Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-04-02
LEyEEs BELOW GREENvILLE MUST
NOW BEAR THE PRESSURE.
Five Mississippi Counties Will BE I'm
der Water for Thirty Days-Riv-
er so Miles Wide at Rose
dale-Fearful Destitu-
tion In Mississippi.

main channel. which is spreading itself
over the low lands. but not with that de-
gree of rapidity that cuts off escape to
the inhabitants of low countries. The
river shows a decline from a point below
Helena to the Wayside crevasse. The de-
cline above Greenville in many places is
as great as ten inches.
However. Helena. Ark. is not cut of
danger. The waters from the St. Francis
basin in Arkansas are still swelling the
channel of the main river from the mouth
of the st. Francis to a point south of
Helena, for no break occurs until West
over is reached, ten miles below that city.
The worst at Helena will be over by Sun
day.
The damage to the farming country in
the delta cannot be exaggerlted. Five
counties will be, for the most Fart, under
water for thirty days and the main line
and branch lines of the YaZoo & Mjssis-
sippi Valley road will have more than 100
miles of track inundated. Opposite the
Perthshire, the upper crevasse, a mile of
track has been completely washed away.
Probably twenty railroad stations and
small towns are flooded tonight, among
them being Gunnison. Rosedale. Perth
shire, Terrene, Phalia, Riverton. Dahomey.
Storm, Benoit, Beulah. Wayside, Long
Australia.
The danger has been shifted now to the
south of Greenville, and the levees from
Wayside to the mouth of the river must
begin to feel the pressure of the move
ment of water back into the channel from
the delta. the White river country and
the ST. Francis basin. From Memphis to
Crawley's Ridge, the river is now forty
miles wide. a line east and west on the
water across Rosedale would probably be
fifty miles long. All of this water must
pass out between two walls of levee, in
many places but a few miles distant one
from the other.
Another rise of one-tenth of foot in the
river at Memphis is shown by the official
bulletin from the Office of the weather bu-
reau. The gauge tonight registers 1854 feet.
At Cairo, an encouraging fall in the river
is shown, while Paducah reports fall of
seven-tenths of foot. At Vicksburg the
river is stationary. Shreveport and other
points below Vicksburg report continued
rise.
The Louisville & Nashville and the Louis
vile, Chattanooga & st. Louis railroads
resumed direct traffic communication with
Nashville tonight, after cessation of two
weeks. due to the high water of the Ten
nessee river. a-r -sE
sent a steamboat to the st. Francis river
county to bring out waterbound people and
carry supplies and food to man and beast.
1t is said that the destitution in the ter
ritory to be covered is fearful, but the
news of it did not reach Memphis until
to-day. The following kilograms were re-
ceived tonight by the Commercial-Appeal
from 7. G. Dabney, chief engineer of the
Upper Yazoo levee district, extending along
the front of the Coahoma county:
1.-The influence of the violent storm last
night was depressing and demoralizing to
the men who are fighting along the line,
but the successful resistance of the danger
is very encouraging and the sunshine of
to-day has induced much more cheerful
feeling. The report from Mr.. Lombard of
ten inches of fall along his division, COW
ering ten miles of the lower end, due to
the break opposite and below u.s. and the
ought to afford great relief. The slight
but continued rise at Helena from the st.
our margin of safety at and above Friar's
Point, but is not likely to reach stage of
SO great danger as we have contended
Eeutralized by the influence of the Arkan-
saS breaks along the Stovall 'front.' and the
ssu5 pressure there will not be materially in
@ issue is still in doubt; the outlook is grow
IN Afp fee, Ths h little city
result Of big break in the levee at Perth
shire. There is much suffering among the
destitute condition are huddled together on
the levee near here. The government en-
gineer tonight ordered two barges for the
Rosedale. Miss, April i.Ifhe relief boats
brought in scores of negroes from the oack
aes ana say hs sem R
in state of misery and hunger. and the
people are providing. for them as best they
can. but the increasing number hourly ar
rivine makes the situation desperate. The
water is pouring through the crevasse near
here at a terrible rate, and the outlook is
Greenviie. Miss. April 1.-The outlook
to-day is anything but encouraging, and
the chagrin expressed by the people after
their heroic battle with the water in front
to awaken and find that their efforts may
prove futile is quite natural.
This morning there were no trains out
on the Mississippi Valley route the last
train having left at 10 o'clock last night
At Wilzikini. place about eight miles dis
tant from here. there are depressions in the
tracks. and last night when the train
passed over 1t there were several inches of
water over the rails and still rising. 1t
was. therefore. determined to abandon the
line between Greenville and Leland. There
is now no communication with Greenville
except by boats, and there being only one
Western Union wire working out of Green
vile. the means of telegraphic communi-
tors here think that even this wire will
succumb during the night. The levee board
has ceased to work. for the weather. as
we'll as the stage of the river are both
lines of levees is considered to be passed.
All the hired laborerS have been discharged
and sent back to their homes. the last
batch. some thirty-iive in number, having
been brought down this afternoon. At the
Office of the ievee board this morning, re-
ports were received from the Southern
plantations of districts where all was re-
assuring. the only trouble being the crew
The weather was delightful. mild breeze
prevailing. and the river had apparently
fallen fully three feet and still falling
Houses outside the levee. in which there
free. while stumps. etc. which had been
entirely submerged were now visible on
the surface of the water.
Mr.. Sommerville. the assistant engineer
renely happy to-day and looked back upon
the exceedingly active and onorous cam
paign with great satisfaction. 1t was true
that four crevaSSeS occurred in his levee
In old levees. some of them having been
constructed as far back as 1850. Not n
single one of the new levees succumbed.
nor was it found necessary to raise or
their immunity from the flood to the fact
that the new levees had been constructed
with much greater care. were wider and
stronger at base and crown, and had been
built upon scientific principles. The cam
paign lasted about three weeks. and dur
ing that time the levee board expended in
the neighborhood of sl21000: 100000 sacks
had been used. over 1.00C 600 feet of lumber
and fully 10000 men had been employed on
the works.
Eicksburg. Miss. April 1-Engineers in
charge of Louisiana levees In this district
are here tonight and are saying that th