Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-30
GUARDS PATROL LEvEES
Hundreds of Laborers Struggle
With Rushing Waters.
SITUATION SOUTH AND WEST
Ice Gorges Add to Trouble Along
River Platte-People Driven
From Homes.

phohe auVlceS from Hickman Ky carly
today say the Mississippi river levee there
held throughout the night but that fhe
swollen waters arc rising gradually. and
IL Is feared the swapping point of the
ieFee's strength will be reached before
night.
All or last night gangs Of men strus-
Sied against the rushing waters. They
piled hundreds OF sand bags behind the
levee and built up the great bank ,o
"ard OF surging current that rose
higher each hour
Levees Under Guard.
Guards armed with rifles. who patrolled
the levee, added to the scenes grimness.
mere had been dispute among the
'o"nspeople as to the advisabiIity of cut
tihs the leVee at the lower part of town
IN oroer to avert the flooding of the up-
PCT Par, Guards were placed finally TO
prevent the cutting at any point.
AoNices from Columbus this morning
say the town is under three and four
Ieet OF water. The property damage has
oceh great, houses are f1oa ting about in
the streets. and al the nhabitants have
taken to the highlands.
The only life loss has occurred at rtick.
man, where babe, dropped from a
drowned.
Damage at Columbus.
COLUMBUS. Ky., March 3o-A Sec
ton OF the Mississippi levee which pro-
tected the lower part of Columbus gaye
way Yesterday afternoon and water a.
rushing through the break at an alarm
ing rate. The adjoining country is under
three feet Of water, and damage ALREADY
suffered exceeds $4,000
Des Moines River Breaks Banks.
BOONE. Iowa. March 3O-F1oods ser.
ousiy threatened Boone and surrounding
country. early today, when the Dex
MONIES river went out of bounds and
washed away a bridge above the CITY.
me power plants of the Fort Dodge, Des
MONIES and Southern railway and the
CITY water company are in danger.
Ice Menace in Nebraska.
SPRINGFIELD. Neb.. March .o.u
hlsnt long the hundreds of men working
along the Platte river in an attempt TO
oreah up the ice gorges, fired big charges
OF dynamite. but made little progress I'm
relieving the situation
At one point near Ashland the river has
frfx
square miles Of bottom and many far-
ers nave been forced to fee to the hills
several bridges have been either wash
co out or SO weakened that they are
useiess. 1hree different ra ,lroad lines
have been forced to detour MANY .rains
and abandon others entirely.
Reports Of Broken Levees.
ST. louis. March 3o.-with the Mis-
sissippi river here marking 80 feet this
morning. and rising, it was expected that
the danger mark. 30 feet would be
reached during the day.
/ Reports of broken levees are being re-
ceived from the flooded territory i'm the
vicinity OF the conjunction of the Ohio
and Mississippi.
Kankakee River Dixie Damaged.
HAMMOND. Ind. March 30.-Twentv
feet OF the Grant Williams dixie on the
Kankakee river gave way early TODAY
between the towns OF Shelby and Schnei-
der. and fifteen feet of water swept out
to inundate the surrounding country. The
submerged land consists of many miles
Of the most valuable farm land in In
diana.
Reports from Schneider indicate that
the water is slowly inundating the town.
Fears are entertained that other portions
of the dixie jammed by ice will be swept
away.
Families Driven From Homes.
ROCK ISLAND, ILL.,, March 30-The
Mississippi river at this point is rising at
rate Of three inches an hour. 1t has
overaowed its banks in the west part OF
the city. and many families have been
driven from their homes
Factories Forced to Close.
SHEBOYGAN. Wis. March 3O.-The
Sheboygan river overflowed it's banks at
the Sheboygan fats i'm the western part
of the city today and several factories
have closed down because the firemen are
unable to get to work. The water has
spread over q wide area and many people
are obliged to use boats to get to the
main part Of town.