The Savannah morning news., 1903-06-01

AAlS LOuSCSf al lilOul - oNi1A - Ouudly .
and Schwarzchild & Sulzberger's. The
loss to these plants alone will be close
to $1,000, 900, as the agents of Swift &
Co. estimate their loss alone to be
close to $1,000. 900.
The Armour Packing Company suf-
fered a loss from water roughly esti-
mated at $500, 900. The great plant will
be idle for some time to come. There
are great mum bers of freight cars upon
the tracks with the freight utterly
ruined.
All the residences in the district are
under water, most of them being but
one-story affairs, and fully 10000 peo-
pie from this suburb have been COM
PEELED to abandon their homes and
take to the higher ground for safety.
In very few instances have any Of
them saved any of their property, and
in most instances verey little of their
clothing. All through the streets of
this section the waters of the Kaw
river have backed up and there is
very little current. a fact that may
tend to lessen the damage.
In the wholesale district there will
be no active business for some time
after the abatement of the flood. Late
this afternoon the walls of a build
ing at the foot of Fifth street fell
with a crash. 1t is impossible to tell
what building it was.
Fires and Loss of Life.
At o'clock seven fires were burning
in as many places in the railroad
yards, all of them having originated
from lime stored in freight cars. BY
the largest of these fires one life and
100000 in property is believed to have
been lost.
Fifteen persons have been drowned
in the west bottoms during the day.
Because of the difficulty of recovering
the bodies Identification of the dead is
impossible. The dead, as far as re-
ported, follow:
James deerman, drowned on
Usage avenue; unknown man with
two children, drowned at Mill and
Usage; unknown woman, dead in a
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 disappear.
Troops Ordered out.
A great body of water, coming from
the west, swelled the Kansas river
at Kansas City, Kan, this morning
and rushed with terrific force over the
outlying railroad tracks and the crowd
ed wholesale districts of the west bot
TOMS ard finally into the Union depot.
Shortly after noon the Third Regi-
ment. Missouri National Guard, 900
strong, was ordered out. both as a
precautionary measure and to stop
looting.
The flooded district covers ain area
three miles long by four miles wide.
The flood forms a serni-circle reaching
south and west and from the union
depot, which is located under high
bluffs that mark the dividing line be-
tween Kansas City, Mo, proper and
what is known as the west bottoms.
The principal damage done up to last
night was at Armourdale and Argen-
tine, Kan, in the packing house dis
trict, on the Kansas river on the ex-
IRENE southwest border of the circle
mentioned. Early this morning the
rise in the Kansas river met the
waters of the Missouri on the north
west and merged finally at the high
est point, at the union depot.
Wholesale District Submerged.
A few blocks west of the depot the
water, which came with a mighty
force, spread out in all directions, and
it was not long before the wholesale
district of Kansas City was under
water, ranging from three feet at the
depot to fifteen feet or more at the
stock yards and packing house dis
frict along the Kansas river
In this district are located the i'm
mense packing plants of Armour,
Cudahy, Schwarzchild and Sulzberger
and Swift & Co., the storehouses of no
less than fifty big agricultural imple-
ment houses, including the McCor-
mick Harvester Company and Parlin
and Orrendorf e. Co., 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.
The packing houses and the stock
yards, which are In the lower district,
are surrounded by water fifteen feet
deep, and at the Live Stock Exchange
the basement, containing two dozen
railway offices, Is completely sub
merged, the water reaching into the
second story offices.
At the yards all the pens were sub
merged to the roof, the implement
grocery and other houses were flooded
to the first floors.
Property Was Abandoned.
The mail station, "a" the biggest
sub-station in the city, and two fire
houses were abandoned during the fore
noon, as was in fact the entire flooded
district, which now is readable by
boats alone. The water soon became
too deep for the passage of wagons,
and property of all kinds was left at
the mercy of the floods.
The wires to these districts are down
and the only means of communication
is by boats; but few of these are to
be had. The militiamen and police Ct
both cities are working together to pro-
tect property, and citizens universal
ly are aiding in the relief of the suf-
ferers.
Up to 3 o'clock this afternoon no
deaths had been reported.
This afternoon the pumping station
at Quindaro was shut down, the water
having entered the building, and both
cities are without a water supply
All night the forces of the stock yard
men were at work rescuing live stock
Hundreds of head were brought up in
to town. All the trolley lines in both
cities have been shut down, the power
at Riverview' being under water, and
only one or two cable lines on
the Missouri side are running.
Many Boats Are Busy.
The police have thirty-five boats in
service At sehwarzschild's plant $50
persons employees and people In the vi
cintfv uu14r had baen Irlvan fror, fhafr