Dewey County advocate. [volume] (Timber Lake, S.D.) 1910-1913, 1912-04-12
FLOOD GROW WORSE
WATER IN GREATER VOLUME -
po,IR,Nc INTO soUTH-No
RELIEF IN SIGHT.
MANY TOWNS INUNDATED
zoco Persons Homeless-s,ooo moro
Flee.-Provisions and She''er
Provided sufferers-Levees
Weakening.

Memphis, Tenn.-With portions Oh
about a dozen towns flooded, 1'ooo PEI,
sons homeless. and 5000 more forced
by the rising water to fee, eieVen PEI,
sons drowned and the loss in the NIL
olins. the flood situation in the Sou'n
is worse.
The river is within two feet OF wnat
the Memphis weather forecaster mas
termed the dead line-44 feet. III
his opinion, the levees will go when
the pressure represented by that mucn
water is reached. A stage of 40 feet'
three feet above the danger hne' Is
predicted. Weak spots have devei-
oped. too. at Mound City, Ark, and
at the Reelfoot levee, west OF HlcK-
man, KY.
All along the river the shifts OF men
engaged in reinforcing the sorely test
ed levees were urged to redoubled eI-
forts, while behind the dykes those
who had not obeyed the warning ana
fed gathered up or secured their NOV
able property and fastened to the
hills.
Provisions to Sufferers.
The day, however, brought relief IN
the shape of provisions and tents TO
the $500 refugees at Hickman, KY"
the number including the 1000 driven
from their homes in the factory dis
trict there and the 1900 gathered in
from the submerged area across on
the Missouri side.
At Memphis, where no less than a
dozen first class river steamboats, are
tied up, the flooding of the whole of
the low lying north section, it is
feared, has polluted the water supply.
The health authorities have warned
the residents of the close-in section to
boil their drinking water as a pre-
ventive measure.
The death list reached eleven. At
huntsville, KY, Miss Allen Alexander
was drowned when a boat capsized
in the overlooked section of Red riv.
er. A negro was drowned at New
Madrid, Mo. A man was drowned at
Lewiston, Mont.
One Of the phases of the flood is
the tieing up of practically all traffic,
not only on the Mississippi, but on
the Ohio and the other navigable trib-
utaries of the Father of Waters. U.s.
ually ''big river" is the signal for
an unusual amount of traffic Espe-
cially is this true of the coal fleets
from Pittsburg, which go down the
Ohio whenever possible on a rise.
Now, however, hundreds of barges
and coal boats are fast, waiting until
the Mississippi is open for tow boats
again. High water, too, on most OF
the streams, keeps the larger steam.
boats tied up because they can't get
under the bridges.
viii Feed Afflicted.
President Taft ordered the quarter.
masters department to furnish rations
to flood sufferers who are found in
want. 1t is expected that a sum of
$250,0O0 will be placed at the presi
dents disposal to cope with the situa.
ton. Members of the Kentucky dele
cation in congress appeared before
the house rules committee to urge the
passage of the resolution turning this
sum over to Mr.. Taft.
Cairo Surrounded BY Water.
Cairo, Ill.-Cairo is without train
service and is almost surrounded by
water by the breaking early of the
Mobile & Ohio levee which protected
the drainage district. All railroads
pass through the drainage district
which is now under from to Is feet
of water.
The lives of 500 workmen were en-.
dangered and property valued in ex.
cess Of 100000 was submerged when
the Mississippi river tore a crevasse
1875 feet long in the levee.
The levee broke after more than
800 workmen had fought for five hours
to fill depression 70 feet long and
five feet deep. Five hundred men
were fighting on the Big Four leyee
in an effort to stem the rise of the
Ohio. Fearing that the Big Four levee
would not hold under the strain. the
tug Frances was ordered out with a
rescue party on board and succeeded
in bringing them in.
The territory flooded is just north
OF Cairo and comprises about 5000
acres. The manufacturing plants in
the drainage district are the Chicago
Mill & Lumber Co., Greer-Wilkerson
Co., the Pioneer Coal & Shaft Co.. the
Farmers Handy-Wagon Co., the Sears.
Roebuck plant. the Indian Refining Co.
and the Weis-P Peterson Box Co.
The city Of Cairo proper is protected
from the flooded section by a system
Of cross levees.