Evening star., 1897-04-13
MANY DANGER SPOTS
The Fight Goes on Against the Flood
on the Louisiana Levees.
VALUABLE LESSON BEING LEARNED
Carrying Away Refugees From the
Stricken District.
WEATHER BUREAU REPORTS

NEW ORLEANS April 13.-Yesterday
Vas full of alarms, but the night came
without single break In the Louisiana
line. The river is rising steadily and weak
spots in the levees are developing with
great rapidity. The Pecan Grove leyee In
st. Bernard has been found full of craw-
fish holes. and while it may be held this
season. it will have to be rebuilt num-
ter of levees across the river have been
found defective, but an army of men and a
mass of material are holding them Up the
stream. on the New Orleans side of the
river danger spots have developed. but
Prompt work is telling there. The planters
along Bayou La Fourche are camping OH
the banks and marshair:S their forces for
Protection and weak levee line has heen
neld against what seemed certain ruin
Inc great lesson has been to build the
levees higher and stronger and trust less to
the last moment. and the result will be the
organization of new levee boards and
greater activity in the future Still a
greater lesson has been that even the
strongest ieyees are insufficient unless the
oase OF the banks is properly declined
DItcnes are now dug wherever the water
STANDS In the roads or comes through the
ievees. but the drainage system will be
general and vastly improved before next
high water.
A Valuable Lesson
The people behind the levees are learning
the lessons with full intent to profit by
them, but are working hard to prevent the
newly acquired knowledge proving too cost
~ before 1t can be put to use. 1t will be
several days before the highest water
reaches here, and by the end of the week
the crisis should be passed. but adverse
wirds on the gulf may back the water up
and delay the prayed-for relief. The river
washed over number of the New Orleans
levees yesterday. but there is neither great
darger nor damage.
ST. JOSEPH. La. April 13.-The steamer
st Joseph has arrived here. having been
detained at Ursinal plantation on Davis
IS!and, taking On women and children and
mules, cattle and other domestic animals.
III was not apparent to the people on the
boat that the planters were moving out
II was ascertained. however, that they
feared the levees would not stand much
icnger, though effort had been made to
ncId them The water had overtopped
them in several places, creating some
thing of panic. causing an exodus to
take place Davis Island Is not within
the limits of any levee district, but the
planters built and had for years MAIN
tanned a private levee, protecting the
Island from overflow.
Along the Texas and Pacific.
DALLAS. Texas. April 13.-Assistant
General Manager John W. Everman of the
Texas and Pacific made the following
statement relative to the damage done to
their levees in Louisiana:
There has not been a crevasse on the
west side of the Mississippi and the Texas
and Pacific has not been in any way af-
fected by the food. We are still running
trains through to New Orleans on sche,i-
ule time, and have been doing so all along
reports OF damage to our property are
erroneous The food has cost the road
some money in repairing and building
levees, but have suffered no damage Gem
eral Manager Thorne has been on the
Louisiana division for nearly a month
giving attention to the work and has had
the hearty cooperation of the leyee boards
we suil hope that the levees will hold. If
The estimate of the engineers that they
can stand two feet more of water is cor
rect, we shall probably escape without
damage"
Boats Loaded With Refugees.
NlCKSBURG, Miss, April 13 The
steamer Lake Palmyra has arrived with
TWO barges. boat and barges loaded with
refugees and their stock from Sunhowar
river The peopl- coming out are mostly
the families of planters, only a few negroes
being on board. The boat returned to that
section today loaded with supplies Her
passengers repor. a very bad state cf
anairs there. but nothing like what bad
been apprehended. there being no loss of
life The people have looked after them
selves IN true overflow style, getting on
Iafis in sone Instances and into the gins
In others There is great loss of cattle,
however
Oid planters say the present overflow Is
the worst they have ever known, and there
Is much depression On account of the fear
thdt ii will be impossible to make a crop
In this section.
The Queen and Crescent route has been
temporarily unable to transfer trains at
thls point, but VIII resume this Week. Pas
sengers. mails and baggage have been fer
ried over usual.
Today the gauge was 81 70 a rise of fo,;r
tenths in twenty-four hours-the highest
water ever known. Information received
To-Day Is most dtscouraging. The fine plan
tations of Col. b. G. Kiger. H. H. Davis
and others and the Brown plantations al
brunswick are all under water Boats are
wanted everywhere to rescue people and
save live stock
All nope of saving the levee has been
abandoned ~ "eei
The levee from Delta up to Duckport a
distance of eight miles, is causing mue n
anxiety 1t Will hold to 81 feet on the
gauge mere, which will be reached in the
Eext 1erty-eight hours. The Sunfower and
and deeper "7epei