The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-04-30
WILLIAMSoNS WILD WATERS.
1T HAS DUG BREAK 30 FEET
DEEP AND roo FEET LONG.

The Fertile bottom Country BELOW
Helena Mcnaced by the Break.
The Planters Who Have Been Feed
ing Their Negro Farm Hands stop
in View of the PrOba btIity That
They VIII BE Unable TO Plant Any
CrOps-Care of the Negroes VIII
Now Fan on the Relief Committee.
Helena, Ark, April GA new danger
menaces the bottom country below Hell
ena, and 1t is of a most serious nature.
On Tuesday Messrs. Catchings and Henry
wired Maj. Purvis to get up estimates at
once of the cost of closing the breaks In
the levee In this district in order that the
levee committee of the Mississippi river
commission, which meets In st. Louis,
might be properly advised. He went to
the Williamson crevasse and made sound
ings, discovering that the water was run
ming through the break thirty feet deep
and that the current had cut a channel
through from the river bank outside the
levee to Long Lake inside. This mades
great channel thirty feet deep, by 600 or
200 feet long.
Maj. Purvis at once reported to Messrs.
Pillow, Brame and Quarles. directors of
the cotton belt leVee district, and the in
formation depressed them as nothing else
connected with this flood has. 1t means
that no crop can be made In the bottom
unless this gap is closed very soon, and the
closing of II means the expenditure of a
large sum of money at a time when they
are confronted with an empty treasury,
meeting of the directors of the cotton
belt levee district was held to-day at
afta.,. .1a..
Maj. Purvis gave II as his opinion that
the crevasse could be closed for about
$4,000 within two weeks. He finished his
soundings too late TO leave for st. Louis,
to be present at the meetings of the river
commission to-day, and a telegram was
sent to General Manager Doddridge OF
the Iron Mountain railroad, stating the
conditions and asking him to appear he
fore the commission and ask for an appro-
priation of $4,000 out of available funds
at their disposal for the purpose of clos
ing the Williamson, Hubbard and West
over creVasses. This last development or
the flood situation brought more trouble
TO the local relief committee, as the
planters in the bottoms, who have been
feeding their help, quit and SO notified
the committee
st. Louis. Mo, April 29.--The Mississippi
river here has risen a foot in twenty-four
hours and is touching the marks of the
water gauge in a way that threatens to
SEND the water over the danger line before
morning. AT 10 O'Clock the gauge marked
2s.OS. The official danger point is 80 feet.
The outside railroad track on the leVee
was abandoned this afternoon, as the riv-
| err was two or three inches deep over it In
places. number of merchants are moving
their goods out of their cellars and the
water is beginning to seep through.
st. Louis Mo- April pa special to the
Republic from Independence. Kan, says
The Verdigris river here is out of ia
| banks, having risen 30 feet in the last
| twenty-four hours. II is still rising. The
| bottom farms are all under water ETH
| river is out of its banks and the Missouri
| river bridge north of here is being guard
ed. Trains on the Santa Fe cannot &c
farther west than here, as the tracks are
under water Elk City, fourteen miles
west of here, is completely flooded anc
many persons have been compelled to leave
| their homes.