The Wagner post. (Wagner, Charles Mix County, S.D.) 1912-current, 1912-05-10
OLD FLOOD MARK
BURIED Y INCHES
Flood Conditions in Louisiana
Continue More Alarming
Further Breaks Feared.

commune To-Day TO grow worse. NC one,
not even those who have dealt with
similar problems, Will forecast the out
come of the passing of the greatest
volume of water ever recorded in the
great stream. At New Orleans today
the former record was buried by al
most a foot.
The water at Torras. La. is pouring
through that levee ~crevasse with an
ever widening gap and another breach
Is threatened there.
Reports from the inundated section
north Of New Roads are Of a gloomy
character. The Hood water Is travel
ing at a rapid rate toward the Atcha-
line Of the Texas & Pacific railroad.
lettsworth Inundated.
A telephone message from Let's
worth early today said the town was
deep under water and hundreds If per-
sons In the surrounding country are
marooned In their homes in cotton gin
houses n on house tops. Motor boats
have been sent to Lettsworth for rescue
| work.
A special train arrived at New
Roads last night, with several hundred
refugees from the deluged country.
Most of them were negro women and
children.
elor, 10 miles south of Torras last night
with a large number of victims who
were on the verge of starvation.
Conditions at Baton Rouge are hour
ly growing more menacing. A force of
1000 men worked all night, aided by
s~earchlights on steamboats,. trying to
prevent a break directly in front of that
city. Another large force was engaged
In closing up the gaps in the protec-
ton e~mbankment just south of Baton
Rouge, where it is hoped to prevent the
waters from finding their way to the
~fol 2.l- t..
district in the event the fight to save
the main levee is lost. Baton Rouge
Is built on a bluff and a crevasse there
would not do serious damage except to
the wholesale section.
Bayou Sara. where a break occurred
yesterday, is today under water 10 to
rs feet deep.
Morganza Levee Breaks.
A flash went out from the town of
MorganZa shortly after noon yesterday
saying that the big Morganza levee had
broker This bit of news, which proved
untrue, or only premature, was in ey-
cry hamlet south of Morganza within a
Few minutes. The people were panic
stricken in that entire territory.
The breaking of the Morganza leyee,
As feet in height, and one of the largest
river protection bikes In the world,
would spell utter ruin to thousands of
the finest and rice plantations
II SouSlSI1 LDuiSldId ana WOOI0 nut
hundreds of big sawmils out of COM
mission and inundate more than IS
towns and small cities in eight or nine
parishes.
This enormous levee was still holding
last night, and it may continue to hold,
but there are weak spots in it and it
may go out at any time.
Men Constantly On bikes.
A telephone message last night from
Highland. just south of the big levee,
stated there was a large force working
constantly on the dixie.
On the east side of the river, 20 miles
north of Baton Rouge, the protection
levee at Bayou Sara went out and last
night the town was under from eight
to Is fet of water. Several houses were
swept away, but there was no loss of
life.
Back Of the town a line of hills forced
the flood waters to return to the Mis-
sissippi without doing much damage
except to the town.
AT Baton Rouge a hard fight is being
waged to hold the front levee. The
Grand Bay levee above New Roads is
in bad condition and farther down are
dozens of weak points.
Considerable alarm is felt for the peo-
pie around Melville. in the Atchafalaya
district, which is threatened by flood
water from every side. The pepole were
hurriedly moved out of the town yes
terday afternoon. The last news re-
ceived from there last night was a DOS
sibility of not being able to save all
those In the territory south of Mel
vile. because of a lack of boats and
failure of the victims to receive earlier
warning of the critical condition.
Baton Rouge. La, May 4.-Hundreds
of citizens, rich and poor, worked all
day and were working last night, side
by side with 300 convicts and negroes
in a desperate effort to hold the levees
against the %torrential floods in the Mis-
sissippi creeping hourly towards the
crest OF the protective earthworks
about the city.
When the situation became so critical
yesterday afternoon every ~able-bodied
man and boy began carrying sandbags
and shoveling mud. Five hundred ca
diets of the Louisiana state university
responded to the call and Joined with
schoolboys. boy scouts and soldiers.
working early to do their part in saw
ing the leYees.
A special effort is being made to save
the city pumping station and water
works plant and about 1000 persons are
assisting in building large mud boxes
about this property.
The convicts are building a levee for
the protection of the lower portion of
the city in the event of a break.
Mayor Roux has ordered every negro
In Baton Rouge. unemployed, arrested
l uAlu put ~ jill IAS lcScS, DuI lncy
are few n hard to find.
With this battle against the water
going on the refugees from the Torras
district are not neglected. Tow hun
dred arrived yesterday at Port Hudson.
where a concentration camp has been
established.
The waters from the Torras break
are slowly spreading over the open
| country taking in town after town. be-
coming deeper and deeper every hour.
The situation in this district was made
| more critical here by the break in the
Moreauville levee on the Bayou de.
| Glaise.
The Teche country Is being flooded by
the At~chafalaya water which had al
most reached Breaux Bridge junction,
on the Southern Pacific.
Bayou Sara is under from 10 to Is feet
of water and it had the appearance of
the entire Mississippi flowing through
the town. The water has reached the
second floor of many houses and 10
large houses were yesterday seen float
/ ing away.