Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-10
FROM FLOOD
Kansas City and Suburbs
Menaced by High Water.
MOST SERIOUS SINCE 1903
bikes Break and Entire Towns Are
Under Water.
MANY FLEE FOR THEIR LIVES
Men Carried Wives and Children on
Their Backs, Wading Waist Deep.
Swollen Streams Elsewhere.
Special Dispatch 10 The Star.

Special Dispatch 10 The Star.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. June lo--lhe
Missouri and kaw rivers are still rising
this morning and the water is within a
block of the Union depot. The emergency
dikes in Armourdale broke last night and
the whole of that suburb is under water
TODAY. although there is little current
and the damage will be slight. Two
other suburban towns. Argentine and Har-
lem. are flooded.
In Argentine the water rose suddenly
to a depth of three feet or more late
last night. About 80 families. who had
felt secure because of the news of the
receding water above, were caught un-
awares In the hurried exodus few es-
ned with anything more than the cloth
ing thew wore. In many cases men car
ried their wives and children on their
backs for several blocks. wadfag through
the water. which was waist deep In all the
streets.
Residents of the flooded districts fled
to the hills, taking refuge in churches,
schools and public buildings, or camping
out for the night in the open air. Only
eight families We're left in Harlem iast
night and four of these were housed in
the town hall. which stands on rising
ground and was packed full of furniture.
while upstairs cots had been set up and
gas stoves for cooking.
Water Came Up Quickly.
The water in the west bottoms came up
very quickly an hour before midnight,
and by 1 o'clock had spread for a mile or
which can be obtained are at work NOV
ing household goods from deserted houses.
tile water being already above the knees.
The employees of wholesale houses and
factories were busy all night moving ma
chinery and stock from the first to the
second floor.
At the stock yards the water is over d
part of the outside unloading platform.
having reached depth of about four feet
on the first track. This morning the wa
ter lacked about a foot of reaching the
main buildings OF the packing company.
All the packers yards To the north are
under water The live stock has been
moved to the chutes and second decks.
Early i'm the night masses of driftwood
threatened the Missouri Pacific and
Union Pacific bridges. and score of
men on each bridge worked with boat
away the driftwoOd. At one of the
bridges the wreckage had massed itself
this morning so that the water was a
foot higher on the upstream side than
below 1t is largely the blocking of the
water here which has caused the flood to
spread SO far inland.
Flood Crest at Noon.
The weather bureau bulletin today says
The flood crest will reach Kansas City
at noon today. with stage between
twenty and twenty-.even feet on the
Missouri gauge and perhaps little more
than twenty-six feet on the Kaw After
the crest has been reached the Missouri
will remain nearly stationary for twenty
four hours after which ii will fall slowly.
The low bottom lands below Kansas City
will be overfiowed.
The packing houses We're fully prepared
for the high water and will suffer very
little damage. They are already prepar-
ing to res ume operations as soon ~ the
water recetles. The Swift managers an
nounced this morning that If the water
does not go above twcnty-siX feet they
Will resume work tomorrow. Al the Cud-
ahy plant 1t was said that no part ocular
damage had been done by the water. and
that killing would begin as soon the
crest of the flood had passed. There are