The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-03-18
FLOOD IN THE
MISSISSIPPI.
River viii Pass Danger Line by To-
morrow and Overflow Lands Be-
tween Here and klexan-
drla, Missouri
IT WILL RISE STEADILY
Was Within Halt Foot Of Flood Stage
This Morning and Has Done
Much Damage In Its
Upper Stretches

The Mississippi river is at Hood
stage and will rampage more or less
hereabouts the rest of this week.
This morning the guage showed
1875 feet, six inches below the food
line, and the forecast was that 1t
would continue to rise.
At 1870 o'clock this morning OBJ
server Gosewisch got special river
warning reading:
THE Mississippi from Muscarine to
keokuk will rise slowly, and from
Keokuk to Quincy 1t will rise for
tventy-four to thirty-six hours, reach
ing 14.5 feet at Keokuk and is feet
at Quincy. From Hannibal to Louis
lana it will rise for thlrty-six to forty
eight hours, reaching 1875 feet at Han.
nibal and 14.8 at Louisiana. The low.
er Des Noines will rise slowly for
twenty-four hours
Much Damage Up the River.
The Mississippi at Keokuk rose
foot and a half in the twenty-four
hours ending this morning In the
same time. it rose Ia feet at Kieths-
burg and five inches at Davenport.
The Des Moines rose over eight
inches at Ottumwa.
The leased wire Of The Gate City
this forenoon carried dispatch from
La Crosse saying the flood had car
rfed away more than a dozen dams
and bridges in that vicinity, and a
part of La Crosse is under three feet
Of water.
1t also said that the annual spring
rise OF the Mississippi, and its tribu-
tarfes up there is threatening more
%1>o oil
at least 100000 worth OF property
has been destroyed.
What II viii Do.
The rise to half a foot above the
flood stage here at Keokuk Will over
flow the land between the automobile
road to the Des Moines river bridge
and the Mississippi and the land be-
tween the levee and the Mississippi
between the mouth OF the Des
Moines and Alexandria.
Tho IeTees will protect the land be-
hind them under a much greater food
but the road to Alexandria is made
impossible by the water outside the
levee.
This is the old June rise which has
been advancing its date for forty
years until during this century 1t ar
rives about the first Of April gener-
ally. This is little early, but In
1912, it reached its crest on March
26.
Conditions at quincy.
At Quincy there is rather spec
tacular fight to save some barges be-
ing built by company headed by
Byron Layton, formerly Of Keokuk.
The barges are being tied together
and to the shore, and some of them
have to be protected on the piling
ON which they stand now A large
force of workmen is being used in
this work A stage Of 16 feet will
float the barges off the piIing, but the
hulls are completed and caulked.
Another fight down the river is one
to save hundred cords of wood Just
above Quincy. The food stage will
wash 1t away and it Is being taken
off in barges.
There seems to be considerable fear
at Quincy that very high water will
damage barges by throwing them
against the banks.
The big levees between Warsaw
and Quincy are reported IN fine condi-
ton and ready for any sort of flood.
Damage Near Burlington.
Many bridges and culverts in Des
lMoines county were damaged by the
big rain of Saturday night which was
harder in Burlington and Quincy
than in Keokuk. Thousands of dol
lars OF damage occurred around Bur
lington. One Of the bridges washed
out at Dolby creek was Of consider
able size.
Several culverts and bridges were
washed out in 1.-The Flint road, up
there. and will be replaced by con-
crete bridges. with temporary wood
en- ones for the present.
Water stood two feet deep around
the railroad station at Kingston, in
upper Des Moines county, yesterday
afternoon, coming from overfiowed
creeks.
Hundreds of acres of farm land
T1..~S