Evening star., 1915-08-23
SCORES ARE SAVED
FROM TREE TOPS
Flood Victims Spend Hours
Awaiting Rescuers When
Driven From Homes.
TWELVE DEATHS REPORTED
IN VICINITY OF ST. LOUIS
Others Die in Arkansas Waters.
Losses Will Mount Into
Millions.


| A-CI H., ~ 1 iiS tiAi- .
eonninuni,y III as many uaya-, hoo.
| tIat cost twelve llves-possIuIy nans
nore--and destroyed more tnan sl,UvV,-
vou worth Oh property ana made 2,ovv
| families homeless-ls near an end.
iweive deaths have been reported to
the coroner this morning, and almost
hundred persons are listed as missing.
Scores Were rescued from tree tops
where they took refuge.
Rivermen fear the falling of the Mera-
nee river today may disclose 4 heavy
toll in human lives. They also say the
bodies of many of the drowned prob
ably will be washed into the Mississippi
river. carried downstream, and may not
be recovered soon, because of the mass
of flood debris now in the river and of
its unusually strong current
Equally distress ing conditions prevail
throughout southeastern Missouri and
parts of western Illinois, where the toll,
| less severe in the number of lives lost,
is far greater in damage to property
and crops. Railroad. telephone and
telegraph facilities in many counties
are nil; the physical damage may ag-
gregate s5,000,000, and thousands of
farmers and villagers are homeless.
Due to Texas Storm.
The flood was due to the Texas ceast
storm, which last Friday swept through
Arkansas into Missouri and across the
Mississippi to Illinois. st. Louis had
hardly recovered from the effects of
the storm when the Des Peres river
went a mile out of its banks. drowning
eleven persons. Before the Des Peres
had fallen to it's normal level the Mera-
mec river ten to fifteen miles west of
this city, went two to four miles out of
it's banks
The Meramec rose during the night
while thousands of campers and pic
nickers slept in the ,clubhouses and
summer cottages which dot the rivers
bank From . O'Clock yesterday morn
ing until last midnight the river rose 4
foot an hour The flood waters of
empty into the Meramec came rushing
down to the Meramec. tearing farm
houses. clubhouses. bridges and barges
from their moorings Men. women and
children caught in the whirl of debris
climbed to their house tops for safety.
Scores Saved From Trees.
Calls for help were5sent to ST. Louis
and hundreds of re4uers with motor
scene at daybreak.. Scores had spent
dressed scantily and soaked to the skin.
Valley Park. Drake, Eureka. Deicke,
Clinton. Pacific and every other town
on either side of. the Meramec for
inundated. Almost the entire popula-
tion of Valley Park-e,5oG families
were driven from their homes.
River Falling Rapidly.
The Meramec river fell eight inches be-
tween midnight and S o'clock this morn
ing. Thousands Of acres of farm low
lands along its course were still under
water at noon. and it was impossible to
learn definitely whether the scores, most
ly white. who had been reported missing
last night, had been accounted for. Not
only is the Meramec flooded along it's en-
tire course Of 100 miles through the
Ozarks, but the Gasconade, further back
in the Ozarks, also is far out Of it's banks
More than Il hundred miles of territory
in the heart of the Ozarks, between
Springfield. Mo-, and St Louis, is cut Off
from communication with either city, and
as result the hundreds of persons spend
ing week ends in the club houses and
camps along the Gasconade and the
Meramec could not return to their homes
today.
Trains into and out of St. Louis over
the St Louis and San Francisco railroad
could not be operated today either over
the main line to Oklahoma and Texas or
ever the Memphis line.
train for Memphis will leave here
each night, being sent down the east side
OF the Mississippi river.
Galveston Cleaning Up.
GALVESTON. Tex, August 23.-Re-
lief work in Galveston. found neces-
art- 0T
storm which swept this city last Mon
day. is making satisfactory progress
The number OF cases needing help has
been small so far. and all will be taken
care of. Rail lines have been estab-
lished to both ends of the causewav.
and pile drivers. material and men to
trestle across the bay.
Cleanup work III the city is going
steadily forward The waterworks sys-
TEN probably will be in operation by
tomorrow at the latest.
Schooner Franklin Lost.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla, August "a
The fishing schooner Nettie Franklin
was lost in the recent gulf hurricane
and two members of her crew per-
ished. according to reports today COM
ing from the steamer International
which has put into St Andrews bav'
Fla. The international picked up eight
members of the Franklin's crew and
reported two others were swept from
the fishing craft and drowned Pensa-
cola was the Franklin's home port.
Steamer Marowijne Still Missing.
NEW ORLEANS. August 23-Tbe
United Fruit Company had heard moth
ing early today concerning the fate of
the liner Marowijne. one week overdue
from Ielize. Honduras, with twenty
eight passengers and crew of sixty
five aboard. The Marowijne is believed
to have encountered the West India n
hurricane while passing through the
iucatan channel on August IA
No word had come from the steamer
Abangarez ordered Friday night by the
company to proceed to the western
coast of cuba and Investigate "A report
| that a steamship believed to be a fruit {
vessel. and perhaps the missing boat
was sighted aground in those waters
Several other boats of the company
have been instructed to deviate from
their usual course and search the Cuban
coast.
FIVE REPORTED DROWNED
White River in Arkansas Floods 100