The Forrest City times., 1912-04-19
TIMES MAN SEES OVERFLOW,
Visit tO Head of Old River Made Last saturday and Sunday was Inter
 esting One.

| The Times man had his first actua
 Close range view of the high watel situation or conditions Saturday anC
 Sunday, or at least of that portion o
 the overfiowed district lying alonl
 the St. Francis river from Madison tC
 the head of Old River, thirty-tH,
 miles south.
 The trip was started Saturday af
 ternoon on the gasoline boat Kath
 leene Johnson, which with a large
 barge in tow, left Madison on that afternoon in charge of its owner Mir
 Atkins Johnson, and Messrs. Otis Stevens. Chas. Mcdaniel, Ed Wolff Gordon Casteel and the newspaper man, besides several negroes who live near Riyeryiew. At this point MT. Johnson left the party, turning the boat over to Messrs. Stevens, McDan- iel, Casteel and the newspaper man, and colored man to wrestle with the gasoline engine, and another who lived several miles south and who in tended to move out when the boat re- turned up the river. The party after stocking the larder at Riverview with enough provisions for the trip, pulled out of that place about , o'clock, and headed for the Bean place on Linden Island, at the head of Old River. The boat reached Cornelius place saturday night about eight o'clock, and then entered Old River, after narrowly escaping a collision with that gentlemans pig pen, and later from putting into his front door with the boat. We then backed off and in doing so nearly stumbled over a semi submerged log wagon. The intense darkness of the night and the changes made by the water having obscured the familiar landmarks, together with the difficulties of navigation in an nn- charted new ground with stiff cur rent piling in from the north, brought a realization to the gallant crew that IL was wisest to choke a friendly stump or two with the big boat, while Captain Mcdaniel and Navigat- ing Officer Stevens went out in a small boat to find out "where we was al. and also 10 try and procure some salt, the steward Ed Wolf, alias Bish. having carelessly neglected to pur- chase this very necessary article when laying in our food supplies, and thereby nearly ruining our early SUD- per Bish and Buck, the newspaper man, after having seen to 1t that the boat was riding securely, took advan- tage of the peace and calm, which prevailed the boat after the departure of the officers, to make coffee and cook much needed meal, not having eaten anything for nearly two hours, and then only had few pork chops, dozen eggs and pound and a-half of cheese made into an omelette, and few chunks of bologna, washed down with black coffee, were quite hungry Capts. Mo. and Stevens came back shortly afterwards, having found the Bean residence and bringing back MT. Bean and his son, EllsN orth. A light had been left burning in the gable window of the second story of the house to serve as beacon, for the navigators, and the kathleene and Here it was found that piano, which was the chief cause of his uneasi- ness, would not go through the win dow, and section of the end of the house had to be torn off 10 allow for it's removal to the barge. The Beans had rigged block and tackle to the rafters, and raised the instrument clear of the water in the lower floors of the house, and left it projecting about two feet into the upper story. The instrument was moved up to the upper floor, and heavy rain then beginning to fall, MT. Bean decided that 1t would ruin it to move iU any way, and that he would take chances on the water coming the four feet seven inches which it then lacked of reaching the top floor.
 It was then nearly one o'clock, and the party after deciding that it was better to await daylight before at tempting to get out of the field into Old River, decided to cook some more, and thus in measure allay the bangs of starvation which were fast assail- ing them, the larder having been de- pleted until only measly little three