The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1903-06-05
HUNDREDS OF
LIVES LOST
FLOOD AND FIRE RESPONSIBLE
FOR APPALLING CATASTROPHE
AT TOPEKA, KAN.
TWO HUNDRED KNOWN TO BE DEAD
ACCURATE LIST OF THE VICTIMS
CANNOT BE OBTAINED FOR
SEVERAL DAYS.
LOSS TO PROPERTY S4,OOO,O geo
TWO HUNDRED HOUSES BURNED
AND MANY BUSINESS BLOCKS
ARE DESTROYED.

Topeka, Kan, June with 175 or
200 lives lost; millions of dollars of
property destroyed, with hundreds of
pistol shots as signals of distress,
blended with the agonizing cries of nm
willing inhabitants of treetops ard
roofs of houses, and the waters creep
ing upward and then slowly suhsid-
ing and alternately changing hope to
despair, the Capital City passed the
most memorable Sabbath day of it's ex-
istence. To all this discomforting
condition Of affairs was added the
presence Of a cold, dismal rain.
North Topeka is a scene of utmost
desolation. Not a square foot of land
can be seen in any direction. There is
but a small chance Of any of the resi-
dences being left standing at the end
of the flood period.
There is ground for hope that the
worst has passed. The fve-mile-w:Ge
Kansas river is settling back into It's
original channer. Last night City
Engineer McCable issued a bulletin
giving out the cheering intelligence
that the waters had subsidized to the
extent of exactly rs inches. 1t NAV
be some hours before another drop
may be noticed.
The ardor of the work of the heroic
%rescuers was not abated in the least
by the conditions which confronted
them. For long dreary hours knee
deep in water and sometimes in water
up to their necks, they worked with
might and main. They can now point
to 800 or more rescued mes who 9TH
erwise might have been swept away in
the current. Briefly stated, the pres
ent condition of the flood in this:
One hundred ard seyenty-fve 10 200
people drowned.
Eight thousand people without
homes.
Four million dollars loss of prop
erty.
People missing, 200.
Houses burned, result of fire in lum-
Der yard from stacking lime. probably
200.
Banks collapsed, 2.
Wholesale grocery stores flooded. 2.
Big business blocks ready to crunl-
BILE, so.
Wholesale commission houses de-
serted, s.
Rock Island trains containing $50
passengers held here by high water.
City water works plant useless.
Probably $50 Dead.
Leading men have made a careful
examination of the food and all it's
conditions, and as a result of their n
vestigation they give $50 as the prob
able number of lives lost. A more
conservative estimate places the num-
Der OF dea at IT'S. The higher num-
Der il as apt to be correct as the low
er. The number Of dead is merely a
matter Of guessing. Twenty members
OF rescuing parties tell how they saw
people drop from houses, only to be
swept away by the flood, and others
tell of men who, terrified at the ap-
proach of the fire, dropped into the
water, where they sank and did not
reappear.
This estimated number of dead does
not include the large number classed
as missing, who cannot otherwise be
accounted ior. Neither Toes it in
ciude the number who are supposed to
have lost their lives in the fire.
In the latter class there is absolutely
no means of arriving at ever an ap.
proximate number Of victims. The
water is so high and the current SO
strong that all that can be done row
is to rescue those in the buildings sur
rounded by water. 1t will be at least
three days before the correct number
of dead will be known. Work of rev.
cuing the victims Of the food is being
pushed with vigor. If the flood does
not rise any further and those Dot
yet reached can keep their places a
few hours longer there need not neces-
sarily be a much larger loss of life.
Large contributions have already been
for benefit of the sufferers.
The amount given by Topeka citizens
alone will aggregate 800 900. To this
is to be added an immense quantity of
clothing, provisions and general SUP.
plies. Outside towns have generous
ly offered aid; notable among them is
Tex.
Last night the portion of topeka
not affected by the food was crowded
with refugees and people from the sur
rounding country, who have come to
the flood conditions. There is
great anxiety as to what the morrow
will bring forth. If the river shall not
any more flood water west of
here the improvement in the situation
here will be marked. II the water
rise at Manhattan and Wamego,
to-day will see a repetition of the
OF the food scenes and the dis
ress here will be greatly intensified.
either contingency is entirely within
he range of possibility.