The Saint Paul globe., 1903-06-02
Difficult Rescues by Police.


The muddy, desolate expansion of the
M1sseuri's surplus waters known To-
cally as the East Bottoms" furnished
continuous moving picture of difficult
rescues today. Lieutenant Of Police
Adams. Of the Eighth district police
station, assisted at first by five police
men and later by double that number
working with boats none too safe them
selves, continued throughout the day
to effect rescues under great difficult
ties. Probably rs people were removed
to places of safety in this section Of
the city. Nightfall found the rescuers
still at work.
From the Helms brewery nearly a
quarter of mile in the direction Of
the river the land was protected from
the rising waters by the embankment
of the Missouri Pacific railroad. This
embankment formed not only a safe
looking dyke, but vantage ground for
sightseers, nearly 1000 of whom were
strung along the tracks.
Lieutenant Scented DANCER.
Lieut.. Adams almost alone scented
danger in the embankment which 9TH
ers thought meant safety. With what
few policemen he had and a few VOL
unteers, he ordered the crowd from the
tracks. For an hour arguments and
commands proved futile he and his men
rushed the crowd from the tracks.
across the sheltered bottom lands to
the higher grounds south of the brew
cry. He found it impossible, how
ever, in many cases to persuade the
people in their own homes. to desert
their property. They insisted that the
embankment protected them.
1t was not more than half an hour
after the lieutenant had driven the
crowds from the embankment that the
flood began to weaken it. Soon a.
hole was made through the tracks and
then all at once the embankment crum-
bled away, the east bottoms for miles
were under water. and people were
crying for help and shooting pistols
from the roofs and upper windows of
their dwellings,
The brewery, the police station.
stores, saloons and scores of Gotta pes
were flooded and there was not a boat
within miles. Lieut.. Adams promptly
transferred headquarters to a four-by-
eight shed and began working wires in
every direction to get boats A few
people were rescued on RATS during the
night, but the active rescue work began
this morning when wagons with fifteen
boats arrived.
Taken From Telegraph Poles.
Men. women and children were res
SOCO 41O11l Tree DrduCnoSs Telegraph
poles, box cars and roofs. Twenty
people who spent the night in the Mar
tin school were taken out and about
thirty more were rescued from
O'Brien's lodging house.
In many instances the rescuers had
fairly to drag people into the boats.
They seemed to fear to leave their
homes, although the latter in most
cases appeared unable to stand long
against the flood.
Once on shore the refugees were
cared for in elevators, private houses
and some in tents. Food and hot coffee
were served to them by the relief com
nlittee. Men were CHARTERED in freight
cars the floors of which just cleared
the water.
Approximately $50 refugees from Ar
mourdale were rescued at the Twelfth
street viaduct. They were brought to
this point in boats by rescuing parties
that had gone up stream and picked
up their passengers as they f1oated
down.
Two deaths are known to have fol-
lowed the breaking of the Missouri
Pacific embankment. John HanIon. ac-
companied by D. Tannehill, was driy-
ing across the bottoms in a wagon
when the flood came. Hanlon was
swept off and drowned, but his com
panion escaped by swimming. John