The Forrest City times., 1912-04-19
AN INLAND SEA
 COVERS VALLEY Waters of the Mississippi Cover Many Miles. Making Thous-
 ands Homeless.
NO RELIEF EXPECTED SOON
With Further Rise of River Expected d Gloom PrevaiIs-No Loss of Life
 Has Yet Been Reported


 Little Rock.-An inland sea is rag ing up and down the course of the Mississippi. Many people are maroon. ed tn trees and in the upper stories Of houses and on roofs. The water lies from few inches deep to many feet and completely submerging houses and trees. Boats are at pre- miam and hard to obtain. In the neighborhood of small towns and cities 1t is now a familiar sight to see heav- fly laden boats and rafts coming out Of the surrounding country.
 Thousands of refugees are being cared for by the charity of others. Many are in destitute circumstances, having only a few clothes to keep them warm and protect them from the rains.
 Organized aid is being given throughout the state. The U. s. gov ernment has army officers in charge of camps and food distributing points where many people are being taken care of.
 Public subscriptions are being raised in every city and town and being used to relieve the suffering. Several thousand dollars have been raised and more are needed. Armed men are pa trolling the levees, watching them for weak points and keeping them from being cut. Others are fighting night and day at weak and breaking points to keep back the destructive tide
 Northeast and Southeast Arkansas and Northeast Louisiana is suffering the brunt of the floods as levees have broken iii the districts submerging the country for miles around.
 In places as far as the eye can reach nothing is to be seen but water and the water gradually rising and the crest of the flood not expected to pass for some time. Some idea of the immensity of the flood may be obtained when 1t is considered that in Louisiana alone there is l3 parishes under water, which is a considerable portion of the state.
 Since the first breaks about two weeks ago at Hickman, Kentucky, and opposite Memphis, the situation has been gradually growing worse. A great number of the refugees in the camps are negroes and they are be- coming hard to control and in some instances troops have been asked for to keep order or prevent outbreaks.
 A demoralized condition exists in many places as there is no business being carried on. Railroads have can celed trains because of the impossi- bility of operating them. Mail serv. ice has been interrupted and in some cases discontinued.
 The heaviest loss caused by the floods will be live stock, as many head perished Household goods comes next If houses are not strongly built and On firm foundation they are being swept away by the current. Practically all fences are destroyed About the only comfort 10 be found is that only in a few cases has any blowing or planting been done so there is no wasted labor and seed.
 Places where the levees are still holding people are living in hope that the leyees have held so long against odds which they were not built to stand
 The most amazing feature of the flood is that up to this time not a single life has been lost by drowning When in former times a heavy death toll always resulted from a flood This is all due to the well-built government levees and the method of organization in rescue work.
 Steamboats plying up and down the river are all warned to stay in the middle of the stream so that the wave wash will not do any damage Tn some cases where a pilot has neared a levee armed men have fired on the teamer as grim warning to keer in the center of the stream.
 Congress has appropriated s3O0,00( more for the relief of the sufferers and to repair the damage to levees before the June high water is due SC as 10 avoid a reptition of the present conditions.
 Rains have been falling in some O the overflowed sections causing ad ditional suffering and discomfort to all.
 At Little Rock the Arkansas river las been gradually falling but the Mississippi is getting higher.