Omaha daily bee., 1903-02-20
LAND BECOMES SEA OF ICE
Much Dsstitutiun Follows Storm in En-
bsrrAs Bottoms, Indiana.
MANY PEOPLE ARE LINING m TENTS
Cole weather In Most sections Of
Country ts AbntinE and Back
bone Of wave is Proba-
bly, Broken.

v~INCENNEs. Ind. Feb. 1s-High water.
which has turned to ice and the bitter
cold has brought intense destitutiun and
much suffering in scores OF homes in the
EmberrRs bottoms south o. here. Thou
sands Of acres Of land which last week
were under water are nov covered with
ice and many homes are entirely sur
rounded by A..
The Wabash river continues TO rise and
add 10 the restitution In the desolRted
district. The farmers are fighting with
hunger and cold. Those who have not
showed out Of the lowlHnds are preparing
TO do so on short notice. In some cases
people are living in tents, whish Trey have
pitched on the side OF a hill or 90 top Of
the levee.
Until today the ice has no. been thick
enough 10 bear the weight 81 q rcrson
and for the past three DAYS 1. las been
impossible for many to leave home. Scores
Of families ere living In the secort stories,
the lower floors being filled Vtth ice.
1t is impossible TO send rslief into .
portion Of the district, a. the roads are
blocked by water and ice.
weather is CROWNS Warmer.
CHICAGO, Feb. 1s.-The cold which has
prevailed for several days decreased today
to such an extent aE to warrant the belief
that the backbone OF the wave is broken.
Temperatures ranging from 10 TO Is
above brought relief to thousands Of suf-
ferers from the extreme weather and life
in the city resumed much Of it's usual tenor.
Threatening weather, with occasional
l light snow furries, Is the official forecast.
The warmer weather is general throughout
this section.
CLEVELAND, Feb. 1s.-The temperature
dropped TO 3 degrees below early today,
while in many cases il was 6 10 s below. A
twenty-hve-mile gale last night, combined
with the extremely low temperature, caused
much suffering. The railroads continue to
be hAmpered by the weather conditions.
DIES MONIES, Ia, Feb. 1s.-Iowa weather
is undertaking rapidly and a light snow
commenced early this morning. The mini
mum was 2 degrees above zero last night.
KANSAS CITY, Feb. 19.-It was warmer
this morning. The weather bureau re-
ported 5 degrees above zero, which was Y
degrees warmer than yesterday.
NEW YORK. Feb. 1s.-The cold wave
which followed the snow storm Of the FIRST
part Of this week brought the coolest
weather this city has experienced in four
years. At s O'Clock the weather bureau
reported that its thermometer registered
2 degrees above zero. the lowest since 1893.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. Feb. 19.-The Ohio
river continues to rise steadily. A sudden
thEw, accompanied by rain with the pres
ent high stage OF water, would precipitats
q food.
Joliet Man Freeze to Death.
JOLIET, Ill. Feb. 1s.-The dead body o.
an unidentified man was found on the Pat
terson road below Joliet today. He had
frozen to death during the night, standing
upright, leaning against q barbed wire
fence.
Ice gorges in the drainage canal ar
causing damage below Joliet. Ice is piled
high and the adjacent land n OVERLOOKING
- Ohio River stfn Rising.
CINCINNATI, Feb. 1S.-After remaining
stationary from 5 to 10. the Ohio river q
Cincinnati again began TO rise this morning
and AT 6 tonight registered 49.3, a rise o
three-tenths of a foot in eight hours.
With the weather moderating Throughout
the Ohio valley and snow predicted for to
morrow, il is expected the river will e
slightly above the danger line OF fifty feet
after which II will recede, as the tribu
taries above have practically run out an
the Ohio river is falling at all points from
Pfttsburg down. No trouble is anticipate
in the upper Ohio valley, but the situation
is more serious from Evansville TO Cairo.
The thermometer has risen Is degree
here since G this morning and the WeRthe
bureau predicts a further rise in the ten
p~erature tomorrow.