Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-06-06
.LEVEE BREAKS WIDEN
Great Tracts of Fertile Land
Flooded.
RIV Err STILL RISIN G.
PEOPLE DRIVEN FROM HOMES IN
THE LOWLANDS.
Gangs of Workers Along River At
tempt to Save Rail-
ways.
RIV Err STILL RISIN G

ST. LOUIS, June 6.-The break in the
great Madison county levee, which gave
away yesterday, has widened and this
morning the water is rushing through
gap 100 yards wide, covering 10000 acres
of fertile farm land and three villages
Oldenburg, Mitchell and West Granite.
About 500 persons have been driven from
| their homes by the food. The roar of the
water as it pours through the break can
| be heard a mile and half. The break is
only a mile from the head of this great
bulwark, which was regarded until this
morning as the principal barrier between
the river and all the east side cities, in
Guiding East ST. Louis.
Back of the Madison levee is another mud
embankment known locally as "The Cross
levee," which today is three feet above
the flooded wheat fields This levee runs
from Mitchell southwest, forming juno
| ton with the Madison levee one mile north
| of the merchants bridge.
Railroads in Danger.
But while the Cross levee protects Gran
| ite City, 1t does not protect East st. Louis
| from the current which has this morning
| set in with terrific force through Venice,
| and it is within one foot of the top of the
| several railroad embankments which are
| now holding it back
| level of the Relay depot in East st. Louis,
which is representative of the altitude OF
| the principal business and residence sec
| tons of East st. Louis.
The Island" that part of East st. Louis
which lies between the river and Cahokia
creek is under six feet of water. With the
large and rapidly widening break in the
Madison levee, just south of Oldenburg, and
another but smaller break south, and
third break at Choteua Island, the condt-
tions as to the protection of Madison, Ven
ice and Granite City have changed, and it
is only a matter of the flood advancing
foot above the present stage until the cur
rent that is now sweeping through the east
trestles of the Merchants bridge will be
rushing over the railroad embankments.
Once that current is over the embankmentS
the reinforcing work that has been done
by the railroads will go for naught, and
the embankments are expected to crumble
as a sand pile before the current.
At the Merchants bridge this morning,
just south of the junction of the Cross and
Madison levees, and where both terminated,
and the protection devolves upon the rail-
road embankments, the water was within
foot of the railroad tracks. In several
places the water was over the Big Four
tracks.
Big Working Force.
Since Wednesday the Chicago and Alton
railroad has had big force of men work.
Ing to protect their embankment below the
Merchants bridge.
Levee Front Flooded.
| The river this morning reached stage
of BAT feet, rise during the past twenty
four hours of IL feet. and continues rising
! at about the same rate. All along the levee
| the water is up to the stores and houses,
in some of them 1t being at least a foot
and more deep on the first floors.
So far traffic on the river has not been
greatly hindered, but when the water
| reaches a stage of 36 feet some of the boats
will probably refuse to receive freight as
| the approaches cannot be used and the
water will be too deep for teams to drive
| through
| At the ferries the loading of teams is done
| with great difficulty, the horses having 20
| wade in up to their shoulders.
| The National stock yards at East ST.
Louis has notified the railroads that no
| more stock will be received until the
| ter recedes.
Kansas City House Cleaning.
| KANSAS CITY, Mo, June 6-Thousands
| OF men and woman armed with shovels
and brooms are invading the west bot
| toms, following closely the recedng waters,
| and by nightfali much will have been done
| toward restoring the Wholesale and stock
wards districts to their former condition
| of activity.
The Missouri has fallen over two feet
during the past twenty-four hours, and
| large district was uncovered. ne hdW
/ also continues to recede at an increased
| rate Today hundreds of fiat loaded
with sand and construction material pushed
| several blocks further west and began the
| work of reconStructing the miles of washed
] out or damaged tracks in the yards from
| here TO Armourdale and Argentine.
| The railroads alone will put several thou
| sand men to work. and all lines making
| preparations to resume business. Today it
| was possible to reach and clean out to
great degree the wreckage at the stock
yards and at the livestock exchange where
| the water at it's height stood fifteen feet
| deep.
| Three shifts of men are working night
| and day at the pumping stations to restore
| the water supply to its normal condition
| and as this service improves the likelihood
| of an epidemic of sickness is disappearing.
| But few cases of sickness are reported.
Railroads Will Soon Resume
| TOPEKA, Kan. June 6.-The Kaw river
| fell two inches an hour last night and to-
| day the south side of Kansas avenue Is un-
| covered clear to the bridge. On the north
| side pedestrians and wagons can get FIVE
| blocks north from the bridge to Gordon
| street without getting into water In some
| residence portions of North Topeka, how
| ever the water still stands in eddying pools
| and ruSheS down cross streets in whrling
| channel at an average depth of three feet.
At the present rate the entire town site
| will be free from water Sunday.
The Rock Island and Union Pacific are
| still unable to resume traffic in or out of
the city, The Santa Fe and Missouri Pa
ciic are getting over their tracks west and
south. but not to the east
IN THE FLOODED REGION.