The daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Beltrami Co., Minn.) 1903-1904, 1903-06-02
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 $4,000, 900
TWO HUNDRED HOUSES BURNED
AND MANY BUSINESS BLOCKS
ARE DESTROYED.

property destroyed, with hundreds OF
pistol shots as signals or distress,
blended with the agonizing cries OF I'M
willing inhabitants Of treetops and
roofs of houses, and the waters creep
ing upward and then slowly subsid-
ing and alternately changing hope TO
despair the Capital City passed the
most memorable Sabbath day OF its ex-
istence. To all this discomforting
condition of affairs was added the
presence of a cold, dismal rain.
North Topeka is scene OF utmost
desolation. Not square foot OF land
can be seen in any direction. There is
but small chance of any OF the resi-
dences being left standing atNthe end
of the flood period.
There is ground for hope that the
worst has passed. The five-mile-Wide
Kansas river is settling back into It's
original channer. Last night City
Engineer McCa5le issued bulletin
giving out the
Cheering Intelligence
that the waters had subsidized to the
extent of exactly rs inches. 1t may
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 300 or more rescued ones 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 seventy-fve to 800
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 gro~ary stores flooded. Q.
Big business blocks ready to cruDl-
BILE, so.
Wholesale commission houses de
serted, 6.
Rock Island trains containing $50.
passengers held here by him water.
City water works plant useless.
Probably $50 Dead.
Leading men have made a careful
examination of the food and all its
conditions, and as a. result of their m
.vestigation they give ESQ as the prob
able number of lives lost A more
conservative estimate places the nuns
Der Of dead at 175. The higher num-
Der is 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 does it in
clude 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 even an ap.
proximate number of victims. The
water is so high and the current so
strong that all that can be done cow
! 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 res
cuing the victims 81 the fiocd is being
pushed with vigor. If the flood does
not rise any further and those not
yet reached can keep their places a
few hours longer there need not neces-
sarily be a much larger loss of fife.
Large contributions have already been
received for the
Benefit Of the Sufferers.
/ The amount given by Topeka citizens
alone will aggregate 100000. To this
i is to be added an immense quantity OF
clothing, provisions and general sup
plies. Outside towns have generous
" offered aid; notable among them is
/ Galveston, 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
witness the flood conditions. There is
great anxiety as to what the morrow
will bring forth. If the river shall not
receive any more flood water west OF
here the improvement in the situation
here will be marked. If the water
shall rise at Manhattan and Wamego.
to-day will see a repetition OF the
= worst of the flood scenes and the dis.