The Washington times., 1903-06-10
ST. LOUIS PEOPLE
TAKE To THE ROOFS
Portion of Eastern Section
Buried in Water.
TEN THOUSAND HOMELESS
Midnight Riot Guns Call Slumbering
Residents From Beds to
Face the Flood

ST. LOUIS, June 1O.-One- half of East
ST. Louis is buried In the flood. Ten
thousand persons are homeless, and az
the mercy of the raging waters.
Families are prisoners in the gar
rets of their homes, or on their roofs.
/ They are without food. and are crying
sought refuge in the Washington Ho-
tel. the Franklin School, St. Mary's
Church, and the plant OF the St Louis
Syrup Refining Company. are prisoners,
and are suffering greatly
Dixie Broke After Midnight.
| The break in the Illinois Central dixie
came at thirty minutes after midnight
| In five minutes a mighty torrent was
/ tearing through the large residence sec
! ton in the eastern part OF the city
The people. thousands of whom were in
! bed, felt certain that the city was safe.
but were warned by the blowing OF the
sand train whistles, by the firing of riot
guns, and the cries of these who had
been working ON the embankment in an
! effort to save it,
| The property losses cannot be esti-
mated Many industries are flooded
Many are not only made homeless, los
ing all of their worldly possessions.
but are thrown into idleness. This city
| is in dire need.
Thirty Feet of Water
The water stands from three to thirty
feet deep all over the eastern half of
the city. Houses are weakening and
falling. The destruction seems com
plete- The food came down upon the
city from the back water in the south
| east. At o'clock this morning the flood
had swept clear through to the river and
the city lies under IN urabroken stretch
OF rising. swirling torrents.
! 1t is conservatively estimated that
thirty persons were drowned last night
in East St. Louis Other estimates are
as high as 100
One hundred men who were working
on the dixie at the time of the break
narrowly escaped. Many were caught
IN the flood shoulder deep. Many swan
tc safety. 1t is feared that several were
lost. The dixie had been considered
safe and all labor had been concentrated
on the western and northern dikes
Water Cut Passage.
Shortly after midnight the water cur
q small passage through the embank-
ment. Within two minutes this break
had spread for a distance OF forty feet.
with a torrent crashing through The
workers saw that there was no hope ana
the sand trains backed down into the
city. their whistles blowing shrili
blasts of warning The guards who had
patrolled the dixie fired their riot guns
in all directions and ran down through
| the streets shouting their warning TO
the sleeping citizens
The workers fed for their lives. The
women and children who had been at
work on the dikes for six hours filling
the sacks with which the embankmeut
wGs strengthened, ran in panic.
Chief of Police Purdy. of East st Louis,
al 5, o'clock this morning sent an urgent
appeal to the St. Louis authorities. He
said 10000 lives were in peril. Boats or
anything that will float are urgently
asked for. Steps were taken to lend all
ala in the power of ST. Louisans.
Two negroes were shot and killed on
the Tevee before the break last night.
Ned Roberts, who had worked on the
Ike several days. demanded his pay
ard threatened to break the dixie unless
paid at once. Instantly seven men fired
on him and the negro fell dead.
Elijah Anderson, another negro on the
Illinois Central ievee refused to work
and was killed by the guard. Theodore
Day, a negro, while trying to rescue
gcme people, was drowned, as was the
horse he was driving.