Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-03-17
DEATH In THE W ATER
FEARFUL FL0oD IN THE Lowrp
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY.
HUNDREDS OF FAMILIES HOMELESS,
crc,nsscs In tho Levccs That No
uumnu Power Can Stop-splendid
work OF Rcscoing Partiss--SufYcr-
ms Among Women.

MEMPHIS. TENN. March ie.-rhe
valley OF the Lower Mississippi Is "a vast
inland sea. Death. desolation. and dis
.-,ss arc spreading from as far north as
r.rTs Point. Mo-. 20 tho country below
.cna. Ark The heavy rainfall OF the
INST fortnight IN the Ohio Valley and the
,,nseluent floods are the immediate
causes Of the frightful swelling in the
Mississippi ia the vicinity OF Cairo and
south o. there.
Tho break in the lovoc near Nodena.
Ark. saturday. has wrought havoc In
Mississippi county, which is virtually at
.br mercy Of the raging torrent.
Many persons are thought 10 have per-
shed n this vicinity. Twenty-Five
-.eroes are reported drowned in Bushy
Bayou.
For miles and miles west OF
,,.mrh.s every home has been
...ndonod one planter. ). i. But
lr. tells terrible story Of the
..-truction OF farm houses. property,
a.l cattle, but he reports only one
downing Butler fears. however. that
loss OF lie VIII Dee great
THO l-slk u the leveo is widening.
adj. no power on earth can stop the
....asso. SiN hundred people have been
.el. Go Memphis from Crttenden
county, most OF them from Marion. Ark.
-..ry were in state Of starvation when
.I. arrived. The steamer MinDchaha,
%. returned from trip TO Island. forty
miles north of Mound City where
...r.I families were found. The women
... u water zap TO their waists. and
tur o. them were holding babies in their
SCORES ARE RESCUED.
,-pWS. TENN. March l6-So far
ported with reliability tonight.
. lave been but two drOwnings on
On .aol both being negroes. in the
ty of Marion. Ark. Stories OF
Dy thc half dozen or more steam
t.- .n-agci in the work and vessels ar
- from above and below have. how
.... added highly thrilling features to
ue situation. From refugees arriving
from back of Marion. IL was learned
- hundreds OF people ia that section
u... u The water and without means of
...a.c. Accordingly. Hght-draught
steamer was pushed IN that direction as
t as possible. and skifs penetrated
. further. The result was the rescue
.. res of sufferers. On Presidents
I-rl below here. a large number were
rI ZOO the water and brought out.
.r Island Forty above, a report came
..t there were between fifty and a hum
..I people I'm between thre and four feet
ol water. and a steamer was dispatched
-l thoir relief. The steamers Mary Nor
t.a and w. +. Nisbet, from above,
brought tidings Of desolation and distress
along the river for a hundred miles
.- more. The latter's officers declared
that there were certainly hundreds of
people for whom there was no prospect
ut relief. Every piece Of ground along
tla river above water was crowded with
People and live stock. and in one instance
t..r place Of refuge was a saw-dust
mound which was being steadily swept
away from under them. The Tazoo river,
10 Greenwood Miss. is az the Hood tide,
with The TaNatchie and AallaDusha pour
r- -reat volumes into it. All OF this
-.s INTO the Mississippi to increase its
Ho.it Helena. Ark. reports the Mis-
.-.uri 3 feet, inches below the
I-lost mark. rising and with rain all
.-t night and to-day. That correspon-
dent also reports an expected levee break
near there. Reinforced government crews
..e now engaged I'm "sacldng it,
CAMPING OK A sAWDUST PILE.
i.AfsN 4 n f4ANE \ ILL., 4lAsf 4'AehA M ~
rhe water IS rising here at the rate OF
nearly am inch per hour. Work on the
levee is being kept up night and day. Al
Osceola, Ark, the levee broke yesterday
and the floods are doing great damage IN
that section. AT Tyler, thirteen miles
below here. ten families were driven from
their homes. and are camped on saw
dust pile
AT Cottonwood. nine miles below, the
water IS nearly a foot deep i'm business
houses and dwellings.
AT YazoO. six miles above here. the
water IS an over the town, and from TO
I'D inches deep I'm the houses.
Prisoners had 10 be removed from the
San % .he courthouse 10 escape the water.
NEARLY FIFTY FEET.
CAIRO. ILL. March l6.-The gauge this
morning marked within two inches OF
agy feet The leeves are intact, and can
stand several feet of rise. Al Birds
Point Mo. the Cotton Belt and iron
Mountain railroads are seven inches un-
der water II the floods continue for
twenty-sour hours trains on these roads
will be abandoned.