Milford chronicle., 1903-06-05
10000 ARE HOMELESS
Thirty-four Drowned and Property
Loss Heavy at Kansas City.

Thirty-four Drowned and Property
Loss Heavy at Kansas City.
Kansas City, June 2.-The food in
this section of the country has broken
all records. At least "a persons were
drowned, 10000 people rendered home
less. houses twisted from their foun-
dations and immense damage done in
the lowlands. In the railroad yards
box cars were swept from their fasten-
ings and dri.ted down the river Ar
rlourdale, a suburb. was completely
submerged for three days, only the
tops of the houses being seen. The
financial loss is estimated at $4,000
600. The river is now receding and
no further damage is expected.
The police rescued over 800 persons.
In the east and west bottoms number
Of obstinate people still cling
to their homes Although the police
have run boats beneath their windows
and offered to save them, they re-
fused to leave and will take their
chances. It is utterly impossible to
form any estimate of the number Of
dead in Kansas City. There have been
manifold stories of how boats laden
with people have been seen to sink
there have been reports without end
of bodies seen floating by on wreck
age. of men who have tried to drive
wagons laden with their household
effects against certain death in the
swift current and gone down in the
food. The majority of these stories
lack proof, however. and even If true,
the proof NAV never be had.
At Argentine, Kan. where the Santa
Fe yards and buildings and two-thirds
of the dwelling houses are under wa
ter. a number of houses were washed
away. Many hundrds Of freight cars
stand submerged and the boxes break
loose from the trucks and float away.
The cars now moving down the Mis-
souri, river are from the Argentine
yards. Not one inlfabitant of Argen-
tine is missing.
The situation shows improvement on
almost every side; the waters are
falling, the water works resumed Op-
erations today. the gas has been turn
there is no immediate danger Of a
serious shortage of food. The city
has cared for her own and is abun-
dantly able to do so still, but there is
not sufficient food on hand to permit
the relief committee and the municipal
| officers to feel easy over the outlook.
The provisions from outside will be
cordially welcomed, and while there
I Is no dire necessity, there is urgent
need. The transportation facilities at
the present time are so limited that
not much freight can be brought in
Mt a time, and there is danger that
the demand may outrun the supply
unless the stock on hand is speedily
replenished from the outside.
The day brought to light no facts
on which to base even an apprOxima-
/ ton Of the number of deaths in the
food. Possibly 10 bodies have been
seen floating since Sunday, but esti-
/ mates made from this are valueless.
as some of the bodies may have float
ed down the Kaw from Topeka, the
same bodies drifting about in the ever
changing eddies of the food may
have been counted several times.
Superintendent Young, of the Swift
Packing Company, said that there
were probably 25 to 80 bodies in the
wreckage lodged in the Armourdale
packing house district. The men en-
ployed on the steamer Columbia
brought the same report.
A Chicago, Burlington and Quincy
passenger train from Chicago. to Kan
sas City, due here at 4 o'clock Sunday
afternoon, has been lost. 1t is not
deemed possible nor the thought enter
iained by the railway officials that the
rain has run into the food. superin'