Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1912-04-26
FLOOD CLAIMS
HEAVY DEATH TOLL
ESTIMATES OF DROWNED FROM
FIFTY TO ONE HUNDRED.
DEATHS FROM EXPOSURE
Two Women Reported Dead-Relief
Work Retarded by Progress of the
Flood-River Falling Rapidly
at Points Above Memphis.

Memphis, Tenn.-With a death list
variously estimated at from so to 100
people, mostly negroes, the break in
the lower Yazoo delta at Beulah, Miss,
rapidly widening, the beautiful Missis-
sippi delta, the most thickly inhabited
section yet visited by the flood, is being
rapidly converted into an inland sea.
Already it is estimated more than TWEEN
ty-fve square miles have been mum
dated and the water is spreading with
greater rapidity than from any break
which has yet occsrred. Thousands Of
families are deprived of homes, hun
dreds have been rescued and many more
are awaiting rescue in remote parts the
limited number of rescuers have been
as yet unable to reach.
A score of small towns are now I'm
der water from three to fifteen feet deep
and relief of all the homeless is a
stupendous task. Deaths from exposure
are reported daily. So far most of the
fatalities have been among the ne
groes, but news was received of the
death of two white women at Benoit.
Relief work. among the thousands of
homeless people is being well conducted
under the supervision of state and fed
eral officials with headquarters at Vicks-
burg, where already about 5000 negroes
from Louisiana are quartered. Relief
stations have been established at a
dozen points in Northeastern Louisiana
and at points in Mississippi throngs OF
detitute folks are being fed and given
clothing, cooking utensils, medicine, etc.
A number of levees were reported al
most at the breaking point, and the fed
eral and state engineers admitted they
may not be able to hold all of them il
heavy rains continue for another week.
The conditions will grow worse during
the next week in the Sunflower valley
of Mississippi, which is rapidly being
inundated by the waters from the
crevasse at Beulah, and Northeastern
Louisiana, where the flood waters are
pouring through the Dog Tail crevasse
near Alsathia, La, are slowly spread
ing over portions of thirteen parishes.
Several thousand square miles OF rich
bottom lands will have been inundated
before the waters from these two great
crevasses finally return to the Missis-
sippi river through the Yazoo and Red
rivers.
Except in the vicinity of the Beulah
crevasse, the floods in that section so
far have claimed no lives, at least news
of such has not reached the towns in
the district which are yet in tele-
graphic communication with the outside
world.
Governors Make Appeal
The governors of Mississippi and
Louisiana and mayors of cities through
out these states have issued appeals for
relief funds and provisions are rapidly
being rushed to the flood sufferers. The
flood waters will cover vast area of
the present inundated territory for per-
haps two months longer and it will be
necessary to raise many thousands OF
dollars vet to succor the homeless and
destitute.
The river at and above Memphis con-
tinues to fall at constantly increasing
rate. AT every poiHC Oh INC upper AANoAS
reporting to Memphis falls were re-
corded, with the exception of Cincin-
natl. where a rise of 1.2 feet was re-
ported. This, it is believed, will not
materially affect the lower Mississippi.
The upper Yazoo district is still in
tact and stands well above the water.
No weaknesses worth mentioning have
developed in that line and none is ex-
pected to develop.