The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-06-07

From Kansas City to Topeka and back
from Topeka to Kansas City during the re-
| cent overflow of the Kaw, simple trip
Usually, was not a pleasure unalloyed or a
Joy forever. When water is rot eight feet
deep on the rails the Santa Fe, Union Pa
c.fc or Rock Island will whirl the traveller
over the sixty miles in little more than six
| ty minutes.
Landed in Union Depot. Kansas City, last
| Sunday morning. some fifty railroad men
| told me that Topeka might as well be 500
miles away instead of sixty. so far as the
railroads were concerned. l was rejecting
| upon the great advantage of a waterproof
| fre-box for engines, If such thing could
be invented when the first intimation came
| that the flood was becoming serious at the
| depot. The intimation was woman's
scream.
A step 20 the depot platform revealed that
Union avenue was already canal and that
| the water was almost to the station level.
The woman, water-soakcd and bedraegled.
was standing in the middle of the street
! yelling at the top of her voice a big. burly
policeman vas just picking himself up out
of the Hood and immoderately cursing his
horse.
The policeman, it seems, had calamity IN
horse through the water to dry place. But
the officer had no sooner placed his fair
burden before him upon the saddle than the
horse slipped, and in they both tumbled. 1t
could not haze been pleasant for either.
The stream was cold and the air chilly. and.
moreover. the unfortunate denouement stole
all of the "here-to-the-reScue'' element away
| from the deed. and policemen are fond of
the hero business.
| SUDDEN RISE OF
WATER IN DEPOT.
| This little incident occurred at exactly
| ILLS. A few moments before. the last
| train from st. Louis to reach the Union
Depot had arrived-The Missouri PACIFIC
| a. m. Sunday. Ten minutes later six inches
| OF water stood on the depot floors.
The trains from the East entered Kansas
| City with little trouble Sunday. But MOTH
the West. The depot was crowded to its
many many of Whom lived or had relatives in in
| various Kansas towns, including Topeka,
where, according to Associated Press re-
| ports, had been great loss of life and enoT-
I nous damage to property.
| The sudden influx of water caused the ut
most confusion. Depot authorities ordered
| was herded TO the second stories and thence
| by the incline to the bluffs of Kansas City
Baggage was hurriedy removed. As man.,
| of the finer trains as IL was possible to
| reach were switched to higher tracks When
| this was accomplished time remained for
little else. The water was three feet deep.
| With water to the knees in Union Sta
ton. the chances or reaching. Topeka from
that point seemed exceedingly slight
showed that the traveller leaving at night
should reach Topeka the next day. But
the kaw knocked many more important
| schedule into a Pigment that day.
YELLOW FLOOD QUICKLY
SPREAD OVER CITY.
| Tn in Kansas Cit,- raap,o5 ., 20 Isle
the population lined the bluffs. The citizens
had come down to watch the Kaw descend
upon the low-lying section of their city.
And 1t was q spectacle worth seeing-this
Tandi moving yellow torrent quickly sur
tories, and large office structures. Drift was
sSurrying down at express train speed
though as yet the outlook did not mean
much devastation and destruction.
a day-long investigation discovered nc
means of reaching the capital of Kansas
which then, 1t was believed. practically
was wiped off the map. Topeka was iso.
lated. Communication by wire was almos,
impossible aIl and by train seemingly so Kan
road traffic, as washouts were reported II
every direction.
Such train service as continued at thi,
time was handled from the Wyandottt
street Station and the depot at Second anG
Grand; AT both places the railroad mer
We're lahoring to keep the trains, moving
But they knew little concerning the condi
| ton of their tracks and bridges along ths
line. and risk attended sending out every
train. w. r. Carson. superintendent of ter
minals for the Missouri Pacific. approached
on the subject of a special engine to To
peka. glowered on the applicant and re
piled that enough was TO do to move I'll,
regulars. He had his hands full
It was at this time that he issued ar
order which saved one out of the eighteen
bridges which formerly SPAWNED the Kav
| at Kansas City. He sent four heavy en-
| gines out upon the bridge TO anchor I.
| rsking the loss of the engines in addition
| to the bridge But his executive courage
, preserved the one outlet which will h
| available to the West when the water
abate. Probably he considered that he wa
risking engines enough without sending an
other through the mud to Topeka just 70
the benefit of two or three newspaper cor
respondents.
HOURS OF CONFUSION
IN KANSAS CITY.
From until o'clock Sunday afternoon
were the three hours of greatest confusion
in Kansas City. Then 1t was the bridge
across the kaw began to go. Their fal
could be heard UP in the bluffs, and the re
ports spread that the whole of Kansas Cit,
in the bottoms was being washed away
with Islands of the debris, which passet
! downstream one after the other process
sion speaking q riot of destruction. Linn
; cars began to burn. and rumor had ii tina
the packing plants were on fire. 1t was al
: exciting time.
Kansas City. 1t would seem, then sbouI
have offered sufficient to occupy the atteu
tons Of the emisSaries Of the press. Yet To