The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1915-08-27
CAPT. BRIDGES
GETS READY TO
INVADE FLOOD
National Guard Official Rents
Morrison Boats for Expedi-
ton South.
RIVER AT 34.1 AND
STILL is RISING
Governments Prediction of 81
Feet Too High is the
Belief.

In anticipation of a call within the
next few hours for boats to be used
in rescue work on the lower Mississippi
pi River, Capt. Harry w. Bridges yes
terday chartered from F. w. Morri-
son, president of the Morrison Ice and
Fuel Company, the latter's steamboat
and steam launch.
Capt. Bridges last night declared he
was expecting call from Col. Arthur
B. Donnelly of the First Regiment,
Missouri National Guards, who prob
ably will be the first of the militia or
dered out to take part in any refuge
work that may be necessary.
The Mississippi this morning still is
rising slowly. The cost of the flood
already has passed st. Louis, accord
ing to telegraph reports, and the crest
is expected to reach here this after
noon, following which the river will
fall rapidly.
Capt. Bridges, in obtaining the serv-
ices of Mr. Morrison's two river craft,
is providing for work along the river
in Pemescot and New Madrid counties,
where already the heavy rains have
done much damage to crops.
If the flood reaches as high a stage
as the United States officials in St.
and Cairo predict, the lowlands in
Southeast Missouri, south of the Cape
and in Arkansas, will be inundated.
The nature of the land is such that
once the water overflows the banks,
| it spreads over many square miles of
ground. Many small boats would be
essential in performing rescue work
and larger craft needed to provide
food and clothing, as well as to take
the refugees to place of safety.
Since yesterday noon, the river rose
a little more than half foot Early
this morning the gauge read 34.1 feet
1t is believed that by this afternoon
when the crest arrives, the stage will
measure only about 34.6, instead of 81
feet predicted in ST. Louis after the
tremendous storm struck there.
Reports are coming to the Cape
from South saying that in many places
small streams that overran their
banks, have done much crop damage
as well as carried off farm equipment.
Direct railroad service between the
Cape and ST. Louis was severed again
Sunday morning when large wash
out occurred this side of the Meramec
River bridge on the Frisco, a few
miles this side of st. Louis.
A Frisco passenger train had been
across the bridge and over the track
which gave way only few minutes
before the washout occurred. Several
Cape Girardeauans were aboard the
train and learned of the washout aft
err they arrived here.
According to wire reports from the
vicinity Of the bridge, the water is
running six inches over the bridge
caps. On the north side of the bridge,
the water is running four feet deep
over the tracks for a distance of about
500 feet. The surface of the water
is over the telegraph poles in some
places.
The track in this place is not badly
washed, however Most of the dam
age was done on the south side of the
bridge, where the water was extreme
ly swift and ran from 5 to SO fet over
the tracks, for distance of about a
mile.
In this place, a large part of the
track was washed completely away.
No telegraph poles are reported down,
but many of them are out of sight I'M
der the water.
The operators near the bridge re-
port that three men were taken off the
Meramec River bridge in a boat after
they had been marooned there.
The men were bridge workers and
had gone there to re-enforce the struc-
ture against the stream. Before the
water rose so high, other persons were
on the bridge at the same time. As
the waters rose, the skiff which the
bridge men had used, was taken by
strangers who rowed away in it leav-
ing the bridge workmen marooned on
the structure in the midst of a rag
ing torrent more than mile wide that
threatened to take the bridge out at
any moment.
Their summons for aid to the work
men on the north side of the water gap
between dry land and the bridge, fl
nally brought party of men out to
them in a boat.
As the refugees got aboard the skiff
it was nearly capsized twice, but after
several narrow escapes in the swirling