The Savannah morning news., 1903-06-01

cpsizes We're frequent, small boats not
| leing able to live in the swirling cur
rent.
scene of DesOIatiOn.
North Topeka is a scene of utmost
desolation. Not a square foot of land
can be seen in any direction. There
is but small chance of any of the
residences being left standing at the
end of the flood period.
Sherry, Oakland and the region about
the reform school north of Topeka
are all under the rushing waters, but
the situation is favorable in these
places, compared with what North To-
peka is undergoing.
Nearly all the fires were put out
by the heavy rain which fell nearly
all night.
Messages were sent to st. Joseph.
saying: Topeka wants three to six
steam launches, and twelve or eigh-
teen clinker-built row boats, with men
to handle, sent here by special train
at once to rescue people in North To-
peka."
The train was to feel its way as
far as possible on the submerged
tracks and then the boats would be
launched. 1t was expected that the
launches could reach here about 4
O'Clock, in which event many of the
people on the north side could yet
be saved. Meanwhile the beleaguered
ones were encouraged to hold on a lit
tie longer in the hope that rescue would
soon be effected.
Heroic Rescues Effected.
E. L. Bailey and A. NJ. Alexander
performed some of the most heroic
work of the night In the night they
! succeeded in reaching one of the
burning lumber yards and rescued a
dozen women and children. On the
way to the south shore, one of the
women tainted and this all but
swamped the boat. The men finally
reached the pontoon bridge with their
| precious cargo.
The most prominent men of the
town donned oil skins, and, in water
up to their breasts, waded> for hours
in the cold water, rescuing women and
children, the men being left for res
cue later
E. L. Crowdy and his brother are
among those who escaped the flood.
When asked for a story of his expert
| ence, he said:
Story of a Sufferer.
ooh, it was terrible: 1 cannot de-
scribe it. 1t seemed like 1 have lived
| in horrible nightmare for the past
| two days. Early on Thursday we saw
| that the water would be high, but with
! the usual persistence of people who
| dislike to leave their own homes put
off the time as long as possible 1t
! came near being our undoing. Friday
! the whole of North Topeka, it seemed,
overlooked within an hour The water
came creeping up faster than the peo-
/ pie could get out. We were forced to
| leave in such a hurry that we could
not even take a blanket.
| Il am satisfied that our house was
| destroyed. as it was in the direct path
| of the fire. All l have in the world is
! the clothing that l am now wearing
/ Hundreds of others are in as bad a
| condition as we are, and have lost saw
| ings of years"
Eighteen persons were rescued late
| this afternoon from a house at 1908
| North Monroe street. A man who las
| just returned from the scene of the
| flood says he could see as many as ten
! persons hanging from trees near the
| Sardou avenue bridge at the foot of
| LORI street.
Chief of Police Golf and family are
| missing
E. D. Lang and Charles Walden,
| Santa Fe employees, started out in a
| boat early to-day to rescue a Russian
whom they saw on the roof of a house
not far from the south bank of the
river. They got the Russian in the
| boat, which Immediately capsized. The
| three found resting places in trees,
where they remain at this time. An
| other party is trying to rescue the trio
Slight Recession of Water.
At $3.50 o'clock the water had re-
coded ~ inches in an hour Before
| this a rise of an inch had been report
| ed The gauge went up and down all
| the afternoon until at 8 o'clock a fall
| set in. At o'clock the water had left
| 8 A.. Tell
eral offices, but was yet six feet deep
! just outside the building. 1t was then
| that gang of telegraph linemen sue
| ceeded in getting a heavy wire cable
| stretched across the top of the pom
| toon bridge. A large sand dipper was
attached to this and used to take large
| quantities Of provisions to those who
were not yet reached.
| BY this cable many people were res
cued. The first of the food victims to
| be rescued by means of the cable was
the family of Rev. A N. Pearson, pas
tor of the North Topeka English
| Church. Mr.. Pearson said:
| I'VE spent three days on the top of
| our house. We were fairly warmly
| dressed, but had only two loaves of
| bread for our family of four. Yester-
| day my wife and children were res
cued to-day my turn came, and l
/ cannot DcBlu " leil uOW IhdiihLOI
am"
Pathetic Experiences.
| w. N. leopard and wife, aged peo-
| ple were rescued at o'clock. They
were so numb that they could not feel,
| and had to be knocked down into the
water before the men could reach
them. Their minds had given way
under the strain. They cannot recover.
A Mrs. Anderson and her year-old
baby for three days were in tree in
plain sight of people who were power
less to rescue them. The mother clasped
her child close in her arms and man.
aged to brace herself against a tree in
! a reasonably secure position. For three
days she kept up the battle for life. At
4 o'clock her rescue was very near, but
she lost consciousness. Both mother
| and child fell into twelve feet of water
and were drowned.
Harvey Parsons, a local newspaper
| man. Friday night in boat rescued a
woman and her baby names unknown,
from house They had proceeded only
a short distance when the boat cap
! sized. Parsons contrived to get him
self and the others up into a tree and
there they remained until o'clock
this afternoon When rescued they
were brought to a place of safety, but
mother and child probably win not
survive.
Il Two small steamboats, were put into
service at 4:30 o'clock, one from Otta-
Y wa, and the other from St. Joseph. By
Athis the work of rescue was greatly