Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-05-06
THE FLOOD SITUATION.

Iowa and Illinois Towns Suffer from
the Deluge.
Advices from Ottumwa Tuesday morn.
ing said:
The Des Moines river is higher than
ever was known before and fifteen inches
higher than during the famous flood OF
1892. All small streams in southern Iowa
also are out of the banks. Bridges are
gone, communication by highway cut off,
and railroad traffic almost at n standstill.
The Chicago and Denver line of the Bur.
lington is cut in two by five miles of in.
undated track. The Rock Island has five
miles of road under water west of the city.
The Milwaukee roundhouse yards and
several hundred feet of track are under
water. Part of one approach to the bridge
has been taken away. The Kansas City
line Is cut off entirely. The Iowa Central
is running no trains The Wabash can
get in from the south, but cannot get out
going north except over the Milwaukee
and Rock Island tracks through the east
ern part of the State. Damage to rail.
road property Is incalculable. Nothing
will be known until the water recedes.
Eddyville, eighteen miles north, is under
water, with $50 houses vacated. The peo.
pie have been riding in the main business
streets in boats. In Ottumwa no less than
300 families were compelled to move and
many were rescued in boats, so rapid was
the rise. At South Ottumwa, where 5000
people live, the river flows parallel with
the main street. 1t broke across this
street and poured down residence and
business streets, causing a panic and o
scramble for higher lands. Most house.
hold goods and stocks in stores were saw.
ed.
In Central addition the water is up to
the roofs of houses. In Stiles addition
the water is five feet deep in the mair
street. In Shickville, a western suburb
the water is up to the caves of houses,
and has moved several from their foun.
dations.
Water in Fairview stands four feet deer
in the fair ground, and nothing but right
of way fences can be seen along the Bur.
lington and Rock Island tracks. Both
above and below the city farms are flood.
ed. In some places the water has width
of FIVE miles.
At Quincy. H., the Mississippi food
made the situation alarming Tuesday.
Live stock by the hundred head have been
drowned, and in most places the water
was eight or ten feet deep.
The town of Alexandria was all under
water except a narrow strip of land about
twenty feet wide and 500 feet long. and
the whole population of the town camped
on that little island. Steamboats, took
them off as fast as possible. The town
Of Canton. Mo-, was also submerged. Al
Keokuk, Iowa. 500 families were made
homeless. Mayville, Mo-. was water.
bound.
Three bridges were washed away by
the breaking of 1000 ,000-foot log Jam
and gorge on the Amnicon river, twelve
miles from Superior, Wis. The greatest
damage was done to the iron bridge at the
head of the st. Croix river, the loss being
about $4,000. The damage to the other
bridges and the loss of logs will aggre-
gate $4,000. 1t is feared that several
million feet of logs, which are now tied
at various points along the stream, will
be lost.
The Chicago Great Western was com.
pletely tied up between st. Joseph. No.,
and Des Moines. Bridges are washed OUT
near Alton Junction. The company
maintained service to Kansas City. how.
ever. The Hopkins branch of the Kan.
sas City, st. Joseph and Council Bluffs
was washed out near Barnard. The main
lines of the Kansas City, st. Joseph and
Council Bluffs and Hannibal and ST
Joseph roads were not broken Mt any
point.