Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-06-11
Fighting THE TORRENT.
Over Two Thousand Men at Work
Building Dykes Along the River
on the Illinois Side. y
DANGER POINTS RAPIDLY APPEAR.
Thousands of People C~Ongregate on
the Missouri shore and Watch the
Surging Tide from n Safe Dis
~tanee-CaIIs for Help Are Multi
plying.

oG. LOUIS, June o.T-ONeT TWO tHou-
sand men are fighting the flood along
the Illinois shore to-day. All day Sun
day the work was kept up in the hope
of saving as much property as posi-
BILE. As the waters crept up and
spread out workmen increased their
feverish speed. Skiffs are unable to
stem the current, and appeals for aid
from the east side can only be re-
sponded to when steamers are at
hand. Calls for aid are coming from
dozens of places north and south Of
st. Charles.
Over one thousand men are kept at
work night and day building dykes,
and Mayor Cook of East st. Louis is
driving from place to place in the
threatened district, giving instruc-
tons to foremen.
Thousands of people c~ongregated at
a safe distance on the river front
Sunday and watched the strging wa
ters sweep by. All sorts of wreck
age churned about in the great river,
and occasionally roofs of houses and
shanty boats came into view.
Two hundred families have left
Granite City for Springfield and other
towns outside of the flood district.
Two thousand more stood upon the
depot platform, vainly clamoring to
be taken to some safe refuge. Two
railroads are still running trains
North and east from Granite City, but
communication by rail with st. Louis
and East st. Louis was cut off Sunday.
One woman was drowned in Madison
and II man was seen to fall from the
top of a house and disappear in the
water at the break in the approach to
the Merchants bridge at Venice. No
names were obtainable. These were
The only deaths reported during the
lay.
Early this morning Russell E. Caro-
ner, abroad his yacht Annie Russell,
received a telephone message from
Scott Blewett, secretary of the Amer
lean Car and Foundry Co., saying that
Is of the company's men were drowned
1T the Madison works and that $50
others were in imminent danger.
The use of the Merchants bridge
discontinued on account of break in
the east approach.
Breaking levees have, flooded the
towns of Venice, Madison, West Madi.
ion and Newport, rendering hundreds
homeless. Houses at Venice were
crushed like egg shells by the swift
torrent when the levee broke.
The Tri-Cities are in darkness be.
.ause of the flooding of the electric
light plant.
Granite City is still a foot above the
food, and hard work on the levees and
:ailroad entertainments may save the
town with it's big manufacturing
plants.
The stock yards in East st. Louis
Ire still three feet above the food, but
no business can be transacted on &C
count of the lack of railroad service
Farmers have been prevented from
cutting levees south of East St. Louis
by citizens armed with riot guns. Ii
answer to a call from East. St. Louis
Night Chief-of-Po Police Gillaspy Sunday
sent all the available men he coulC
spare across the river to assist il
guarding property and patroling the
Ievees. Twenty men were sent over.
The river at two o'clock this morn
ng marked 37.4 feet, the highest point
reached since 1858. The weather bu
.reau reported the Missouri still rising
as far up as Hermann, indicating tina
the predicted stage of 80 feet at st
Louis would be reached to-day. Tht
Mississippi above Alton is reported
stationary.
River men expect that the crest o:
the food will reach St. Louis tonight
or early tomorrow morning, by which
time the worst will be, owe and thu
decline, it is expected, will be rapid.