The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-04-04
Property Loss VIII Run Into
Millions of Dollars.
EIGHT PERSONS DROWNED
Many Cities Inundated and Ten
States Are Affected.
Thousands Have Fled From
Their Threatened Homes.

seven IIlOus1AHu BCESOiS bOhAOhNSf1-
Eight thousand persons have fec
from flood threatened homes.
Eight persons drowned.
Property loss Will run into InllhohS
Ten states affected.
State and federal governments hur-
rying help to afflicted.
Inundated cities:
Nine thousand acres of manufacture
ing district of Cairo, Ill, under water
Future City and UrbandaIe, outlying
home sections of Cairo, with combined
population of 100, flooded.
Hickman, KY. factory district and
part of home section flooded
Two thousand homeless.
Columbus, Ky, with outlying cOun-
try under water. depr1vIng 1,OOO per-
sons of homes.
Memphis. Tenn. river sections
flooded, driving 1.20O from homes.
Many factories under water.
New Madrid, sIo.. 500 homeless.
Dorena. Mo-, 700 homeless.
Eight thousand persons fleeing from
flood threatened homes in towns be-
tween Hickman. Ky. and Helena, Ark
The sunshine of a baImy spring day
offered false hopes to thousands OF
homeless persons in the great flood
stretches of the Ohio and Mississippi
rivers today, for government fore
CaStcrS at river points and in Washing
ton said they could not hold out the
promise of a cessation in the constant
ly rising flood above Cairo, Ill.
Today the anxiety over the next de-
where the government levee is Mold
ing off the wide reaching mississippi
from the fertile fields of the Reelfoot
lake region in Tennessee. There were
numerous reports that the leVee had
been preached during the day.
Riders have hurried through the
counties of northwest tennessee,
warming the inha bitants to flee. ThoUS-
ands have gone into the highlands and
from Hickman as far south as Helena,
Ark. residents of the river counties
have moved to higher ground
Cairo, Ill. April 4.-Cairo is without
train service today and is almost sur
rounded by water by the breaking,
early today, of the Mobile & OHIO
Ievee which protected the drainage dis
trict All railroads pass through the
drainage district, which is now under
from to 15 feet of water.
The lives of 500 workmen were en-
dangered and property valued In ex-
cess of $4,000, coo was submerged whel
the Mississippi river tore crevasse
125 feet long in the Mobile & Ohio levee
around the drainage district north OF
Cairo.
The levee broke after more than 30t
workmen had fought for hve hours
to fill a depression 20 feet long and
five feet deep. Five hundred men were
fighting on the Big Four levee 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 prllS-
ing them in.
The levee broke at a point near the
bridge junction. The river overfowed
the " Ievee before reaching the Mo-
bile &, Ohio embankment.
Two levee patrolmen who were direct
Iv in front of the crevasse escaped
death as if by miracle. The waters
hurled them from their feet and it was
with great difficulty they reached the
embankment.
The territory flooded is what is known
as the Cairo drainage district. 1t is 10
Gated Just north of Cairo and com
prises about 5000 acres of ground. The
manufacturing plants in the drainage
district are the Chicago Mill & Lum-
ber company, Greer Wilkerson COM
panv. the Pioneer Coal & Shaft CON-
pany. the Farmers Handy Wagon COM
pany which recently purchased the
plant of the Modern House Building
company, the Sears, Roebuck plant the
Indian Refining company and the Wela
Peterson Box company. All are exten-
siVe plants
Besides these plants, the lumber
yard of Upham Agler, with millions of
feet of hard wood lumber, was sub
merged. The Chicago mill also had
a tremendous stock of lumber. 1t is
estimated that the number of homes,
business houses and other structures
flooded in the drainage district num-
bered. nearly 1000
Future City, a negro settlement in
the flooded territory, has a popula-
tion of more than a thousand. Urban
dale, with white population of about
a hundred, had many we'll built
homes. No loss of life is reported so
far.
Many of the people in the district
saved their personal property as they
had been warned in time. After the
water broke through the 1eVee it
rushed over the district with great
rapidity and in short time was over
a great part of it from five to fifteen
feet deep.
The city of Cairo proper is protect
ed from the flooded section by a sys-
tenn of cross levees, and the big force
of men who were at work on the
drainage levee have been thrown
around the Cairo levee. This body of
men is raising and strengthening the
levee so that they will be safe against
any stage of flood.
1t is expected that the entire drain
age district will be under water before
noon.
The gauge this morning registered
539 feet the same as last night. This
made a rise of 2 feet in "a hours
The Mobile & Ohio railroad, with |
hundreds of laborers and large army
of citizens, made fruitless efforts to
fill up the break in the levee which
protected the drainage district. Four
freight cars We're dumped into the
break but they had effect and all
efforts were abandoned.
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