The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1902-07-21
I'D Citizens See the Father Of
Waters in Its Most Des-
tructiVe Mood
[l1SS AROUND KEOEUE
WILL EXCEED 100000
Situation Is Hourly Growing Worse
and There Is Not the Slightest
Chance to Stop the Pro-
aress of the Waters.

Keokuk. July 2O.-Exploration of the
flooded districts of the Mississippi river
from Keokuk south shows conditions be-
yond the apprehension of any but people
of long experience with the Father of
Waters in Its most destructive mood.
The situation is growing worse hourly
and great con1agration in great city
would not be more rapidly destructive Of
values than the antithesis for a hundred
miles below Keol1uk. There is absolute
ly not the slightest chance of stopping
the progress Of the most costly flood in
the history of the great river above st.
Louis. The correspondent of the Asso-
ciated Press went over all the worst
damage today in the steamer Silva Cres-
cent and found everywhere the greatest
crop ever known under water deep
enough to float steamer. People at the
river cities give an immense mass of
details al. to be generalized in losses ag-
gregating many million dollars. Hun
dreds Of farmers, rich ten days ago, PEN
niless and homeless, hundreds watching
and praying that the great levees may
hold, which are now their bulwarlx
many cases of penury.
Loss Is $6,ooo,ooo.
Careful estimates of the territory COW
cred and generalization of the state
ments of the best informed people indi-
cate the loss up to today is about Sc, O00,- :
coo, with every prospect of two or three
millions additional by the rise above not
baI A.
river. Most of this loss is on the Mis-
souri, side of the river between Keokulx
and Hannibal.
Passing the water-lapped lumber yards
of Keokuk the mouth of the Des Moines
river Is seen to be nearly two miles wide
Normally there are two mouths and an
island delta covered with ferns which
are now under raging torrents Alexan-
dria was protected to the last by the
Egyptian levee, the breaking of which
would send water all over the town.
Gregory is submerged except the white
church. in which service was held to-
day, the praying congregation from the
country reaching the house of God by the
railroad which is still above the flood
in a waste of waters a mile wide. Other
towns and cities on the islands are be-
tOild tIl0 udIlBeT llIle
Fields Form Great Lakes.
Immense fields are seen in a great
lake, with the shore line visible only
with glass, where the high bluffs
bound the bottoms. Islands dotting the
river at its normal stage have disap-
peared. except for the tops of trees and
q fringe of high shore willows slightly
protruding like circular green coral
reef Occasionally a house on piles or
sttlts Is seen, but generally only roofs
protrude to mark the center of farms of
corn. On the edge of the flood river corn
gradually rising on a slope. tassels tops,
ears, stalks appearing in order. In the
middle OF the present river the tracks
of the ST. Louis, Keokuk & Northwestern
railroad. normally the Missouri shore,
are now a few inches above the water
and under it in some stretches. Shore
lights for pilots are standing in the
midst Of waste of water where the
steamboats, can run over them. All this
territory was practically covered with
corn fortnight ago, estimated to make
20 TO 100 bushels to the acre. Previous
estimates of the loss have been greatly
Increased by the prospective yield being
much greater than ever before, the loss
being total
Boat Strikes House Top.
The height of the food is indicated by
an incident at Lagrange. The steamboat
warehouse is well back from the river
bank and sits high. A strong current
and gele caused the pilot to make an
imperfect landing and the ccrnice of the
roof of the warehouse was torn off by
the forward guards of the Silver Cres-
cent. The river is rising all the time.
six inches during the day In the immense
area of 100 square miles and the worst
is to come.
The chief flood thus far is on the Mis-
souri, side of the river from Keokuk to
Louisiana, with Gallon and West Quincy
as centers of the country hurt worst. On
the Illinois ide are three continuous
1evees for fcSty miles from Warsaw to
Quincy above the water and thus far
safe, but every rod Of the redoubt is
watched day and night. The breaking of
these levees would flood 175 miles in Illi-
nois and destroy s2.OO0O.O0O to 50, 900
worth of corn. The levees below Quincy
are in the same. situation except that
they are lower and less firm.
Center of Devastation.
Opposite Quincy, in Missouri, is anoth
er center of devastation. North twelve
miles to Lagrange and south to Holton
large prairies are well under water reach
ing from the Illinois bluffs to the Mis-
souri, bluffs, at least ten miles, Levees
hastily thrown around farms have disap.
peared In a fierce current, rushing from,
above through the draw of the Burling-
ton Route bridge, carrying everything
before it Lone Tree prairie ten miles
square, is deserted. the people having
flown to Quincy and the bluffs on the
Missouri side from which they watch the
complete destruction. Fabius river, fif-
teen miles above Hannibal, is high and
furnishing route of the Mississippi to
flank and reverse the levee, making even
the highest MISSOURI levees ineffective.
Around Lamonte, Saverton, Busch Sta
ton Clemens anu Ashburn, north of
Hannibal there is more wheat than at
other places, and all In the shock Is
mostly washed away. The chief crop
there is corn. however. and there is the
same ruin as at other places.
In the vicinity of Quincy and Hanni-
bal there ID much unnecessary loss on ac-
count Of the failure Of the people to heed
the warnings of the Keokuk weather
bureau observer.
The levees protecting the Missouri