The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1912-05-09
FLOODS |MPER|L
MANY THOUSANDS
Warships Ordered to Go to Aid
of Sufferers.
PEOPLE ON VERGE OF PANIC
Reports to War Department Show Dis
couragine Situation - Hundreds
Marooned in Some Districts
Without Food or Shelter.

; Fifty millions of dollars of loss al
ready done and millions more in pros
! pect. This is the view government
experts take of the flood damage in
the Mississippi river valley, to say
nothing of the toll of human life ex-
acted and the lives that have been
placed in jeopardy.
Department of agriculture experts
estimate that the loss of farm crops
and agricultural products will proba-
bly, reach the fifty million mark, and
many millions will be lost in the cot.
ton crop alone.
Food will be furnished to the thou
sands of homeless people who have
been rendered destitute.
The war department has supplied
the sum of 100000. This is the act
ual amount spent since the river and
its tributaries first went on a ram
page less than month ago.
The present prospects are that it
will be a month before conditions are
improved and if this proves to be the
case, department officials believe they
will need at least 100000 more to aid
in the relief work.
Congress has alaready appropriate
ed $2,250,000 for relief work to finish
the work already begun. 1t may be
requested to provide two million
more.
i This does not include the great re-
pairs that will have to be made on
that the army has provided 10000
tents to refugees.
The vast territory in which refu-
gees have been cared for is all the
way from Cairo, Illinois, to New Or
leans, distance of 554 miles, This
does not include territory in the ex-
tended valley of New Orleans and the
Red river.
! Although the navy department has
no fund at its disposal which can be
used for rescue work, congress has
granted it sum, so that It can work
in limited way. in connection with
the war department
The sending of the battleship "Ne-
braska" and the gun boat Pedro" and
the naval ship isle De Cuba" up the
river to save the lives of persons
struggling in out of the way places in
the flooded territory has been ap-
proved.
Reports Are Not Encouraging.
Reports reaching the war depart
meut from the officers in charge OF
the relief work on the Mississippi are
anything but encouraging. Major Nor
moyle, in charge of the relief work,
tefegraphed General Wood that the
situation on the bayou Des CLASSES and
the lower Atchafalaya are very seri-
Gus and that breaks in this vicinity
are expected at any time. He Is
making arrangements to meet the
emergency.
The people along the threatened dis
tsict are on the verge Of panic, fearful
of remaining in their homes yet I'M
willing to abandon their property.
The officers at Melville has dispatched
ten launches to rescue 200 people who
are stranded near Opelousas. About
500 people and 1000 head of cattle
are rescued daily by the relief detach-
ments.
Army Is Feeding Thousands.
Reports from Captain Cox in the
Black river country indicate that thou
sands of people and livestock have
| been subsisting since April % on the
food and forage furnished them by
TIE army, and that his boats and
barges are covering this region and
deliver rations wherever they are
needed.
Barges laden with refugees are NOV.
iyg steadily up the river to points
of safety. Five hundred persons are
reported isolated near Cotton Float
landing without food or shelter and an
expedition for their relief has been
started.
Torrential storms have added to the
misery.
Sunshine Brings Joy.
New Orleans, May S--A day of sun.
shine has strengthened the hearts Of
every man and woman of Louisiana,
and with the issuance of more favor,
able official reports by the federal en-.
sneer in charge of this river dis.
trict, every one is optimistic as to the
result of the great fight to hold the
Mississippi river within the levees.
At Melville, Simmesport and Ham.
burg the danger of crevasse is con.
sidered greater than elsewhere
Engineers Are Hopeful.
No new crevasses are reported and
the engineers are hopeful that the
worst is over and that the levees be-
low Torras on the Mississippi river
will stand the terrible strain that is
being put on them by the record high