The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-20

steadily. It is thought. however. that by tonight, If tnere is no more ram. the height of the flood will have been While it is not thought that the cities along the flooded portions of the river will suffer from the inundatlon, e,ea. l loss is prophesied to the crops on low iyi,,rr farm Handle. Today ali these will be overflowed and the current of the Alabama in many pfaces will be miles .. wide. yesterday 1t was reported that the rivers were on the point of over. | flowing their banks and that morning would doubtless see miles of farm land under water.
 Ouainous reports Of conditions along the river and tributaries, began com l ing to the local weather bureau early yesterday morning. and from then until late at night. every word received showed an incfeasinly serious situa- ton. The rise, beginning in the north could be traced from the reports as t increased, and passed down the valley. At two o'clock in the afternoon, the water registered 23.4 feet at Gadsderi. having risen AS feet m seven hours. At Wetumpka, the water stage was 46 feet having risen 12 feet since six o'clock in the morning. At the same hour the river at Montgomery regis tered 27 feet. which marked q rise of
  ma, a rise of 26 feet in sevea hours had placed the river at the 36.s feet mark.
 Isapid Rise At wetumpka.
 By four o'clock. tho water at We- tumpka had risen to more than ss feet and two hours later registered 4e.S feet. The danger stage, the point at which the river overfiows It's banks. had been passed. and merchants were moving their goods from the cellars and carrying them to higher ground out of the way of danger. Water was still rising at this point when the re- ports ceased coming last night.
 The danger stages at the different points along the river are as follows. Gadsden, 22 feet; wetumpka. 45 feet. ]. Montgomery, s5 feet; Selma. 3s feet. This means that the low ground At all these points and between these points will be under water before the flood Is through its course. Practically the en. tire valley will be inundated.
 According to the indications yester- day, the highest water would pass we- tumpka during the night, reaching Montgomery late this afternoon or eveniiE. and Selma tomorrow night. It was stated yesterday that the river would probably touch 46 feet at this place, and is feet at Selma, where the volume of water would be stronger. At a height of 46 feet, the mark prophesied for Montgomery, all the low land on the opposite side of the river from the city will be covered with ten feet of water. The city Itself, however. Is not expected to suffer damage. as depth of 46 feet will merely flood the lower end of the pass under the Louisville and Nashville tracks at the foot of Commerce Street.
 siwhtseers Watch Iaiver.
 F4I e. ar m.. thronged with sightseers yesterday. During the day hundreds came to the bank and watched the rising flood. The current was filled with debris. logs and underbrush from noon on, and fre- quently drifts Of eornstaIks were to be seen; showing that some Of the lower land had already been overfiowed.
 The ferries were forced to suspend their business about noon, when the in- creasing strength of the cufreHt made transportation across the river danger. ous A number of persons having property on the other side of the stream made the passage in rowboats, being carried a considerable distance down stream before reaching the other side. The current at 1 o'clock yesterday af- ternoon had reached a speed of about eight miles an hour, and the water at that time was rising at the rate of e4 inches an hour
 The river men did a land ofioe busi- ness during the day. capturing floating logs and making small rafts of them for future disposal. A large amount Of drifting timber was secured in this way.
 The most destructive flood the city of MontRonery has ever known occurred on Aprii 1, 1sss. when the river reached a stage of 59.7 feet at Montgomery, something over IS feet more than IS