Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1902-07-22


reau, there Is TO be further rise of
two feet, which will inundate all the
low land in the Mississippi bottom and
will even test the Snf levee.
Farmers have been busy for the past
three days getting their stock off the
bottoms and driving it to the high
lands. They have about abandoned all
their crops and many of the renters
have lost everything.
The damage by the high water cam
not be estimated. but It will probably
reach 100000. According to tele-
graph reports there were heavy rains
Saturday at Dubuque and Davenport
and it is raining at Hannibal.
Flood Begins in Iown.
Keokuk, Ia, July 21.-Heavy rains
In central Iowa are sending food
down upon prosperous Missouri farm
ers which will ruin many of them
and cause losses nggregating at q
conservative estimate 81, 100000. There
seems to be no hope for the country
between the Mississippi river and its
Missouri bluffs between Keokuk and
Hannibal, 800 square miles, mostly of
corn laid by, with some thousands Of
acres OF wheat in the shock. The wa
ter had touched the danger line the
first OF the week and had begun to
fecede when heavy floods started
again i'm the Des Aoinas. Skunk and
lowe rivers. With stage In this Des
Moines river only three feet below
the tops Of the great levees, the river
began to rise three inches an hour
at it's mouth here Friday, continu-
ing until the factor of safety was
wiped out IN the evening. A rise of
~ feet in a short time at dttumwa,
and a further rise throughout its
length below the capital city was pre-
vented from running out freely by
a rise of foot and half at Daven-
port, increasing and coming down
rapidly.
Warming Sent.
Friday afternoon the observer of
the weather bureau at Keokuk, in
charge of this district, sent tele-
graphic warning 70 all points south
70 prepare for danger. The crest is
expected here to-day or Sunday. The
Egyptian leves, which stood the flood
just receding, after strenuous efforts
to hold it, including the destruction
of farmhouses to secure lumber for
Strengthening the dixie, is only slight.
~ above the water now and the cons
ing food in the Des Moines will top
it certainly. This lets the water into
hundreds Of square miles, including
the town of Alexandria, No. The In.
habitants there are preparing for an
overflow of the entire town to a
depth Of several feet.
The worst feature is the time of
the year. The corn crop is all made
and wheat is in the shock, entailing
a total loss of the years work. Crops
were never finer and the yield prom,
Used immense. Grain men say the
above estimate of value is too low
and put the figures of the loss from
the overflow nearer 100000 be.
tween Keokuk and Hannibal. 1t is
believed the Illinois levees will hold
and the damage there is likely to be
only $4,000 to $4,000 between Keo-
knk and Quincy. Heavy rains are re-
ported in southeastern Iowa. Low
land farmers; river men and the
weather bureau observer alike pre-
dict the greatest damage ever known
from food on the upper river.
Dam Breaks.
Burlington, Ia. July 21.-Advices
just received report the breaking of
the Yellow Springs dam, north of here.
Fifteen hundred acres have been SUBJ
merged. The water is the highest in
years. At Columbus Junction the re-
cent rains cent the Iowa and Cedar
rivers up again, running oats that was
being harvested and hundreds of acres
Of corn.
Disastrous Drought in 1Lississippi.
jackson, Miss, July Twenty
counties in Mississippi are suffering
from the effects of disastrous
drought and in over one-half of this
number the corn crop has been utterly
ruined while cotton has been damaged
from 60 TO rs per cent. In TalIahatchie
county the destruction Of crops is prac-
tically complete and forest fires are
raging. a.F
The drought area in Delata is spread
ng and the latest reports state that
IN counties where the prospects were
excellent two weeks ago there has been
,reat deterioration.