Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1903-06-03
IN THE KAW VALLEY.
Vast Area Flooded, and Loss of Life
Is Heavy.

Vast Area Flooded, and Loss OF Life
Is Heavy.
Kansas City, Mo-, June 1.-Following
is summary of results Of the floods
in Kansas City and vicinity:
Twelve square miles of territory
flooded, and so wholesale houses sub
merged
Great packing plants and stock yards
under water.
Fifteen persons known to be
drowned.
Nearly 10000 persons are homeless.
Waterworks shut down, electric ears
stopped; only one cable line running.
Union depot abandoned and all rail-
road traffic blocked.
Loss of life at Council Grove, Kan,
IA; a Lawrence, Kan.,2
Property loss in Kansas City and
vicinity, $6,00O,00O.
Loss to farmers in Kansas and Mis-
souri,, $5,O0O,00O.
Loss to railroads in two states,
So, 100000.
Fifteen persons were drowned in
the west bottoms during the day. Be
cause of the difficulty of recovering the
bodies Identification of the dead is i'm
possible. The dead, as reported, are
as follows: Thomas Rudy, manager
of the Rudy Bros. Packing company.
drowned while engaged in relief work
near the Schwartzschild e Sulz-
berger plant; James Deerman,
drowned on Usage avenue; unknown
| man with two children, drowned at
Mill and Usage; unknown woman, dead
in mass of drift; William Herbert and
two other persons drowned at Second
and Usage; three men and two women
were drowned by the capsizing of a
boat near the Union Pacific bridge; a
man on Belt line engine, which was
surrounded by water, was seen to dis
appear.
Financial Loss Heavy.
The financial loss has been increas-
ing all day, and bids fair to continue.
The heaviest loss is at Armourdale,
where the losses to the packing indus
try and others is placed conserva lively
| at $2,500,000. Argentine, another su-
burb, has suffered losses estimated at
| 100000. Other losses which cannot
now be estimated will increase the to-
tai very materially.
The Flooded District
The flooded district covers an area
three miles long by four miles wide.
The flood forms a semicircle reaching
south and west from the Union depot,
which is located under high bluffs that
mark the dividing line between Kansas
City, Mo-, proper and what is known
as the west bottoms. The principal
damage done up to Saturday night was
at Armourdale and Argentine, Kan, in
the packing house district on the Kan
sas river, on the extreme southwest
border Of the circle mentioned.
In this district are located the i'm
mense packing plants of Armour,
Cudahy, Fowler, Schwarzschild &,
Sulzberger, and Swift & Company.
the store houses of no less than SO big
agricultural implement houses, in
Guiding those of the John Deere Pillow
company, the Deering Harvester com
pany, the Mccormick Harvester com
pany, and Parlin and Orendorf & Com
pany; ten wholesale grocery houses,
the freight depots Of the various roads
entering the city, the Kansas City live
stock exchange, and the stock yards,
and the buildings of other numerous
big concerns.
Armourdale, with a population
Of 10000 people, is deserted and its
site marked only by the tops of build
| ings and a number of fires Seven
fires, believed to be chiefly box cars
burning, could be seen from the bluffs
Sunday night. There is some danger
that the flames will spread to the
partially submerged buildings, adding
greatly to the already heavy loss.
The fire started by the intrusion of
| the flood into a lime house.
Went Down with the Bridge.
Kansas City, Mo-, June IA mes
sage to the Times from Kansas City,
Kan, by way of Leavenworth, at two
o'clock this morning says that 81
men were on the Union Pacific bridge
| which spanned the Kansas river when
| it went down, and all of the men
were drowned. 1t is said that many
persons saw the helpless men drown
MANY DIE IN DIES MONIES.
Extra Session of Legislature May Be
Called to Provide Relief.
Des Moines, Ia, June 1.-Summarized
the results of the flood here are: ,
Number of known dead is seven.