The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-04-24
IN THE FLOODED DISTRICT.
Many Stirring Scenes Along the Mis-
 sissippi.

Many Stirring Scenes Along the Mis-
 sissippi.
 Mine eyes have seen the glory, the time-honored, traditional, particular glary of a great flood in the Mississip- pi; namely, house floating down mid stream; not shanty, but real house, with gable and window in the gable and glass in the window, with a surety that there were more such windows Out of sight beneath the muddy swirls that swept about it's caves, and now and then gave 1t mad push, making it waltz about and turn hroadside to the current. We saw 1t from the boat sent out to pick up Struggling dwellers in the Arkansas bottoms, who had too long neglected the warning that this was to be the greatest flood since 1892 If it had been g. whale, it could not have stirred more internal palpitation, at least in landsmen's bosons. The lookout ahead-which included every body-did not shout, There she blows!' as in thel whaling stories, but something that sounded more like There she goes!" Could there be any one in the attic of the house? Oh, .ec- static thought; to behold and partici- pate in rescue! But tug that was also busy on errands of mercy was nearer this marine prize, and made with much fuss and bustle-a weakness of tugs-toward it, while we stood by to house and comfort the voyagers in that attic, If there were more than thir- ty or forty. The tug harpooned its prey. It waylaid it, and, though the house sought, by bobbing to one side and lowing deferentially to both of us, to get by and continue its runaway to- ward the gulf, it was roped as cleverly as cowboy ,persuades steer. Breath less we waited while the boatswain or the soxswain-at least an engineer looking man, with blue, oily jumper and shiny cap-peeped fin the window But there was no one there; not saul; not thing; not what is usually found in attics; not even a pile of dusty old magazines or two points of hard-used
 
 most stunning and unexampled in stance of an opportunity for thrilling rescue completely wasted. Those peo- pie had doubtless moved out of that house a week ago, and hauled every thing away in a four-horse wagon; evil dently people without any imagination or an ounce of sporting blood in their veins-else they would have stayed and been handsomely and gallantly rescued, and been the most notable family in their neighborhood ever afterward. The head of the house might have run for office. There is tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune: but this man, when the flood came, weakly drove away.
 Sorrowfui looking are the little groups of negroes-no white people live in these flooded misunderstanding on the levees surrounded by their poor house. hold treasures that they have picked out from among those they had to leave behind waiting for the steamboat to take them off, There is Uncle Cash" f" who has brought the family featherbed, inherited from Old Marse's tice, secure ly tied up in the clothesline. so it won't suffocate him as he bears it reverential- ly in his arms; there is the spick and span tin trunk, toted on his back from the cabin by young Joe; there is Lulu or "Marfy," Joe's wife, with one pink ish-brownish mite in one arm, while she leads a round and solemn-eyed tod .dler with the other, while pickaninnies greater cluster about their mammy, each carrying something to be saved from the threatening waters, and last of all is old aunty, bent and leaning on her cane and led by some sturdy mem Der of the family And what has aunty got which she carries so fareful- ly and affectionately in that pillow |islip? Of course, you can guess it-the family Bible; no, it's the cat. "Ah jus made up nah mind An had to choose between this heah cat and Gen'al Grant Aroun' de World and heah the cat is," she said further explanation developing that General Grants Tour Around the Worla.' which somebody had given her, was her favorite book,