The Indianapolis journal., 1903-06-01
NO MEANS OF ESTIMATING DEATHS
DUE TO THE FLAMES.
Twenty Floating Bodies Seen, a Few
Dead Are Identified and Hun.
dreds Are Missing.
FULLY 5000 HOMELESS

PROPERTY LOSS ESTIMATED AT NOT
LESS THAN $4,0OO.0O0.
Fear of Pestilence Adds Another
Complication and Projects
for ReIief-0ther Details.
TOPEKA, Kan, May 31.-There is ground
for hope that the worst has passed So
treacherous has the Kansas river proved
itself to-day I'm the rising of the water to-
night so slowly as to be imperceptible the
hve-mile stream is settling back into its
rightful channel Up and down the official
gauge has fiuttered all day. Tonight. how
ever. City Engineer McCable issued a bulle-
tin giving out the cheering intelligence that
the waters had subsided to the extent of
exactly ~ inches. 1t may be a few hours
before another drop may be noticed. With
175 or 200 lives lost millions of dollars Of
property destroyed. hundreds of pistol shots
as signals of distress blended with the ag-
cnizing cries Of unwilling inhabitants Of
tree tops and roofs Of houses. and the wa
ters creeping UP and then slowly subsiding
and alternately changing hope to despair.
the capital city has passed the most men,
orable Sabbath day of it's existence.
Through all this discomforting condition Of
affairs added the presence of cold.
dismal rain.
The ardor Of the rescue work of the heroic
rescuers was not abated In the least by the
dreary hours. knee deep in water and some
times in water up to their necks. they
worked with might and main. Tonight
they can proudly point to three hundred or
more rescued ones who otherwise might
have been swept away in the current.
Briefly stated the present condition of
the flood is this:
Drowned ............................. ITO TO 200
without homes S,UUO
Property destroyed ...................s40OO,OO0 900
Identified dead .-......-....-.....-... 5
Floating bodies seen .................. 20
Persons missing ................... 200
Houses burned In flood district. 200
Banks collapsed .................... 2
Wholesale grocery stores Hooded. 2
Big business blocks crumbling..... 80
Wholesale houses deserted .......... s
DraLx Tulo nd rain s-Cnfo ofrfr,
sengers. held here by high water.
City water works plant useless.
The Known Drowned
KARL RUPP.
ORvILLE RUPP.
TWO RUPP GIRLS.
@. H. CARROTS fve-year-old son.
Twenty unidentified bodies.
Leading men have made careful exami-
nation OF the food and all it's conditions
and as result of their investigation they
give go as the probable number of lives
lost. A more conservative estimate places
the number OF dead at Us.
The higher number Is as apt to be correct
as the lower. The number of dead is merely
q matter Of estimate. Twenty members of
tley
pie drop from houses only to be swept away
by the flood and others tell OF men who.
terrified at the approach OF the fire. dropped
into the water, where they sank and did
not reappear.
not include the large number classed as
missing who cannot otherwise be accounted
for Neither does 1t include the number
who are supposed to have lost their lives
In the fire. In the latter class there is alb
soluteIy no means OF arriving at even an
approximate number OF victims.
The water Is 50 high and the current so
strong that all that can be done now is
to rescue those In buildings surrounded by
water.
It viii be at least three days before the
correct number of dead will be decided on
Work of rescuing the victims OF the flood
is pushing forward with vigor. Better re-
suits have characterized the efforts of the
organized forces since o'clock this after
noon than during all the preceding twenty
four hours. Two little steam launches are
now putting up and down the river, picking
up survivors A large steamboat is ex-
pected here by a special train on the Rock
Island within twenty-four hours, IL II is
possible to a train.
n udiulodu Ol Small DOatS were In use
to-day. but they were useless In battling
with the mighty current.
A wire cable has been stretched across
the Kansas-avenue bridge To this will be
attached a sand dip, and refugees will be
| brought across in this manner. II the flood
does not rise further and those not yet
reached can keep their places a few hours
longer there need not necessarily be a much
larger loss of life
Large contributions already have been
received for the benefit OF the sufferers
The amount given by Topeka citizens alone
viii aggregate 100000. To this is to be
added an Immense quantit.' OF clothing. pro-
Visions aad general supplies. Outside towns