Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1903-06-12
ATRAIL OF DESOLATl0N.

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had no place to congregate and fire
their brains with stimulants. -
For several days Convention hall
was camp for refugees and Kansas
City citizens contributed thousands
of dollars in cash and carloads of
food. clothing and bedding. Relief
work was carried on on colossal
scale.
AS the flood waters of the Kaw be-
gan to recede, the damage to build.
ings and property generally became
more apparent. Twelve thousand
people were flooded out of their
homes in Armourdale. Half as many
were driven from Argentine. Over
500 dwellings in the east bottoms of
Kansas City, Mo-, were swept away.
About rs brick buildings in the ,west
bottoms crumbled and fell. On West
Ninth street there are long gaps in
business blocks where houses are to-
tai wrecks and the bulls of those not
washed away were held by protect
ing brick walls opposite.
Armourdale, Argentine and part of
the Kaw bottoms on the Missouri
side will have to be laid out again,
as there is now no way of telling
where the streets used to be. It is
probable that hereafter houses will
be built only on the hills and the
river bottoms will be given over to
manufacturing plants and wholesale
houses, class of buildings that has
stood the flood remarkably well.
Many of these buildings, however,
built as they are on sand, may col
lapse later. This would cause enor-
nous damage.
The inhabitants of the lowlands
seemed perfectly contented to return
to their homes as the water receded,
but railroad men and heads of big
industries say there must be a radi-
cal change in the bottoms. Some ia
vor raising the level of the railroads
and business houses; others would
widen the Kansas river channel, and
some favor building bikes along the
Kansas river, with the aid of con-
gress. At any rate, the bridges will
be rebuilt higher. Congressman w.
S. Cowherd, of Kansas City, says:
Whatever plan will be followed,
it is safe to say that Kansas City a 1
year or two from now will show
many changes from the city of to-
day."
Following close after the recess
sion of the devastating waters in the
west bottoms comes the work of re-
facilitating the flooded business and
manufacturing institutions and the
untangling of the network of inter-
laced and interlocking sidetracks in
the switch yards at the commercial
gateway of the west. It is a scene
I L.
of hard work with men and teams
and scrapers and above all water,
will make it right, at least to all out
ward appearances. The cleaning out
of the buildings is comparatively
easy. 1t is only a question of irri-
cation and elbow grease, but the
preparation of the switch yards to
handle the great traffic that is con-
gested apd waiting for handling, is
another matter.
The police have done wonders in
rescuing people and probably
brought $50 of them safe to the high
ground. One hundred and fifty of
these were brought to the viaduct at
Twelfth street and the balance were
saved in the east and west bottoms
by boats. Twenty persons were
taken from the Marty school and 80
from O'Brien's lodging house, both
in the east bottoms. The rest of
them were brought in singly and in
small numbers
The saving of the Missouri Pacific
bridge across the Kaw river, the
| only one of II fine bridges not car
ried away, will facilitate transporta-
! ton and be worth millions of dollars
| to the two cities. The rehabilitating
of the bridge will give all the roads
west that have to. cross the Kaw an
outlet. 1t will be the saving of the
Union Pacific, the Rock Island, the
Missouri Pacific and several others.
| With the Missouri Pacific bridge in
operation the whole of northern
Kansas and Nebraska-will again open
to the Kansas City business which
has been so great heretofore.
Large numbers of dead cattle,
| horses, sheep, hogs and other ami
mails in every stage of decay have
foated away from the stock yards
and have lodged among the wreckage
| in the west bottoms. The stencil
| is almostsoverpowering
One of the thrilling episodes of
| the flood was the rescue in a boat
of - people by Col. C. F. Morse,
president and E.. E. Richardson.
| treasurer, of the Kansas City Stock
Yards company, from the Transit
| hotel in the west bottoms. near the
| stock yards.
| The flood left great gullies- in the
streets in the west bottoms. One at
| Eighth and Santa Fee streets is Is
| feet deep and contained five box cars.
! One at Seventeenth street contained