Omaha daily bee., 1899-04-25
RIVER STILL RISING
CONTINUED from First Page.)

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| ties and dirt along the tracks to cut off
the overflow in order that 1t may not affect
| the main line OF the company, which as yet
| remains intact.
| Having found several outlets. the current
! forced it's way toward the Carter White
Lead works, driving out three families as 1t
spread. Having reached the works. 1t did
not take long to fill the blow-off of the
engine room and render it unsafe to operate
the engines longer. The works were shut
down and are now waiting for the water to
| recede There is considerable work on
| hand and the delay while not seriously
| affecting the works, Is annoying. Side
| tracks leading to the works are under water
and it would be impossible to move cars If
they were loaded.
Soap Factory Surrounded.
Below the lead works, the Wash A
Lone" Soap factory is surrounded, but is
still doing business. If the water con-
tinues to rise, however, soap will soon be-
| come strina- nd a temporary desertion will
! follow.
The sidetrack leading to the Omaha Box
| factory is submerged this being the last
track the overflow has to meet. Men are en-
I gagged in trying to keep the water within
bounds in the hope that it will turn in an
other direction. The factory is not embar-
rassed by the water, although hemmed in
| on two sides.
The home of John Rice back of the box
factory, in which he has lived without mo-
lestation for eight years, is afoat, and the
contents are saturated Mr.. Rice built him
self raft and 1oated out to see what was
left after nights desertion.
The deserted Silicon factory is also under
water and cannot be reached except by boat.
A drove of COWS headed for the city showed
that the dairymen in the bend of the river
north of East Omaha had been forced to
desert their homes. Water may be good
thing for milkmen sometimes, but they in
sist that they do not require it in such
large quantities. They left their homes in
undated and the barns unavailable for the
care of stock.
Along the East Omaha car line, which
runs down Locust street. the residents on
the north side are moving out, as they be-
lieve the indications are that the lake will
continue to pour water down upon them
until the river commences to fall. Those
not employed in transferring portables were
fishing with gunny sacks and seins or hand
nets. They had good success, too, judging
from the loads they were carrying away.
To Prevent Dyke Cutting.
Three watchmen armed with shotguns are
keeping guard at the Locust street dyke
at the south end of Cut of lake with the
| purpose and intention of shooting any per-
son or persons they may catch trying to
cut through the dyke in order to permit
the escape of the flood of water that is
oyerspreading East Omaha and the islands
| to the northward.
These men have been on watch for two
nights and will be continued as long as
h.
| siderable concealment made regarding the
persons who have employed them, it has
become known that they have been hired
by the corporations that own property to
the south of Cut Off lake and fear that
| their property may be ruined in order to
| relieve the danger to the north. This sys-
| tenn OF watchmen employed on the levees
| along the lower Mississippi was selected as
the best precaution against this danger.
There is no question that If the Locust
| street dyke is cut through the dangerous
! condition on the island will be relieved.
| This dyke Is the only obstacle that prevents
the waters of Cut OF lake from escaping
into the river in the vicinity of Nicholas
and lizard streets. If this channel were
| operating the water would very quickly be
| drained from the whole OF Cut OFF island.
1t is feared that some of the residents on
the island, whose homes are now surrounded
| by water, might take this means of secur-
ing dry land for their yards once more.
The railroads fear more than damage to
| their property. II the food should ever
break through the Locust street dyke, its
old channel-that which 1t formerly pur-
sued before 1t cut out around East Omaha
would be reopened TO it and considerable
difficulty might be experienced in getting
1t back into its proper bed If this should
come to pass, thousands of dollars worth of
property owned by the railroads would be de-
stroyed and much of the improvements now
put in would be rendered useless.
Until within the last two days another
dyke besides that formed by Locust street
has been holding the waters of Cut OFF
lake from the river. This other obstruc-
tion was formed by a heavy railroad grade
that ran across the lake some distance north
of Locust street. The water, however, has
broken through this embankment.
During the night the water rose in Cut
on lake at the rate Of two inches an hour
and at 2 o'clock this morning was up 10
the floor of Swifts big ice house. Where
this water came from was a mystery and
caused good deal of uneasness on the
bottoms around Cut ON lake,