The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-03-28
LEVEE GOES WITH CRASH 600 Feet Break at Green
 ville, Miss. NO HOPE OF REPAIRING IT The Width of the Crevasse is Steadily Increasing. At Hymelia, La, a Large Body of Men is at Work to Repair the
 Break in the Levee at
 That Point

Greenvine. Miss, March 27.-A volume of water sixteen feet deep and over 600 feet in length is pouring steadily through crevasse in the levee five miles south of here and is flooding thousands of acres of the finest farming land in the cele- brated Yazoo delta. regarded by many to be the most fertile in the world.
 The break in the levee occurred atN11 o'clock this morning and the roar of the rushing waters can easily be heard in Greenville. Only 200 feet of the embark ment gave way at first and a mighty effort was made by hundreds of laborers in charge of the government engineers, to check the rushing flood by Cribbing and sacking, but it was soon apparent that it was beyond human power to successfully combat the resistless fury of the current. An hour later it was seen that the ends of the levee on either side of the crevasse were melting fast, the force of the current cutting the embankment away as though it were built of sand.
 Backwater at GreenvillE
 When the first report of the break reached this city the excitement was in tense and many people began to collect
 
 readiness to move away at a moment s notice. Tonight the backwater has reached this city. but 1t is believed there is no danger here from the flood as the water will pass rapidly to the southward Major John NJ. Sears, who has charge of the government office here in the ab- sence of Captain Potter of the Third Le- wee District, who is i'll. in an interview to- night stated that the break is unquestion- ably the worst in the history of the leves system. He says the entire delta south as far as Vicksburg will be inundated and the fine farming lands in Washing ton, Bolivar and Sharkey counties will be under water for more than two weeks. This is the first break to be reported on the Mississippi side since the present rise begen.
 Mator Sears says a desperate struggle is being made to prevent the further wId- enlng of the breach by revetting the ends of the levee and strengthening them wit l sand sacks. It is feared that this will not be accomplished as the breach IS widening rapidly.
 Reports are Meagre.
 Reports from the interior are very meagre, but it is believed that the people were fully prepared for a break and the loss of life, if any. will be reduced to a tnlnlmum. W nlle q great nuTlDeT planters have sent their stock to higher lands, others have not taken this precau- ton and the loss in this direction may be quite heavy. The damage to planta- tons and the interference with planting cannot be estimated.
 Another break on the Mississippi side Is reported in the Albemarle levee in lower Issaquena County, but information from there is that the damage from this break will not be heavy as the country was all ready partially inundated and the rise of water will necessarily be accompanied with little force.
 The situation at several points on the Arkansas side where the levee was con- sidered to be in a critical condition will probably be greatly improved because of the breaks in the opposite side in drain ing off the water and relieving the pres Eure at points where the strain was greatest.
 The situation at midnight grows worse for Greenville. Work on the protection lcvee through Main Street has been aban- doned and water has reached Washing ton Avenue the highest point in the city. Appeals for help have been coming in all night from the Tuxedo and Race track additions and relief boats are being sent continuously to their relief. The news comes from these additions that people were seen clinging to roofs of houses and rafts to escape the rising waters. Many lives have been reported lost, a woman and five children perishing in one house but tomorrow will tell the fate of many poor unfortunates.
 The southern part of the city Is en- tirely under water. Houses even as high as Central Avenue are filling up and their inmates are securing rooms up stairs. By morning the water will be over all parts of the city unless another effort is made to build protection levee