The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-03-17

washington March 12-The weather
bureau tonight issued the following
special river bulletin:
The Ohio river at Evansville VIII not
change materially during the next TWO
days, but will continue to rise below
At Paducah, a stage of about AID 1eet
will be reached. while at Cairo a stage
of 5O.5 and 81 feet will probably be Ie-
ported by Saturday night. The Ten
nessee will change but little. unless
heavy rains set in again. The Missis-
sippi from Chester. southwark Will
continue to rise.
In the Memphis district. the rise has
continued at an increased rate, as in
dictated in the special bulletin of the
18th instant. The stage at Memphis
this evening was 35.S feet. a rise of o.
feet since Wednesday evening, while
at Helena Thursday morning it was
45.3 feet, d rise of o. feet A stage OF
about 81 feet is indicated at Memphis
during Friday night or Saturday and
III I1lSICol 0AoSO VII
Wednesday, March 18TH
At Helena. the maximum stage Will
be in the ~neighborhOOd of 40 feet, ell
estimates being based upon the as
umptio that the levess will remain
intact. The only trouble thus far re-
ported has been at Caruthersvllle.
Mo, where the levee is still in danger.
Below Helena the rise will CONTINUE
steadily and there is no present indi-
cation tina a revision of previous esti-
mates Will be necessary. The Red and
the Ouachita rivers also continue to
rise for the six or seven days with
stages of 81 and 43 feet respectively
at Alexandria and Monroe three or four
feet above the danger line.
At New Orleans preparations con-
tinue for a twenty-one fot stage.
%ituatio Still Grave.
Memphis Tenn, march, 12.-There
is little change in the river situation
tonight and although the rise Today
has been slight, the situation is still
considered grave and a stage of more
than SO feet is still expected. The
guage tonight shows 35.S and rising. an
advance to tWO-tenthS since midnight
last night. Dispatches from Caruth-
e~rsviIIe say that the situation there is
practically unchanged and that he
entertainments Will hold a stage of va
ter three feet greater than at present.
These dispatches are from private in
dividuals and if the government en-
gineers have received advices from
Carthuersville today, they have not
made them public.
Captain Lucas L. s. engineer in
charge of the first and second districts.
left today for Helena. Ark. to nersOn-
ally inspect conditions in the White
river districts. The government steam
er Mercury left today for Helena with
supplies and men for Assistant Engi-
neer Levasseur, who is in charge of
the levees strengthening work at that
point. The Robert F. Lee left today
for the south, carrying supplies and
men for the leVee engineers at Cat Is
land. where the rush of the waters
through the seventeen mile gap IN the
levee is causing apprehension. The
James Lee left for the north with men
and supplies for the engineers at Pecan
Point where strengthening work is in
progress on the embankments- No
news has beer received from the area
in Mississippi county. Arkansas which
was reported Hooded yesterday by wa
ter having percolated through the en-
b~ankments.
The eingeers say that the crest OF
the rise will probably reach Memphis
Monday. unless there are further heavy
rains generally over the area drained
by the tributaries of the Mississippi in
the meantime. They predict a record
breaking stage of water on account of
the fact that the leVeeS are all holding
against the flood. During the high va
ter 1897 the river at Memphis was forty
miles broad and there were no embank-
ments on the Arkansas shore to back
up the waters. and the narrow channel
of the river. Should the embellishments
hOId.the crest of the rise will pass Mem
phis quicker than otherwise would be
the case. and the danger of breaks in
the leVees below this city will be great
ly increased. For this reason the situa-
ton below Memphis is that which is
developing most concern.
River Rising Rapidly.
New Orleans. March 12.-The river |
here is rising more rapidly now. To-
day the guage marked 49,, 4 rise of
three-tenths of a foot in twenty-four
hours. bringing it within eight-tenths
of the record of 1897. The weather con-
tinues rainy ard cloudy. An increased
force of men was put to work along the
river front today and sacking is now
TO be carried on all along the line.
Stories of Suffering.
Vincennes, Ind. March l2.-Although
the Wabash river is slowly falling at
this place, reports continue to come in
of the rise of White river and with
them come stories of suffering among
the poorer classes and those who failed
to heed the warning that high water |
was almost a certainty in this section. |
The 1evee at Red Cloud gave way and |
let a vast amount of water into the |
surrounding territory. The water came
into the fields with a rush and people
had no time to battle with it. Many |
school children were rescued in boats.
Em-ankments in Danger.
Jackson, Miss, March 1.-THE levee