The Green Forest tribune., 1907-01-11
Heavy Rains Cause Great Damage,

uduldSS SScuS tO nave USGu III the vicinity of Little Rock and Hot Springs. The two cities are practical ly isolated because of the many wash outs on the railroads entering the two cities. Many families in the bottom lands have been driven from their homes. Hundreds of head of cattle, hogs and live stock have been drowned and reports are expected of loss of hu- | man life. Fourche bottom, south of Little Rock, is filled with water and water has backed up into number | of houses along the southern border | of the city.
 No report has been received of loss 1 of life as a result of the flood, but it | is feared in the southern part of the | city that one or two negroes who live near the Fourche river may have been lost. One old negro lives alone on an island at the junction of Fourche creek and Fourche river and reports are to the effect that when last seen he was on top of his house with no possibility of getting to the bank on either side. Another negro was re- ported to have been sighted in tree near this point. The stream at this place is two or three miles wide and is deep enough to hide all but the tops of trees. No attempt has been made to cross in boats at any point other | than along the Iron Mountain right of way.
 Both the Rock Island and the Iron Mountain railroads have been badly tied up as far as service into Little Rock is concerned. Neither road at tempted to run any freight trains. The Iron Mountain was in worse con- dition than the Rock Island, as it's lines in three out of the four direc- tions in which they run were out of commission. Train service both north and south on the main line was at a standstill, owing to the washouts, and the same condition prevailed on the line between Little Rock and Pine Bluff. The only branch of the Iron Mountain on which there was train service was the Fort Smith road, and trains arrived and departed over that line close to schedule time.
 The first estimate of damage sus tained by Hot Springs has been re duced by later reports. It is believed now that it will not exceed $25,0O0 although this estimate may be in creased when detailed reports are re | ceived.
 A report which has been in circula ton that the Gardner bridge across Ouachita river, recently constructed at a cost of S60,000, was washed away cannot be verified. There have also been many reports of lives lost, but 1 they are funtrue.
 Nearly every business house oh Central avenue, the main thorot :. fare of the city, has been damaged from s3,00O to s5,000. The greatest loss has been sustained by the street car company. The tracks for con avenue have been washed out and the grandstand box seats at Wilmington park have been washed away. Both Whittington and Government parks have been badly torn up. Many trees have been uprooted and washed away in Government park.
 No mails were, received for several days,on account of washouts.
 Black river in the vicinity of Poca- hontas is rising rapidly and record breaking overflow is predicted by old river men. All the mills along the river have closed down and will not resume work for three weeks if it does not rain anymore. At least twenty-five per cent of the cotton along the river, which has not been | gathered, will be completely destroyed The tracks of the Frisco are washed out ana the local trains north from Pocahontas are discontinued for the present. The water is over the tracks for a distance of several hundred yards and it cannot be determined just how bad the washouts are.
 Just how much damage has been done to bridges and highways in the section visited by the heavy rains, and the swift rise of the rivers and streams, is not accurately known, but the money loss will be considerable. l Arkansas Prosperous in 1906.
 The entire state of Arkansas en- joyed a prosperous year in 1906 and the outlook is bright for 1907. The Mercantile Agency of R. G. Dun & Co.,, whose branch office in Little Rock is in touch with all parts of the state, forwarded it's annual review of trade conditions in Little Rock and Arkan- sas to the home office yesterday. The report will be published in Dun's Re view The following is an extract from the report:
 Trade conditions for the year of 1906 in Little Rock and throughout the state of Arkansas show pros porous condition, and the state to have kept pace with the general develop ment of the country.
 "The volume of trade has been greater than ever before. More new houses were established, more new mills put in operation, more farming lands cleared and more coal mined and more lumber cut than ever before in the history of the state.
 "The jobbing houses throughout Arkansas have been especially pro cNho0I rN rEANL MJl IJNE