The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1903-06-01
TOPEKA PASSES MOST MEMORABLE
SABBATH DAY IN ALL HER HISTORY
Worst Has PasseMay Heosm Displayed by Ung
Workers Their Mission Reu Unfnaes Who Cung Trees Roofs
Houses Escape Watey Impossible he Number of Lives Lost

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y SPECIAL FLOOD =
WARNING ISSUED. =
= Washington, May 3i.-The follow y
= ing special flood warning was Is y
= sued tonight by the weather bu- y
y reau:
y The flood situation in the lower y
y Missouri Valley continues to be y
= grave. Warnings for a stage Of 26 y
y feet at Hermann and Bonneville, y
= Mo-, and for 80 feet at st. Louis =
= have been issued. The danger line y
= at the last named point Is 80 feet. y
= "All flood records except the year y
y 1884, when the district was sparse =
y ly settled have been surpassed by =
= the floods of the last week in the y
y Missouri Valley" said Alfred ]. y
= Henry, In charge of the forecast y
y division of the weather bureau. =
y I'VE have deemed 1t necessary to =
y send out special flood warnings, as =
y the conditions continue very dam y
- gerous. Rain has been falling to- =
y day in Missouri and Iowa. The =
= danger line at Kansas City for in =
y stance is q feet and today a stage y
= Of BIS feet was reported. This y
y means an alarming situation, so =
y far as property Is concerned, but =
y the people have been sufficiently y
= warned SO that there should not =
y be further loss of life. The stage y
y of 80 feet has been predicted for =
= st. Louis. where the danger line y
y is 30 feet" =
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mile. Half a dozen persons are In an
abandoned street car, just north OF the
bridge, and have been there for thirty
hours, but will be rescued
Eighteen people were rescued late this
afternoon from a house at 1908 North
Monroe street A man who has just re-
turned from the scene Of the dood. says
he could see as many as ten persons
hanging from trees near the Sardou. ave.
nue. bridge at the foot of Morse street
E. d. Lang and Charles Waldon Santa
Fe employees, started out In boat early
today to rescue a Russian whom they
saw on the roof Of a house not far from
the south bank of the river They got the
Russian in the boat which Immediately
capsized. The three found resting places
In trees, where they remain at this time
Another party is trying to rescue the
trio.
At $3.50 the water had receded exactly
seven and one-half inches in an hour.
Before this q rise Of an inch had been re-
ported. The gauge went up and down all
afternoon until at o'clock fall set in.
At o'clock the water had left the first
floor of the Rock Island general offices,
but was yet six feet deep just outside
the building 1t was then that gang of
telegraph men succeeded in getting a
heavy cable stretched across the top OF
- A.r.A
was attached to this and used to take
large quantities Of provisions to those
who were not yet rescued.
Three Days on the Roof.
The first food victim to be rescued
by means of the cable was the Rev. A. n.
Pearson, pastor of the North Topeka
English church.
Mr. Pearson said:
I'VE spent three days on the top OF
our house We were fairly warmly
dressed, but had only two loaves Of bread
for our family of four during that time.
All day Saturday and today we had moth
ing to eat Our situation was desperate
and extremely uncomfortable, but we at
no time lost faith In the ultimate abili-
ty of our friends to rescue us. Yesterday
my wife and children we're rescued, today
my turn came and / cannot begin to
tell how thankful 1 am"
w. ". Keppard and wife, two aged peo-
pie, were resuced at 4. They were SO
numb that they could not feel and had to
be knocked down into the water before
the men could reach them.
They were standing close together In
the attic of a house, and so severe had
been their experience, that their minds
gave way under the strain. They cannot
recover.
Mrs Anderson and her year-old baby
have been for three days in tree III
plain sight OF people who were powerless
to rescue them.
The mother clasped her child close in
her arms and managed to brace herself
against tree in a secure position. For
three days she kept up the battle for life.
At 4 O'Clock her rescue was very near,
but she lost consciousness.
Both mother and child fell into twenty
feet of water and were drowned, being
Immediately drawn under by the cur
rent.
Heroic Newspaper Man.
Harvey Parsons. a local newspaper
man, had a thrilling experience. He took
a. boat Friday night and made his way
to a house In the hope Of making some
resuces.
A woman and her baby name unknown,
were in the house. and Parsons took them
into his boat. They had proceeded only
a short distance when the boat capsized.
Parsons contrived to get himself and
the others up into tree and there they
remained until 3 o'clock this p -ernoon
when rescued. They were rescued but
probably will not survive.
Two small steamboats, were put into
service at 4:3O, one from Ottawa and the
other from st. Joseph. BY this the work
OF rescue was greatly facilitated.
One of the small boats brought eighteen
people over and landed near the dessicat'
ing plant. They foated down half mile
and became lost north Of the Melan
bridge. This was before the flood had
reached Its height.
Fourteen people had entered a stranded
street car. but soon had to seek the roof.
Standing In this uncertain position for
twenty-four hours, their condition was
desperate until they were taken on al
4:45 with the aid OF the big cable. BY aid
of trese small steam and gasoline
launches forty men in South Garfield
Park were rescued. They had perched
themselves in trees They had had uvtf,-
ing to eat for thirty-six hours.
Taken from Attic.
t1ou.x HE ,.ytfa and ifhree smSi