The Iola register., 1902-06-13
THE NEOSHO DOES DAMAGE
River Gets on a Tear and Floods the Bottoms and
Washes out Railroad TraCkS--Great Dam
age to Growing Crops


point and until it passes there is no
hope Of fall.
The fight to preserve the Missouri
Pacific tracks was kept up all night
and the Santa Fe had TO Lut force to
work south of town. The food was
backed up west OF the track and came
through the small culverts with tre-
mendous power, threatening to sweep
the road bed away.
The Santa Fe put a work train on
Monday to watch the track just south
of the Fair grounds. Sacks filled
with sand we're piled along the grade
| to keep the currentfrom cutting in and
the efforts seem to have been success
full.
The Missouri Pacific put train
and force Of men at work Monday
afternoon hauling cinders in and fill
ing up to keep the water from break
ing over. Several ear leads Of heavy
rock were thrown along the edge OF
the track TO break the force of the cur
rent should it finally breakover. Time
and again it would start through and
beginto cut out between the ties but the
men at work would fill it up and stop
the flow. About ten O'Clock Monday
it broke over and could not be stopped
and next morning several hundred feet
of the track was under water. I'm
mense stakes had been driven at the
end of the ties and this together with
the stones piled up kept the track
from hoating away but all traffic was
stopped.
The east bound and west bound
passengers Tuesday pulled down
as close as they dared and passengers
and mail was transferred in boats and
the trains went back.
From the top of the Northrup build
ing could see miles; of water. From
almost to the cemetery on the east out
across the river over the rich bottom
fields ton the west was nothing but
a broad eXpanse of water.
Nobody suspected until recently that
there were a score of row boats in this
country, out with the coming of the
flood boats have appeared from many
strange places. On the river road
west of tGwn the electric tracks serve
as wharf and the boats line the
| point Of land, men and boys making a
regular business Of taking people out
for pleasure rides or ferrying them
or oss the.nood.
The river road bridge is still we'll
above the water, the flood lacking sew
eral feet yet of reaching the floor.
But from the base of the approach to
the west corner of the cemetery is one
broad eXpanse OF water, flowing swift
J. y from the north. The earth has been
washed from beneath the ties for sew
eral hundred feet along the Missouri
Pacific, the switch engine barely hav-
ing room to get into the west switch
to the smelters. The water gurgles
and pours over the rails. 1t is said
one of the culverts went out Tuesday
but the rail lof course held together
and the track can only have washed
off the grade.
The market gardner who bought ten
acres south of the river bridge moved
out at 8 O'Clock Tuesday morning.
He thought he could stay in the house,
but when the water came in he moved
going to Warren Bolts house north
of the road. The water lacks foot
of getting into the first floor there
When the back water broke over the
railroad it came down stream in a
huge wave.
Through the drift and brush hund-
reds of rats and wild things scamper
about, swimming from log to log.
The river rose all day Tuesday but
the end came during the night and the
waters are expected to recede from
now on. Hundreds of people visit the
| scene, some going down the railroad
and some down the street car line.
The most interesting time is about 7
O'Clock in the evening, when passen-
gers from the west are transferred in
boats across the broad expanse of
water and loaded into the morning
train which only does the east end of
the work.
First sign of fall lcame wednesday
and several people who had been at
the river stated to the REGISTER that
the water had gone down about an
inch. 1t is to be hoped that the river
will be like some people and having
taken the inch will want a mile-in
the matter of receding.
Danger in the Water
Not less than dozen arrow escapes
from drowning have occurred the past