The Oakes times. [volume] (Oakes, N.D.) 1906-current, 1912-04-11
.LEvEE BREAKS At
HICKMAN, Ky.
ONE HUNDRED FIFTY SQUARE
MILES OF FARM LAND
SUBMERGED. ...
DEATH LIST REACHES 18,
Property Loss Estimated at S1,5oo, ,OOc
Floor Area in Mississippi
Valley Lenghtens and
Widens.


could be heard for miles the Missis
slppl river food burst through the
government levee five miles west of
hickman, racing over the Reelfoot
lake district One hundred and fifty
square miles of farming lands are
i an inland sea. Grave apprehension
| IS 1elt for the safety of farmers in
remote sections of squarsely settled
| country. The water when it came
through tore gap of 60 feet wide
IN the levee, and the swirling current
is fast eating away the earth and
widening the breach.
When the collapse came the work
ers were compelled to run for their
lives, a number making their way to
Hickman afoot, while others, maroon.
ed beyond the break, were rescued in
gasoline launches.
The Reelfoot basin is made up of
small farming communities. A num-
Der OF the residents already had aban-
doned their homes, but others re-
malned on their lands. When the
crash came efforts were made to COM
munlcate with the scattered villages
by telephone, but with little success.
The property damage will be large.
Cairo Surrounded, But Dry.
Cairo, Ill.-Cairo, surrounded for
two days by water, remains dry and
it is believed to be secure from the
flood. The levees stood firm and the
men patrolling them reported that
there was no sign of any weakening.
The river again reached the stage
OF 53.9 feet and it is expected to re-
main at this stage for several days.
The breaking of the government levee
at Hickman, KY, will relieve the
strain on the levees at Cairo and 9th.
er points north of Hickman.
The scene at the drainage district,
Immediately north of Cairo, is appall-
ing. Houses which were partly sub.
merged by the breaking of the drain.
age district levees were torn from
their foundations and are on their
sides or upside down. A big church
building is on it's side. The factories
were submerged to their roofs and in
some places the flood has covered the
buildings. Not one pile of lumber in
the great mill section is standing.
Families, driven from Urbandale and
Factory City, have remained the
greater part of the time on top of the
levees protecting Cairo.
The city is cut off from railroad
connection. Many people went on
tugs to Mound City and from there
took railroad. train north. Long dis.
tance telephone service to the north
has been discontinued and but one
telegraph company is working direct
ly to Cairo.
Death List 1a;Property Loss 1850, 900
Memphis. Tenn.-Flood area in the
Mississippi valley was widened and
heightened. Much suffering and prop
erty damage seems certain.
1 In it's onward rush the Mississippi
reached flood stage almost to Nat
chez, Miss, and hundreds Of men are
at work on the levees in the newly
menaced territory, stopping small
breaks and Strengthening the spots
weakened by the terrific strain. AS
the river still is rising at Cairo and
the Ohio is slowly mounting higher
as far up as Louisville with smaller
streams all down the line pouring un-
precedented volumes of water into the
Mississippi, the lower river district
faces a crisis.
Six hundred and thirty-eight miles
of the Mississippi is seriously affect
ed, and being the distance be-
Tween Columbus, KY, and Vicksburg,
Miss. The greatest strain, where the
levee is liable to break any time, ex-
tends from Columbus, KY, to Helena,
Ark, distance of 318 miles.
j The flood death list was brought
to Is. The property loss was conser-
vatively estimated at $1,500,000.
Water in Wisconsin Receding.
4 La Crosse.-Water in the Black and
Mississippi rivers which had been at
flood stage for the past two days, is
receding. Damage in this vicinity is
confined to the low lands where thou.
sands Of acres of farm lands are flood
ed, damaging hay and other crops
stored in barns!
North Dakota Settlers Warned.
Bismarck.-The Missouri river at
this point has COVE over it's banks and
the bottoms are flooded Couriers have
been sent out to notify all settlers
that there is danger: No ice gorges
are in existence now, and unless they
form. the high water Of two years
ago will not be repeated.
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