New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-05-09
Raging Waters Of the Mississippi
Pouring Over New Territory
Heretofore Supposed To
Be Safe.
COURIERS WARN CITIZENS
Property Damage Now Reaches
$50,000,000, and Federal
Officials Believe This Will
Be Largely In.
creased.

creased.
New Orleans, May S.-Generally. the
food situation in the lower Mississippi
Valley was much improved to-day. An
other day of sunshine gave the workers
on the levees some advantage, and TO-
night reports are favorable as far as
more breaks are concerned.
Pitiful tales Of refugees continue TO
come in however. from many sections.
There now are 1000 refugees at Baton
Rouge. About 800 were taken there to-
day from New Roads, 70 which place
they had been sent from the surround
ing territory
Citizens Of Luther sent threats to-day
To the Governors office that the tracks
OF the Yazoo G. Mississippi Valley Rail-
road would he torn up unless the gap
i'm the Pontchartrain protection levee
were closed.
Railroad Gap Hold Open.
II required four days and four nights
of hard work To close the drainage gap,
and the Job was finished early to-day,
but the railroad gap is still open Tho
Lutcher people say they would be mum
dated in the even Of break here II the
protection levee should fail.
In this city the situation tonight con-
Germs more largely the scenes OF activity
around the relief headquarters, where
carloads after carloads OF supplies are
being boxed up and shipped out to the
refugee camps in Central and Northern
Louisiana, rather than any alarming
condition on the river front.
Levee conditions are improved, but the
work Of strengthening the line of revet-
ments and topping low places continues.
United States and state engineers de-
clare there is not the slightest danger
Of a break here. They consider the
stretch OF eight thousand feet at Ames-
Vile. across the river from New Or
leans, the only bad line OF levees in the
immediate vicinity of the city. About
one hundred and fifty men are at work
on this stretch, and Captain Sheriff.,
chief of the United States army engi-
neers, in charge of the work, stated to-
night that he considered it absolutely
safe.
At Esplanade street where the South
ern Pacific ferryhouse is flooded, single
line of sandbags holds back the water,
but several carloads Of sandbags are AT
hand. should they be needed. The seep-
age at the head Of Canal street has been
effectively stopped.
Aid for Sufferers.
Samuel Blum, chairman OF the New
Orleans relief committee, continued to-
day TO send heavy shipments OF CLOTH
ing and shoes TO food sufferers in the
section affected by the Torras crevasse
and the flood waters Of the Atchafalaya
River.
The railroads and express companies
transport all OF these supplies free OF
charge, and have been furnishing the
committee with special express cars for
all big shipments.
Mayor Behrman issued a statement
to-day, in which he bitterly denounced
the authors OF sensational reports con-
cerning the food situation in New Or
leans which recently have appeared in
papers outside Of this city. He said
there was no danger in New Orleans.
H..
dikes, but the flood waters continued to
spread over new territory. The torrent
from the crevasse at Torras reached
New Roads to-day, and thousands OF
persons in territory that had been con-
sidered safe from the oncoming food are
endangered. Couriers have been sent
out TO warn the inhabitants 10 flee.
New Roads. La. May Sit is be-
lieved by those in charge Of food relief
work that practically all the marooncd
inhabitants OF Pointe Coupee Parish will
have been rescued by the end OF this
week. Texas & Pacific railroad officials
say their road has carried about seven
thousand persons from points along their
line in the upper part of the parish.
The Texas & Pacific station at New
Roads is crowded with white refugees
waiting TO be taken TO the relief camp at
Baton Rouge. Among them are four
women who were rescued near Nor
ganza. They had stood I'm water several
feet deep for nearly three days, when
boatmen reached them.
Waters from the Torras crevasse con-
tinue to spread over West Baton Rouge
and Ibervile parishes.
The situation in the country between
the main line and the Port Allen branch
of the Texas & Pacific Railroad is about
as dark as words can paint 1t. The
main line of the road is washed out In
numerous places, and inhabitants OF the
interior are cut off from relief trains.
The only way they can be reached Is by
which the government rep
resentatives have arranged to send out.
Melville, La, May S.-The destitution
and distress that follow in the path OF
crevasses had practical demonstration
when the steamer Whitman, with $50
refugees from the McCres section OF
Pointe Coupee Parish landed here. These
unfortunates were picked up along the
levee, where they had been for three
days without shelter while an almost
continuous rain had prevented the cook
ing Of the rations which had been given
them. Many. however, refused to be
taken away, preferring to remain and