Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1921-09-12

INFL0()D AREA
so Known Dead-47 at San
Antonio Where List
May Reach 300.
10000 MILE AREA SWEPT
Damage to Property and Crops Will
Run Into Many Millions-Other
Sections Menaced.


San Antonio, Tex, Sept. Ire
ports of loss of life and property dam
age as a result of Friday nights del
uge mounted steadily today with res
toration of communication into the
Central Texas flood district. Tonight
it has been established that an area
extending north as far as George
town, south to below San Antonio,
west to San Marcos and east to Cal
vert and Bryan or approximately
10000 square miles, felt the effect OF
food waters.
sixty persons, including forty-sev-
en- here, are known to be dead.
Property loss is regarded as almost
beyond estimate. In this city it is
placed at S5,000,0O0, and it is believed
that he loss to growing crops IN the
rural districts may run into many
millions of dollars, while live stock
losses will account for hundreds of
thousands Of dollars more.
Death List Estimates.
The dead and missing In this city
are estimated at approximately $50 by
officials engaged in recovering the
bodies, while Police Commissioner
Phil Wright estimated that it might
reach 300, which list may be swellec
as the work of recovering bodies pro-
ceeds in the food-swept area.
While it has been declared that pos.
sibly the majority of the estimated
dead foated down the streams, the
searchers here believe that as the
wreckage and driftwood is cleared
away other bodies will be recovered.
Rescue and relief work continued
all last night and today. Hundreds
If Mexicans al.1 the poorer people
e...o lived along the flazan are home
less, ana were given assistance by the
relief headquarters established IN a
downtown building.
Mexican Boy Saves Child.
;pe~haps,the outstanding heroism of
the flood was that of twelve-year-
old Mexican boy, who clung to tree
on South Flores street for five hours
holding on his shoulders above the
water a child five years old. The boy
rescuer was battered black and blue
BY floating wreckage, and was taken
to hospital unconscious. The child
was unharmed.
On Fourth street man barely es-
capped from aE apartment house be-
fore part of it was swept into the
river. In the water which Hooded the
apartment he was unable to find his
wife and child. Nearly an hour later,
at the New Ramona street bridge, nc
saw a house lodge against the railing
and heard cries within. Breaking
through the roof he pulled out his
wife and child safe on floating mat
tres, which was within one foot OF the
ceiling
In i 5ack yard on King William
street negress sat on the roof o:
an outDuiding three hours calling TO.
help, while water twelve feet deep
raced through the yard.
Precautions to prevent an epidemic
are being taken. The cleaning W
proceeded Systematically in every
part of the business district today.
Proprietors of business establish
ments and forces of employees were
sweeping and brushing out the water
and debris while pumps drained base
ments.
A checll:: by D. D. Harrigan, city
engineer, showed that thirteen OF the
twenty-seven bridges spanning the
San Antonio river are virtually unr
damaged. Only one bridge was
washed away. Others were lifted and
set at different angles on the banks.
The rapidity with which the waters
receded after the rains stopped is ac,
counted for by the city being at the
headwaters of the three streams.
Other Sections Menaced.
Georgetown, in Williamson county,
reports two persons dead and three
missing, with property damage of ap-
proximately half million dollars. Six
teen inches of rain in twenty-four
hours sent all streams out of bounds,
and cattle and cotton in the lowlands
are total loss.
In addition to the thousands of
square miles of central Texas already
hit, more southern sections now are
menaced by the onrushing water. the
San Marcos river ,is.Ton a rampage,
much baled cotton has been washed
away and ungathered crops are al
most complete losses, reports indicate:
The Little river and Big and Little
Brazos also were running frll. Cal
vert and Bryan report five dead from
Continued on page four.)