The Washington times., 1903-06-01

them failed.
The Northwestern freight depot crum-
bled and fell into the stream. The
Burlington freight depot was burned to
tie water. Thousands of pieces of bag
gage have been lost or ruined by the
water. superintendent of Water Works
Goodwin and fifteen men are penned in
TIE pumping station. They have tele-
phoned for boats or 1000 feet of rope.
Efforts to reach them have failed.
School houses. converts. halls. and pri-
vate residences have been opened to the
flood sufferers.
"News" From Over Kaw.
Three river men arrived in Kansas
City at midnight in skiff from Kansas
City. Kan, bringing the copy of the
kansas City Journal reporters. who
are marooned across the river.
They brought the first word that has
been obtained from across the Kaw
since o'clock yesterday afternoon. The
list of the dead includes Thomas Ruddy,
of the packing firm of Rudy Bros;
William Brown. fisherman; William
Herbert, an expressman; a stranger who
went down with the 81" road. and an un-
known man who fell from the viaduct.
The men were three-quarters of an
hour making the trip from shore to
shore. They received $40 for their ser
vices. and say that they would not at
tempt it again for twice that amount
On the way they rescued man whose
skiff had overturned and lodged against
the roof Of submerged house.
Losses in Millions.
The ruin in North and West Argen-
tine and Kansas City, Kan, is com
plete. Losses. viewed from conserva-
tive standpoint. will reach into the mil
lions. The oldest inhabitant has never
seen such a fiocd. Houses after houses
have been swept away. and the railroad
yards have been devastated of all things
portable. The water came up as If
mighty dam above had broken loose,
and the inhabitants of the bottoms were
lucky to escape with their lives. In
many instances they were compelled 10
fee in the scantiest attire before the
onrush OF the swelling river.
At O'Clock last night the river was
twenty-three feet deep at Fifth Avenue
and rising at the rate of one foot an
hour. The greatest damage is yet to
come. A further rise CT two feet will
carry out every freight car and frame
building in the bottoms Hundreds OF
them have been washed away.
Powerless to Lend Aid
Late last evening house containing a
woman and several children passed down
the river. They were screaming fran
tically for assistance. but the horror
stricken witnesses who lined the bank
Of the river were powerless to lend aid
The house struck one of the abutments
of the bridge and was smashed. No
signs of its human freight were after
ward visible.
Eight thousand persons in Kansas
City. Kan. are on the verge of starva-
ton. There is not a loaf of bread or a
p2und Of meat in the city and unless
speedy relief is forthcoming the situa-
tn will be appalling. Thousands Of
persons line the streets begging for
something to eat. They do not beg be-
cause they are paupers. Most of them
have an abundance of money, but it is
question of obtaining supplies. and
money is not needed. Hotels. res
taurants and boarding houses and pri-
vate residences are besieged by per-
sons seeking something to eat
Al o'clock this morning the Union
Pacific bridge. which spanned the Kan
tae River at Kansas City. Kan. went
down. It is reported that twenty-seven
men were on the structure at the time,
ape that all were drowned
The Missouri River stood at IS this
morning. having risen five feet and four
inches in the night
Harlem Has Gone.
Harlem has gone. The buildings fioated
down the stream Sunday, and the site Of
it is buried in the water The stock yards
are wiped out. and no one can estimate
the loss of live stock.
Worse than all else. there has been
less of life. How many human beings
have persisted in the food it is impos-
sibie 10 estimate. Some say there have
I been fifty Others place 1t lower. 1t is
al guesswork. One nan saw FIVE per-
sens sink in one place. Another man
was seen to fall of building; another
went down with a bridge when the Kaw
swallowed 1t up. Just how many vic
Tins the food has claimed will never be
known. for the current is so swift that
1t carries everything before It down the
stream.