Omaha daily bee., 1903-06-06
Families Flee Hurrisdly from the Rising
Tide About Them.
HlRTY-sEVEN FEET MONDAYS STAGE
Government Forecasts Are Anything but
Cheering.
LEvEtS ARE BEGINNING TO GIVE WAY
One Along the Illinois shore fTou
Hannibal Northward Has Broken
and Permitted a submerEInE
of West Granite.

ST. LOUIS. June S-The terrific force and
tho destructive magnitude of the great
food that is sweeping down the Mississippi.
steadily increasing in volume surrounding
and demolishing barriers Of protection,
greedily tapping at property and reaching
for lives as q resistlessiy extends farther
and farther beyond the river confines, is
now being felt in St. Louis and vicinity 70
alarming extent. The flood is the one
absorbing topic OF conservative people
gathered to view the torrent swirlinE past
st. Louis and spreading out over the low
lands with devastating energy
At O'Clock tonight the stage had reached
A4 feet, n rise Of Z of a foot since Z
o'clock this morning. Government Fore
caster Bowie tonight issued bulletin pre-
dieting a stage Of S5 feet by tomorrow
noon. SO feet by Sunday and % feet on
Monday. The Mississippi north OF the
mouth of the Missouri is rising STILL but
the rapidity OF the rise has been diminished
because of the breaks I'm levees. The great
Sny levee which extends for miles along tho
Illinois shore from Hannibal northward,
broke today and the angry waters went
rushing through the crevasse to devastate
thousands of acres of fertile farming lands.
- Lives Lost as Yet.
No report Of loss of life has been re-
ceived up to o'clock tonight Later in the
day the flood forced a passage through the
levee at Madison ILL.,. just north OF ST.
Louis. This levee is fifteen miles long and
for days men have been hard at work to
strengthen it. But the river found its weak
point in sewer way and the water burst
through like a huge geyser Carloads of
bags of sand and other available material
were hurried to the bank and dumped in
- -.
flling and the break constantly widened.
West Granite. a town of 1000 people, Is
located in depression between the levee
and railroad embankment. Warning had
been sounded and the Inhabitants had
sought safety when the deluge came. II 10
believed all escaped. but the town is Under
water. ..--
Like the ancient city Of Venice the
streets of Venice. Ill, almost opposite 81.
Louis, are waterways and the inhabitants
go about In boats Venice was the frst
town in this vicinity to feel the full force
of this flood and has been under water
two days. There is reason for grave fear
that the waters may break through ad-
dtionaI levees and railroad embankments
| and rush down upon East st. Louis, infict-
| ing by the suddenness of the onslaught
very great damage.
In St. Louis the buildings along the river
! front have been abandoned practically as
| the first floors are more than foot under
water, which stands tonight two feet deep
| on the top of the steamboat levee. Levee
! denizens are preparing for the worst. All
! day wagons have been hauling away the
contents of the flooded stores. Excursion
boats are doing a thriving business, being
thronged with sightseers anxious to make
! the trip down to the southern boundary Of
| 20, red
Families Forced from Homes.
In South st. Louis fully 100 families liv-
ing near the mouth Of the river Des Pares
were forced TO leave their houses today by
the advancing water. and many families
| living in house boats ned to land for shell
/ ter Men, and in some cases even women,
worked TO their waists in the swiTling
waters with ropes and wire cables anchor.
ing their homes to the railroad tracks and
to trees on high ground. Wagons were
backed into the river to their beds and
| furniture loaded in. Many families re-
mained in their homes even after the water
had risen several feet deep in the first
floors. but the rising food tide began to
sway the houses threateningly and the
brave occupants were driven forth.
! Burlington switch engine having on
board a switching crew of four men, top
pied from the undermined track into five
| feet Of water north of the Merchants
bridge today. The men felt the engine sink
ing and, leaping into the water, swan
ashore.
The interrupted train service has i'm
proved, although more or less delay attends
their running. Owing to the fact that por-
tions Of the Wabash, Missouri Kansas &
Texas, Chicago q Alton and sante Fe are
under water west Of 81. Louis, the Mis-
! souri, Pacific has temporarily become the
| main outlet to the west and the
| above mentioned roads for the time
being operating their trains over
the Missouri Pacific tracks, The st.
| Louis & San Francis. running 20 the
south7sest, has not heen inconvenieneed by
the flood and IS running regularly. The st.
| Louis. Iron Mountain a. Southern, running
TO the south along the Mississippi has not
bees reached by the high water and trafho
Is not impeded The Burlington trains run
ming west are using the wabash tracks 20
ST. Peters, where they cannot with their
own line
VIII Ferry Passengers.
General Passenger Agent Townsend Of the
Missouri Pacific. tonight issued circular
20 the effect that arrangements have been
completed for transferring through pas
sengers free Of charge between Kansas
City. Mo. and Kansas City, Kan, by the
steamer Columbia. Excepting that the
different roads are carrying passengers by
detoured routes. regular service practically
has been resumed
A telephone message was received tonight
from Waterloo, Ill, forty miles below st.
Louis, situated I'm the lowlands several
miles from the river saying that the nood
has spread 10 that point and a levee erected
for just such an emergency Is I'm danger Of
being Washed away. Government aid f.
asked 10 strengthen the leyee and avert
the threatened inundatlOn OF the town In
vestigation Is being made and II Il Is found
that lives arc In danger a government boat
will be rushed there at once
Reports are received today OF a cloud