroad westward. The crevasse will play
havoc with many fertile Louisiana par
ishes. covering hundreds of square miles.
Delta is the capital of Madison Parish,
and as the Biggs break is bat two miles
south of town it is likely to be inundated
by back water before the immense volume
from the Mississippi reaches the Macon
and Tensas rivers.
The Natchez mail steamer st. Jose ph
arrived to-day with about 45C persons
from Davis Island. Over 200 were rescued
from the flooded island in skiffs. The
greater part OF last night was devoted to
rescuing helpless colored people.
The headquarters of the relief commit
tee has been filled al day by distressed
and half-starved people begging for bread.
The suffering and destitution at Davis Is
land is intense and there is great possi-
biity of loss of life. The island is
twenty-five miles long and many parts of
it are not accessible except by small yawls
or skiffs. Old river men say when the
food passes away many people will be
missed.
OMAHA. NEBR., april 16.-During the
night the river rose two inches, but it is
stationary now at Omaha and falling
above. Work on the dykes during the
| night held back the food, and this morn
ing it seems the gravest danger is passed.
DAVENPORT,1 Iowa, April 16. "A seven
inch rise has brought the waters OF the
Mississippi to within six inches of the
danger line. The rising food has invaded
the cellars of many jobbing- houses and
the levee is almost entirely under water.
| Muscatlne Island, the great melon-rais-
| ing ground, is reported to be largely un-
der water. Rain continues nearly every
| day anu the situation daily becomes N or e
serious.
In the neighborhood of Burlington,
Iowa, the river is six miles wide and
covers 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 is still rising.
| WASHINGTON, d. c., April 16-Sec-
retary Aiger has received telegram from
one of his inspecting officers at Cairo, who
has been working in the Yazoo district,
which says: 81 have completed the in
spection of the upper portion OF my dis
| trict from Ashport to Cairo and find the
conditions slightly improved. The most
extensive crevasse below Caruthersyille
has widened to 300 feet.
"The waters are stationary at Cairo, but
are rising below there. About 200 ref
ugees from this section are collected at
points on the high ground. l have To-
Gated and noted the approximate mum ber
of established relief stations and COM
munica,ed the necessary details to Cap
| tain Davis, who is forwarding supplies
from Memphis. This point is the natural
center for general distribution by small
semi-weekly packets that know the land
ings and are expected to be more satisfac-
tory ana economical than the chartered
boats. All the relief stations but two a re
already supplied from Memphis with five
days rations."
Another army inspector telegraphed
| from Greenville, Miss, that the total area
subject 10 the overflow in his district is
about 1000 square miles, mostly in Phil
lips County, Ark, and Coahoma, Quit