Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1903-06-05
Immense Loss of Lives and Millions of Dollars
Worth Of Property
ONLY PARTIAL REPORTS OBTAINABLE
The Flood Now Seems To Be On The Decline

sas people, in the way of property
loss, has been experienced in eastern
and central Kansas during the past
week.
Continued rains, falling for week
or more without ceasing, in some
places developing into regular cloud
bursts have swollen the streams and
rivers, swept away bridges, railroad
tracks, buildings and dams and COM
pletely denforalized traffic on all rail
roads, paralyzed the telegraph lines,
and made it almost impossible to get
information of any kind from the
stricken districts. The best we can
furnish our readers is taken from
Kansas City and Topeka papers three
or four days old.
Topeka Herald Saturday evening May 3O.)
People who did not leave North To-
peka last nightare now hemmed in by
the Kay river flood and are in danger
of losing their lives.
Every foot Of North Topeka is un-
der water The current is SO swift
that the boats cannot live in it.
The inhabitants have been forced
to the top floor or to the roof, and are
waiting for the water to subside. or to
carry them oown stream perhaps to
death.
Some of the unfortunates are hys-
terical, others calm. A few have been
seen in an attitude of prayer.
Below town a score or more of men
are in tree tops, yelling for help.
Thousands of revolver shots and
screams have been heard on the
North Side-signals for aid.
There already have been drown
ings. The number is variously esti-
mated at from a dozen to a hundred:
Several boats and wagons have been
overturned, and men and women have
been seen struggling in the water.
1t is impossible to tell how many
escaped or were drowned.
The rescuers worked all night un-
der the greatest of difficulty. When
morning came the water at the north
end of the Melan bridge was so deep
and the current so swift that the
rescue wagons had to stop. Boats
were operated o till s O'Clock when
they no longer could be made to stem
the current.
1t is estimated that there are from
1000 to 1,500 people still in North
Topeka. They are safe only as the
houses stand.
The river reached the Rock Island
depot, on First street, this morning.
&c ichf
feet deep, and the current is like
mill race. Perhaps hundred people
have been dumped into the water at
that point.
The river is twenty-five feet above
low water mark, and is still rising.
The fact that 1000 people are
made homeless in a night is appall-
ing.
While the North Side is flooded,
the south side is suffering from lack
of water. The water plant was shut
down at 5 O'Clock this morning.
Back water from the. Kaw put the
furnace fires out
With the water plant out of COM
mission, all the factories and mills
have to Shut down.
The electric Slight and gas plants
have tanks which will enable them to
run today and perhaps tomorrow.
kansas City journal, Sunday May s1st.)
Both the Kaw and the Missouri
rivers were still rising last night, and
both streams will continue to rise
today.
At 6 o'clock last night the official
reading of the Missouri river was 26.I
feet The danger line is 81 feet.
The expected rise in the Missouri
today is to $685. and probably 81.
The high water record of 1881 was
26.3 feet. In 1914 the river reached
a stage of 81 feet.
In Armourdale, between 10000
and 10000 people are homeless.
The water stands three or four feet
deep on Kansas avenue and through
out the town. Thousands fed from
their homes, abandoning to the food
all their earthly possessions, In order
to escape death by drowning.
Prompt and efficient work to re-
lieve the distressful condition of the
unfortunate was done by the officers
of Kansas City, Kas., and Wyandotte
county churches and school houses
and the homes of people were thrown
open to the food sufferers.
Under the cover of darkness last