The age-herald., 1900-04-23
TIE FLOODS WORK
 TORE DESTRUCTION RIg Railroad Bridge Almost
 Swept Away. TRAFFIC BADLY CRIPPLED Feared That Immense Steel Structure Over Pascagoula River on L & N.
 Will be Totally Destroyed
 News is Discouraging
TRAFFIC BADLY CRIPPLED

Mobile, Ala, April 22.-Two spans of the big Louisville and Nashville bridge at West PascagouIa, Miss, were forced ten feet out of place this morning by floating logs coming down the overfower river. The passenger service is badly crippled, and passengers and mails are being trans ferred in boats. The freight traffic is en- tirely suspended.
 This is on the direct line of travel be- tween New Orleans and the north and east and traffic is always heavy. The Pasca- gould river which the bridge crosses be- tween West Pascagoula and Scranton, has been rising very rapidly the past few days and many log booms, broken away from their moorings up the country, have been carried down stream.
 Hundreds of logs lodged against the piers, and their weight, together with the force of the water, made a terrific press ure. Last night, fearing the safety of the bridge. the Louisville and Nashville held up their passenger train from New or leans which arrived here at midnight. A long train of freight cars was run on to the bridge in an attempt to weight it down
  rent during the morning was about fifteen miles an hour, and at half past one this afternoon when the flow of logs was heavier than for some time, two spans of the steel structure were moved ten feet out of place. The water continues to car ry hundreds of logs down stream, and the spans may be forced completely off be- fore morning. I& scagoula river at the point where the br!age crosses is now ten miles in width, the entire distance being traversed by the bridge and its ap- breaches.
 May be Totally Desti oyed Later advices from Pascagoula say one half of the bridge is now gone and if the wind shifts the structure will be totally destroyed. Passengers on the train due here at noon today from New Orleans were transferred across the river by boat, but nothing further will be attempted un- til tomorrow morning. The southbound passengers remain at Scranton Miss, where the accommodations are far from sufficient. Owing to rising water it is not certain that transfers can be made to- morrow the difficulty being to make a landing on the western shore. Meantime there is trouble beginning at Swartout nine miles this side of Scranton where the water is over the track, and a stoppage of traffic is feared. The chief interest cen ters in the great logging camps at Moss Point and vicinity on the Pascagoula river. There are a half million logs there in danger. The boom has held good so far A telegram from Merrill, up the river says the Pascagoula is falling there. At the Farnsworth company's boom, lower down, there has been two feet rise since morning. A telephone message says it is hoped to save the boom there.
 The money loss will be heavy for all though some of the logs can probably be recovered at the mouth of the river the amount will be small. At 10 o'clock to- night the water at Scranton and Pasca- gould is rising rapidly and the situation is very serious.