Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1912-04-18
THE FLOOD LOSSES
over SlO,OOO,0OO
THIRTY: THOUSAND PERSONS
HOMELESS 1000 SQUARE
Miles INUNDATED.
Hundreds of People Are Marooned on
Housetops, in Trees, and Anchored on
Rafts-Cairo, Illinois, An Island City
for Many Days-Livestock persisted
and Railroad Service Demoralized.

Cairo, Ill.-Cairo is an island city,
surrounded by water, the crest of which
is one foot higher than the average
level of the city. In many places this
water stands 20 feet higher than the
streets.
With bright sun after the severe
rain and windstorm Saturday night,
hope returned to the fighting levee pro-
tectors. For the first time in a week
the workers had a rest, although the
watchfuluess along the levee was not
relaxed.
Two thousand levee workers were
scattered about the great levees at sun
down to renew their patrol.
Generous donations from all parts of
Kentucky are being sent to Hickman
to aid the $500 flood refugees who have
struggled into that city.
A large number of steamboats, are
plying between this city and flooded
towns below in search of stock, which
is being landed on the hills near Wick
life, Ky. Express companies are car
rying supplies to refugee free of charge.
Several thousand acres of wheat are
under water in Mississippi county, Mis-
souri,. Many thousand dollars worth
of stock have persisted and farmers are
living in their attics.
For four days Cairo has been an
island city. When the levees protect
ing the drainage district went out, April
t. all railroad communication was stop
ped, and the only entrance to the city
now is by boat from Mounds, nine miles
away.
Five Feet of Water at Depot.
Mounds nominally is an inland town
three miles from the Ohio river, but
now there is water five feet deep at
the Big Four depot.
Almost 100000 has been used fight
ing the flood at Cairo and in the drain
age district. Five thousand or more
men have been paid an average of $1.5o
week for more than a week.
Three Levees at Cairo.
Cairo is protected by three main
levees and several small ones. There
is a 56-foot stone wall and embank-
ment on the Ohio kept up by the Ill
inois Central railroad, 50-foot levee
on the Mississippi side maintained by
the Mobile G. Ohio and the Big Four,
and third levee S3 feet high separ-
ates the city from the drainage district.
The third levee is the approach to the
Illinois Central bridge, and is kept up
by three railroads. The levees belong
to the city, but were built and are main
tanned by the railroads.
There are few women and children
left in Cairo.
Water is pouring into Arkansas
through three new breaks in the levee
south of Memphis. These gave way
Sunday, and several hundred miles are
subject to flooding.
Railroad traffic virtually is paralyz-
ed Hundreds of persons are marooned
on housetops, in trees and on anchored
RATS.
Thirty Thousand persons homeless;
two thousand square miles OF country
inundated; thirty persons drowned, and
a financial loss of $10,000,oO0 consti-
tute the result of two weeks flood in
the Mississippi valley. These figures
were arrived at by government engi-
neers and officials of the state levee
boards engaged in battling the ravaging
sweep of the Mississippi river from
points in Illinois to threatened places
in Mississippi and Arkansas.
Eo,,+,1cIu fnr Taff