The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-13
300 More Square | Miles No7u Being Flooded SEVERAL TOWNS ARE INUNDATED Scores of Villages Will Be
 Swamped by the
 Floods 4O,OOO MORE ARE
 MADE HOMELESS Levees at Panther Forest and Roose- welt Break-Both Are Caused by
 Waves Crashing Against the Weakened Banks

lne edkeneu DdHhs ] GreenYille Miss, April 12.-TalSing the lheaviest toll of it's rampage. the Missis- sippi river flood smashed two levees today. at Panther Forest, Ark, and near Roose- | welt, La, and tonight is engulfing the rich alluvial plains of several counties and parishes in southern Arkansas and north ern Louisiana. Before the waters of the | two crevases join and find an outlet through tributary rivers and bayous, 300 or more square miles of rich farming land will be flooded; several prosperous towns and scores of villages will be swamped and the ranks of those driven from their homes by the flood increased by probably aO.oo0.
 Populous Centers
 Arkansas City and Lake Village. Ark, and Lake Providence and Tallulah, La, I are the most populous centers to which the overflow will spread. Delhi, on the edge of Richmond parish, may also be &nundated.
 Panther Forest, in chicot country, Ar kansas. was the first levee to go. The Eecond break occurred near Roosevelt, L,a., the town iii east Carol parish named
 honor of the former president when
 hunted in those swamps several years
 ID. From the Panther Forest break
 fer will pour over the greater part of
 hicpt county and that part of Desha not
 ireaNy inundated from the Modoc circle
 c1assesof week ago and through East sarrol parish, La, until it meets the later coming up from the Roosevelt Preach and spreads to Bartholomew f8ayou, just inside West Carol parish bractically all of Madison parish to the south of the Roosevelt crevasse and pos Ikibly a corner of Tensas will be flooded.
 Caused by Waves
 In both instances waves driven by high wind while the levees were being soaked by torrential rain is held d. l rectly responsible for the crevasse. Besides the two breaks in the main levee the Arkansas river embankment near Red Fork, Chcot county gave away early this morning, and at Davis Island, just north of Vickeburg, on the Louisiana side the embankment was cut with the consent of the land holders. Should there be loss of life 1t is be- lieyed the number will be small. The greater number of the inhabitants had Ialready abandoned the lowlands, and | |s,5urers were sent through the country side when the breaks occurred to warn those who remained The volume of |twatei' going through these gaps will, 1t Is believed, relieve the situation to the south and along the Mississippi shore, and those directing the fight now have II high hopes that the east bank will hold. Panther Forest is directly across from Miller's Bend above Greensvile. Roose- welt is 75 miles to the south. At Green vile and vicksburg a fall of a foot in the rivers stage is expected by to- worrow. .,us. |. dieate that the situation in that vicinity and south as far as Bayou Sara, La, is practically unchanged Panther Forest Levee Breaks
 The Mississippi river leyee at Panther Forest, 19 miles above Greenville, on the Arkansas shore gave way today under the pressure of the flood and tonight the water is finding it's way over POO square miles of rich farming lands and several prosperous towns toward the Ten sas and Arkansas river. Sixty town ships in Chcot, East Ashley, Drew and Desha counties in Arkansas. and East Carol parish, Louisiana, will be inun- dated Lake Village. the county seat of Chicot county, is the most important town in the waters path. Lake Nil- lagc has a population or l9oo
 No Loss of Life
 So far as can be ascertained tonight no loss of life accompanied the collapse of the embankment. Panther Point is directly across the river from Miller Bend. Miss. regarded as one of the weak est dikes along the river. The creYasse will decrease the strain on the east bank both at this point and at Greenvile where 1t was feared a break would occur. Chief Engineer Shackelford of the Mississippi 1evee board tonight predicted that the water here would fall foot within "A hours and at Miler's Bend 2lz feet When the flood came through gap 100 feet wide was torn in the levee and later re- ports tell of the fast widening of the breach.
 Break Is Important
 The crevasse at Panther Forest is re- garded as more important than those along the upper stretches of the river The territory which will be inundated Is more thickly populated and the waters sweep will have wider range Chicot county, which will be practically entirely covered, has population of 22.000
 A break is also reported in the Arkansas river near Redfork, on the northern boun- dary of Chicot county. Early tonight the water was flooding the environs of Arkan- sas City.
 The waters of the two crevasses will join.
 Reports from several other points sou,n of this city tonight are not encouraging 4 heavy rain and windstorm hampered the work of those fighting back the flood today and beat the water into waves against the banks. As result soughing and sand boils' are reported from a number of points. At Port Gil3son, Miss "backwater" forced from the Mississippi has caused the Black river to top its hanks and trains on the Yazoo and Mis- &sissippi Valley railroad between Vicksburg ( and Harrison, a junction point to the south of Port Gibson. have been annulled