Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1903-03-18
THE MISSISSIPPI FLOOD.
Threatened People Anxious But Still
Hopeful.


Hopeful.
A New Orleans dispatch Of Monday
says the river has been stationary since
Saturday morning. 1t registered 1872
at that time and the official govern
ment reading was the. same today.
The absence of rise Is due in part to
favorable winds, which have greatly
accelerated the flow to the gulf.
The flood is being carried out with
great rapidity. Better weather condi-
tions have improved matters generally,
allowing the temporary levees to har-
den. The work Of the levee boards
continues unabated and men and ma
terial are abundant on the front. Sem
sational stories which have been sent
out from New Orleans to the effect
that the levees below Canal street had
broken and that the French quarter
was two feet under water and that the
embankments below Baton Rouge had
gone, flooding two hundred miles Of
territory and seriously endangering
New Orleans, are absolutely without
foundation. New Orleans would not be
menaced by any break between the
state capital and any point above the
city, since the water would be carried
into lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain
and thence to the gulf.
Dispatches Of Monday from Mem
phis, describe the situation as seen
there as follows:
The crucial test of the great levees
along the Mississippi river Is at hand
and If they withstand the pressure Of
the immense volume Of water now
rushing southwark the most sanguine
predictions Of the governors will be
verified.
The river gauge this morning marks
39.1, rise Of six-tenths since o'clock
last evening. This is the highest stage
of water ever known here, and the
weather bureau officials predict that 40
feet will be recorded before the crest
Of the flood will have passed. The high
water mark Of the great flood OF 1897
was 37.3 feet.
In north Memphis the flood situation
is assuming serious phase. Hun
dreds Of people are abandoning their
homes and every industry located
along Wolf river has closed down.
Street car service in this part Of the
city has been practically abandoned
and skiffs are being brought into re-
QUESTION. Several railroads have been
seriously hampered by the encroach-
ing waters and the YaZoo and Missis-
sippi valley has annulled many Of It's
schedules because Of washouts south
of here.
Reports from Holly Bush, eighteen
miles north Of Memphis, state that the
levee is being badly washed on top by
the swift current.
Two hundred laborers are working to
save the embankment with only par
tial success. Hundreds Of sacks OF
sand are being thrown about the levee
and the sheriff Of the county is i'm
pressing many Negroes into service.
The weak point Is about l,0O0 yards IN
length and the water Is running over
the top Of the levee.
Reports from Dyresburg, Tenn, say
that immense damage has been
wrought in that section by the high
water. Many Of the planters in the
Mississippi bottoms have been forced
to flee for safety to the hills, and their
homes are being washed away by the
flood. They say that the water is high
er than ever before. The season has
been so wet that no farm work has
been done in that section.
Several steamboats, left here this
morning for points both north and
south to pick up refugees and their
belongings.