Owingsville outlook. [volume] (Owingsville, Ky.) 1879-192?, 1898-04-07
THE LEVEE BROKE
And Shawneetown, Ill.,, is Under From
Twenty or Thirty Feet OF Water.


Louisville. Ky, April IA special
Ia the Courier journal from Evansville,
Ind, says:
Al o'clock sunday afternoon the
lcvc" at Shawnrrtnwn, ILL.,, broke "A
mil" above the town, and from all the
information that can bc secured here
II IL learned that great part of the
place has been DESTROYED and that per-
haPs Il large number of citizens have
been drowned
Shawnrctown is - miles below
Evansville, on the Ohio river. II j.
situated in II valley of extremely low
land, with hills skirting i, in the rear
and with a - foot lcvcc in front run.
ming from hill To hill The town i
very much in the position of forti-
fled city, and when the lcvcc gave way
a mile above town under the pressure
of the very high river the water shot
through Il 20 foot opening and struck
the place like Il hurricane. sweeping
everything before it
Houses were turned and tossed
about like boxes. The people were not
warned of the break, and for that rca-
I
home sought refuge in second stories
and ON hnusctopS Those in the streets
were carried before the avalanche of
water and probably "A ma jority were
drowned.
Citizens came from the place by
sl>iff> To a telephone several miles
away and asked for aid from Evans
vile. They said that more than 200
people were drowned, and they had
reason to believe it would reach 500,
or even 1000.
The water stands from 20 to 50 feet
all over the town.
There are of course no fire or lights
in the place, and darkness envelopes
the desolatc scene. Consequently il
was impossible for them tn have any
thing like definite information. The
men quickly left the telephone aud no
communication has since been had
with the place.
All telephone and telegraph wires
are now down, and outside commune
cation appears to he impossible.
At ten o'clock Sunday night two
steamboats, and Il couple of tugs start
ed for Shawncctown under full head of
steam, and il is expected that some of
them will arrive there by two o'clock in
the morning. They carry large sup
plies of food and blankets quickly coll
lected by the city officials.
CHICAGO. April "A special to the
Record from Cypress Junction, ILL.,.
says: Two hundred and fifty persons
were drowned Sunday by the inunda-
tion of Shawneetown, six miles from
this place.
The north levee broke at 40 o'clock
Sunday afternoon and the Ohio river
flowed over the town many feet deep.
Scores of houses were floating about
Sunday night and many persons were
clinging to the wreckagc in the hope
that rescuers would soon appear with
boats to take them to places of safety.
All communication with the town is
cut off. Trains can not reach there,
and telephone and telegraph wires are
down.
The first report that reached here
was that the entire population had
been drowned, but this is not con-
firmed.
The levec was built by the govern
ment and was regarded as impregna-
Bile, hence the people had taken no
precautions against possible flood. 1t
is reported that the flood now extends
four miles inland, and people are flee
ing for their lives from the lowland
hamletS.
DARLINGTON, KY, April AT S:45
Sunday evening superintendent w. :.
Martin, of the Henderson * st. Louis
division of the Louisville Il Nashville
railroad, stationed at Evansville,
Ind, received a telephone message
from Cypress Junction, Ill, say
ing that the levee surrounding
Shawneetown, ILL.,, on the Ohio riv-
cr. had broken and the waters had
drowned every one in Shawneetown.
There has been no railroad commune
cation direct between Evansville and
Shawneetown for over a week, on ac-
count of the high water in the Ohio
river.
The levee was built by the govern
ment after the floods of 1854 and has
been regarded as safe; people felt Sc
cure.
Cypress JUNCTION is six miles from
Shawncetown.