The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-06-09
GREAT LOSS OF PROPERTY
Many Thousand Persons Rendered
Homeless and Numerous Lives
Reported as Lost.

VI EdSI 81. AOulS anu luCluuIHS GN-
ice, Madison, West Madison, Newport,
Brooklyn and Granite City, are under
from 10 to IS feet Of water which is
still rising and deaths from drown
ing are variously estimated at from
five to 20. s
Eight thousand persons are driven
from their homes.
Very little confirmation OF the re-
ports of drowning can be bad, as these
places are all i off from rai.roa!
service and telephony communication
IS rrcertain at best.
The weather bureau promises relief
after the river shall have risen to
about 50 feet. 1t is now within a few
inches of that mark, but rising slowly.
The harbor boat Mark Twain and
private yacht Annie Russell, with
several tugs, have gone to Madison
and Granite City, where the floods
have caused a number Of deaths and
where cores of families cut OFF from
rescue are at the mercy of the rising
water.
Dummy trains of the Terminal as
ISOLATION, connecting with skiffs, COM
menced this morning the work OF
bringing across the river more than
700 persons who spent Sunday after
noon and night on the tops oi houses
and at other points OF elevation above
the flood in Madison, Venice and New
port. .-l
Four drownings were reported by
the refugees, but non knew the
names of the victims. One said that
a father, mother and child had been
drowned while trying to reach a point
OF safety, and another told Of the
death of a man under like circum-
stances.
At East st. Louis, on proclamation
of Mayor Cook, business is suspend
ed, the saloons are closed and every
body is at work on the levees in a des-
perate effort tc SAY the city, which
is from one to four feet below the
level of the water that presses up
against the entertainments.
A hastily constructed leyee of sand
bags and mud is all that stands be-
tween the city and almost complete
submersion. IT the levee gives way
all the main part of the city will be
quickly flooded and not a street in
the business section will be left out
of water. The relay station is now
surrounded by water.
Train service in every direction is
laid out by the high water and no
| freight business Is being done at all
| on the east side. Two roads, the Mis-.
| souri-Paciic and Frisco, are the only
ones running trains between here and
| Kansas City. Passenger traffic and
| the most urgent freight busienss is all
| that the railroads will handle west. II
is too early to estimate the damage
which will run into the millions, and
| the sloss due to the interference with
businesses.
Relief boats were today sent t6
Venice, ILL.,, which is completely
flooded as a result OF the break in the
leyee just south OF the Merchants
bridge yesterday afternoon. The roofs
Of houses are visible and the 500 in
habitants are homeless.
During the day 100 persons were
rescued. Their stories OF the disaster
are thrilling and pathetic. In thei1
hurry to escape many persons were
obliged to race from the food onl.
partially clad.
None of them was able to save at!
household goods. Most OF the Ven
ice houses are frame structures ant
yielded readily to the force OF TN
flood. The Methodist church was III,
ed from it's foundation and carrle'
three blocks. Only the steeple is no'
visible. In the school house, when
of brick. 200 men, women and chi
dren have found an ark OF refuge. VI
less there is a rise of another foot 0
SO, they are safe, but there are n
food supplieseand their need is urgeh
Several business houses were ca
ried away in the terrific current an
stocks valued at thousands of dollar
we're destroyed. No estimate can b
formed of the damage, but it Will pro-
ably amount to several hundred tho'
, sand dollars for both Madison an