The Nevada County picayune., 1908-11-05
MUCH DAMAGE BEING DONE.
Jefferson Hote, Stands Within 40 Feet of the Crumbling River Front
 Efforts Made to Save City.

Pine Bluff, Ark.-The Arkansas river continues to eat it's way into the very heart of the business district of Pine Bluff and the situation is more alarm ing than at any time since the river bank began to give way between Chestnut and State streets week ago.
 Early Monday morning the two big cotton warehouses on the river front between Chestnut and Pine streets were badly damaged when their north walls tumbled into the Arkansas river. The buildings are almost completely wrecked and it is believed both have been undermined by the water and will gradually be swe.' away.
 The bank continues to cave rapid ly in the rear of the Hotel Jefferson and the Jefferson county court house. The greatest damage was done at the foot of Chestnut street Monday morn ing, when thirty feet of earth crashed into the river, completely cutting off Pullen street, and it is now feared that cottages which now barely hang over the river edge will meet a similar fate.
 William Parkin, the government en- gineer who has been in charge of the reyetment work here for several days, was forced to return to his headquar- ters at Little Rock Monday afternoon and A. G. Chapman of Shreveport, La. i. an expert river engineer, was placed in charge here Before leaving the city Mir. Parkin declared that the sit nation was far from encouraging. He predicted that unless the steps already taken along the caving river front of the city losing it's magnificent $150,000 HCtel Jefferson and Jefferson county also sustaining the loss of it's costly court house, Other property owners along the river front will also suffer heavy losses, he said.
 Hundreds of men, with 90 teams at their command, are making a deter mined effort to save the most attrac tive business section of Pine Bluff They have been working night and day since Thursday and their work while effective in some places, has not proven of any great value, for the bank continues caving alarmingly from Chestnut street 10 Tennessee street. Engineer Parkin states, how ever, that he believes the fascines are river is full of eddes and is not con- fining it's damaging work to any one point makes it difficult to deal with. Mir. Parker says the river is gradu- ally eating it's way under the banks all along the river front, and as fast as the fascines are placed in one block the water undermines another part of the river front.
 The only point alGng the river front between Chestnut and Tennessee streets that has not suffered material ly from the swift current is that along the bank where stands Berlin's large livery and sales stables and in the rear of the block east of this proper ty No uneasiness is felt for that quarter. however, as the current seems
 
 eats away the southwest point of the bank on the north side of the river.
 Circuit Judge A. B. Grace. who has his offices in the rear of the county court house on the second floor, be- came alarmed Monday morning at the seriousness of the situation, and moved to an office in the front part of the building. which is the original annex of the big structure His of flee was at the extreme north end of the building, the wall of which now stands just 30 feet from the edge of the fast caving river bank
 Only 40 feet of ground separates the Hotel Jefferson from the river and the bank caved considerably at that point Monday.
 The Boyd place. on the north side of the river, is being gradually washed away. A small cottage on the place was washed into the river Sunday, and other property. including much timber, was lost.