The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-03


 Baton Rouge, La. May With an ever widening rent in the west levee line at Torras. letting the waters of the Mssis- sippi through to the rich sugar lands of Point Coupee parish; with the states big farm at Angola, on the east side of the river. flooded by crevasse at noon today; with weak spots in the Grand Bay enibankment above Morganza and threat enlns conditions in Baton Rouge. and with steady rain falling to soften the already strained levees. the situation in central Louisiana is the most desperate | since the floods began pouring down | through the Mississippi valley. | It became apparent early today that the Torras crevasse with it's 12-hour start could not be stopped and the federal and state engineers turned from the constant ly widening gap there to devote their | labors to the almost hopeless task of saving remaining levees where even greater damage might be done by crew. asses.
 Situation Is Alarming
 Capt. (. 0. sherril chief Of the federal engineers. freely admitted tonight that the situation is alarming several points south of the Red river Captain Sherrill and force of several thousand experi- eneed workmen are laboring day and night now Sut they are facing greater odds than ever before were presented by floods in the lower Mississippi valley. They have slight grounds for passing hopes of keeping the west levee line from Baton Rouge south intact. Captain Sherrin arrived in Baton Rouge tonight from Che Torras crevssse with Governor Sanders and Masor yelr. prssx iiehnt Of tbNfAsi leyrss AftSf { iJ'ys t.esl st svslSsI i. threatening sita5ffon along the aafS ront. Captain shestfil immediately put force to work ( sa- ing the cgoss levse runs From tl.e bay back to the hills. ThqA ' -lere is nearly two feet above ths previous flood record and rising rapidly. At o'clock tonight the flood was within 1s inches of the top of the sandbags which have been placed along the river levee pro- tecting Front street. This levee may break at any time, but it would not flood tho residential or main business portion of the city. The damage would be con fined largely to the wholesale district.
 Hundreds Await Boats
 Although several hundred people were today removed from the territory food ed by the Torras break, hundreds of oth- CTS are lining the west bank of the river.
  them to high land. Appeals have been coming in all day long for gasoline launches and small craft to assist Tn getting people out of the overflow coun- try south of Torras.
 The flood waters in the Atchafalaya district today swept over the tracks of the Frisco railroad at Elliott City and the Texas and Pacific line is out of commission from Batchelor north to Tor- ras. a distance of about fl miles. Torras Lake
 Torras, La, May "A lake of water tonight covers the town of Torras to a depth ranging from two to six feet and the Mississippi flood waters are pouring through the erevasse which occurred in the levees late yesterday at the rate of 1 F miles an hour This torrent of flood water has covered the little towns of | Lettsworth. Innls. Venvenue and Smith, land and is rapidly flooding Pointe Coupee parish between the Mississippi and Atcha- falaya rivers.
 Creyasse 800 Feet Wide While the water from the Torras crew asse may eventually inundate sections of six or eight parishes south of here. state and federal engineers tonight stated that the very severe damage would largely be confined to Ponte Coupee parish, north of line from New Roads to Neville. Below that point 1t is believed that the water can be held off of much of the farming lands by strengthening the back levees which the planters maintain around their cultivated fields. The crev- asse tonight is about 800 feet wide. The federal and state engineers aban- doned the idea of attempting to close the creyasse at noon today. Physical difficulties were such as to make 1t prac- tieally impossible to do effective work. Even had prospects been more favorable the cost of the undertaking was esti- mated at not less than Si00,000.
 Boats Do Good Work
 Captain Sherrill chief of the United States engineers, in charge of the fourth district levee work. assigned all of the boats under his control here to the res- cue work and his forces. together with those under Captain Lomax. United States army, on the steamer Nokomis. trans ferred practically all of the people in the town and several thousand head of live stock to points on the east side of the river. These federal forces also as- sisted in saving thousands of dollars worth of household goods from the build ings. Many of the residents of Torras were taken to the Tunic Hills. and some others went on to Baton Rouge.
 Utter Panic Prevailed
 Torras, May 2.-Rushing about the streets like persons bereft of their req son. women sereaming and men yelling as they hurried into their homes and grabbed their children and what articles of clothes and valuables they could place in their hands, on in their mad effort to reach places of safety and the stam- peding of animals turned loose by their owners to seek safer places, were some of the chaotic conditions that prevailed in Torras during the night when the alarm was sounded that the levee at the junction of the Old and Mississippi rivers | had given way to the mighty pressure nf tha fnnd watnr hefnre It