The age-herald., 1900-04-10
Reports of Great Damage to
 the Lower Counties,
TWO FAMILIES ARE MISSING
River is Rapidly Receding at Austin That City is Suffering from Lack of Sufficient Water
 for Drainage.

Austin, Tex, April 9.-The flood situa- tion here is improving somewhat, but the reports from points below indicate that the full effect of the immense volume of water is being felt in Wharton and La F'ayette counties, everything being inun- dated and much loss of property and live stock being reported. In Bastrop county the flood has caused much damage to property, and something like fifty wash outs and losses of bridges are reported by the railways. Advices from the area sur rounding the county seat of Bastrop coun- ty are to the effect that there has been some loss of life among the farming class, as their homes were inundated without warning by the tidal wave, but outside of an unconfirmed rumor that eight lives were lost nothing can be learned.
 In the southern part of this county sev- eral people are missing, the number rep- resenting family of six Italians and two negro families It may be that they have escaped, but no information can be se- cured as to their whereabouts, and as their homes have been washed away, it is presumed that they perished.
 The river is receding rapidly at this point and above, notwithstanding the fact that another heavy rise was reported early this morning on the Concho 125 miles north of here.
 Reports tonight from LaGrange, in Fay cite county, are to the effect that while much of the lower portion of the town is under water the property loss is small. No one is missing.
 Railroads Crippled
 The International and Great Northern ha Texas have been seriously crippled by the foods The first named road has had five hundred washouts, and lost bridges on its road from Hearne to the Rio Grande. The Missouri, Kansas and Texas is likewise a heavy loser, having to abandon much of its track altogether, and use the Interna- tional and Great Northern from Taylor to Milano and the Santa Fe tracks from there to north Texas points.
 It is not believed that the damage to the cotton crop will be of such extent as has been predicted from some places, as the season Is yet early, and all the crop can be replanted.
 The citizens of this city held a mass meeting today, at which the consensus of opinion was that 1t was not feasible to rebuild the dam and power house, although no definite action was taken thereon. A proposition was made to the meeting by the old water company, whose plant has likewise suffered much from the flood, that they would take all the piping and wiring of the city plant and such of their appa- ratus as could be recovered from the wreck, pay fair value for it, and rejuven- ate their plant here, and furnish the city with water and light within two weeks. The proposition was handed over to a com nittee of twenty citizens to be considered In the meantime the water and light com mission met and instructed it's superin- tendent to at once secure from New sOr- leans or some other available point a steam engine, by which 1t is hoped that the city can operate one of its big pumps which remains intact and furnish the city with water until some more definite ar engagements can be made