The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-06-07

saved little or nothing OF their worldly
goods. The retreat was chiefly made on
Saturday. No boats were to be had. and
planks were hurriedly made into RATS upon
waters to shore. The waters came upon
them and transformed their prosperous
community into a place of desola ton.
Similar is the history of the flood at Arm
strong. Armourdale and Kansas City. kas
The waters surged into the wholesale
houses, the MANUFACTURES and the packing
plants. soaking machinery and foundations.
When il recedes from six inches to 4 foot
Of mud will be left inside these places of
The tale is the same of the East Bottoms.
4 trip made in small naphtha launch
the devastation wrought. The surface was
clogged by debris and floating distractions.
The three large elevators owned by the
! Board of Trade in East Kansas City stood
in ten feet of water. Only the stacks of the
Chicago, Milwaukee and st. Paul round
house were visible.
on small island. This had been abandoned.
| but upon the porch stood horse. The ami
NAL seemed terrified. and remained standing
! stock still. Corn was procured and placed
| within It's reach, and the bloodhound brute
probably will live through the trial.
| WANT TO PREVENT
A RECURRENCE.
| Facing this unprecedented siege of the
| waters, many citizens of Kansas City are
| urging that steps be taken to prevent 4
' recurrence. or at least TO change the con-
dition SO that a repetition would reduce the
! possible effects of such flood to a mini
mum. The most definite plan suggested in
! wolves making channels for the rivers in
| the places where they threatened to run
when the flood was at crest height.
Deuges Of the kind are OF rare are st
cannot be wholly forestailed. But 1t is sus-
gested that if the Missouri be forced to hug
| the Clay County bluffs, and the Kaw the
Kansas City bluffs. the currents would be
more defined and hence would cut deeper
| channel Armourdale and Argentine, &C
cording to the plan, would be protected by
Old wyandotte Indians relate that before
the flood of 1874, which the present is said
| to transcend. the channels of the streams
| were in this direction. On last Monday and
! Tuesday the current of the kaw rushed
with tremendous force directly down below
| the Kansas City bluffs and through the site
occupied by the Union Station. Were it not
for the buildings and tracks in its course, II
is thought that this certainly would have
| been its channel when the flood subsidized.
| The Missouri with even more decision
| was hugging the Clay County side. The
, current was diverted from the natura
'r In tie long curve which the Missouri
| hitherto has made at Kansas City 1t trav
to the bluffs the, distance would be bu
! three miles, greatly increasing the fall t.
the mile and creating almost straigh
The Kaw also describes long. curve. 1T
| whole valley makes long bend at Argen
tine. The river itself, to point slightly
| above Argentine. hugs the east bluffs Op
posite Argentine 1t wheels over through
Armourdale and directly beside kansa
City. Kas.. empties into the Missouri
Hence, if this were taken out, the distance
the Kaw travels from Argentine to II
mouth would be reduced one-half and tn
rcrmal current proportionately increased
The present location of the mouth OF TIL
Raw with respect to the course of the Mis-
souri, is thought to be especially conduciv
to dis astrous floods. The kaw's current, OF
entering the Missouri, is almost directly op
posed to that of the latter river: The re
suit is. at times of excessive high water
battle between the currents.
JUNE RISE is
EXPECTED SOON.
The impression that the Kansas food
were due to the June rise in conjunction
with the rains is erroneous. The June ris
Is caused by the melting of snow in TIL
mountains. This yearly overflow from tn
Rockies mas not reached the Middle State
yet, but is expected within a week or tel
days, and may protract the time Of suffer
Ing:
solely of an unusual rainfall in Norther
Kansas. The latter State is long incline
plane, very level but with an unusuall
large fail to the mile in its streams, Fo
three weeks in Kansas rain fell steadily.
The kaw is formed of the confluence o
several streams, chiefly the Smoky Hill
| VIC AoAoS' tile tNcp0pIiSih an
| the Solom IN. These We're charged to thei
fullest and emptied at about the same tim
abnormal volumes of water into. the Kaw
The con sequence was that the latter wa
filled from bank to bank and rushed down
! wall Of water.
Old residents of Topeka state that neve
has the Kaw been reused into such tor
rent ]. B. Billiard & Colonel Joel Huntoo
remember far back into the fifties and re
call serious inundations; but say that thi
year the river has excelled itself by thre
| feet.
The same is true among those who knoy
the Missouri's history at Kansas City .
stone in :he wall of the old Cathonc Churc
In the. West Bottoms. known as Fathe
Dalton's church. is said TO mark the to
notch Of the great food of 1874 Anothe
such mark IS said to exist on the Ola
County bluffs. These induces were sui
merged three feet.
HASTINGS MacADAM.