Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1916-02-07
Great Lake is Now Spread
ing Out Over South
eastern Arkansas
CITY,s APPREHENSION
Seven Hundred Men Are Working
Desperately to Strengthen Levees
and Save Property.

Little Rock, Ark, Feb. THE ra-
pidly widening lake in Southeastern
Arkansas, formed by the food-waters
of the Arkansas river pouring
through breaks in the levces, has en-
gulfed a score of towns, leaving seve-
raj thousand persons homeless.
Sixteen lives have been lost IN the
last few days and damage that PROB
ably will run into hundreds OF thou
sand of dollars has resulted IN the
rich farming territory.
Still greater damage is feared II
the Mississippi continues to rise as in
The last few days. Predicted stages
are Arkansas City would endanger the
levces there and break in The Miss
issippi levees would precipitate Sc
/. rious situation in the river valley.
The 700 men who remain in Arkan-
sas City toiled yesterday in an effort
to strengthen the levees against the
fast rising waters. and last night
they were hopeful that the levees
would hold and the town be saved.
The narrow strip Of levee is the only
land in sight there. One one side Is
the river, swollen until its surface is
Is feet above the level OF the town.
On tile other side of the levee is the
great flood lake nearly 40 miles long
and 20 miles wide. From it only the
upper. stories of buildings in Arkan-
sas City protrude.
At the levee are three steamboats,.
one of which is ready to carry the
workers TO safety should they lose
their battle with the flood. They are
living in the second stories of their
homes and in box cars on the levees.
Yesterday the river rose twc-tenths
of a foot. to 55.7 feet at Arkansas
City and was still rising slowly last
night. ... =,
At Lake Village the flood water rose
at the rate of half an inch an hour.
At Gaines landings four miles. north
of Lake village, 400 persons are on
the levee without shelter
Many residents.o of Lake village went
in boats to the Courthouse where they
planned to send rescue fleet of row
boats to Gaines Landing.
In Clarendon, on the White river
where the levee broke Saturday night,
water is 6 feet deep in the highest
portions Of the town. the river had
attained a stage=of 37.4 feet and still
istrising. a relief train sent out: from
little Rock in charge of officials of
the St. Louis Iron Mountain and
Southern Railroad was able to proceed
southwark beyond Grady. From there
the workers began carrying food III
boats to those in need and taking
many marooned families from sub
merged ha%Es.
Little i: ,&wn of conditions in the
rural districts of the flooded area,
but there seems little doubt that many
who refused to leave their homes in
face of repeated warnings have perish
ed.
Alfred J. Henry, of Washington, D
c., meterologist in charge of the river
and food division fthe United States
Weather Bureau who is in Little Rock
declared that condition similar tc
that which now exists in Arkansas has
never before occurred in the history
of the Weather Bureau.
"Heavy snow followed by thaw ant
heavy rains in Illinois and other North
ern States has caused rise in the
Upper Mississippi river" he said
:.The Ohio was flooded in its lowe
course and general rains in the val
leys of the Arkansas, Red. White am
other tributaries Of the Mississippi
have flooded the latter river until
will require nearly month for the w:
ter to run out. The swollen conditio
Of the Mississippi has made the Arl
ansas river food much more disast
Gus than it otherwise would hay
been"