South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1922-04-30
MILES OF LEYEES
SAVE HOMES FROM
DANGER OF FLOOD
Mississippi Valley Inhabitants
No Longer Fear Raging
River Waters.

30 EAl p. ttIrr. e.I.-.. - lll. -f.-- ~ lLl
Hood waters of the Mississippi. creep
~ higher and higher. nearly a rlll-
10 people % the immediate lower
MLss.s slpn. valley are without fear OF
an overflow and flood. They stake
everything on the huge earthorworks
1.-The Ievee---ehich are designed TO
prevent Just such food periods a.
the present
There are 100 miles OF levees
along the lower Mississippi on the
west side they start above the mouth
- the Ohio river and. iu an almost
u1brokeu chain. extend almost %
she GuIf OF Mexico.
on the east bank they start from
the high bluffs just south Of Mem
phls and. save for "a gap where the
Yazoo river emptes into the Miss
isslpDl at NicksbUrg Miss. continue
southwark below New Orleans.
At places the Mississippi Ievees
lower so feet or more above the level
OF tho land They are built like the
pyramids. with q huge base often
more than 300 feet in thickness. En-
g.ners say that they will hold the
Mississippi river 90 Cts main food-
way even should the hlsh-water get
20 be two or three feet beyond the
record mark OF 1913
4 patrol system now Is being
used 20 safeguard the entertainments
Men. armed heavily. watch them
day and night 20 report the smallest
particle o. water seeping through.
Bargcs Keep Watch.
a fleet OF government barges and
steamboats, is maintained at Mem
-phis for no other purpose than 20
a'Se care OF the great revee system,
aud in each community there ace
orga nizations perfected for such
emergencies PatrOlling In the
most serious stages OF the foods Is
the most exactinS requirement.
The levees along the lower Miss
issippi give overflow protection 20
an area Of several million acres OF
land 20 Missouri, Arkansas. Mise
fss,ppi and Louisiana. In this area are
nuoriShing cities. hundreds Of small
towns and villages and a large num-
her OF great plantations. upon which
live from a handful 20 several thou
sand persons At Scott, Miss. IN
der the very shadow OF the Missis-
stppi 1evees IS one plantation OF 81
900 acres, with 5000 employees
Until a dozen ye5rs ago the region
known as the delta" I'm the lower
valley states was farmed only in a
haphazard fashion. The Overshad-
owing fear OF floods from the Miss
issippi prevented the greatest deveI-
opment. All the while. however, the
levees were being built higher and
stronger. and after the government
had appropriated s5O.OOO.OOO. IN
1917. the construction went forward
by leaps and bounds. With pro-
lection against the river. drainage
By artificial means was undertaken
10 get the full value OF the rich
bottom lands According 20 the last
census report. more than one-third
OF the 10000 acres Of alIuvial lands
had been included in organized
districts.
u Flood Stage 35 Feet
The flood stage. or ''bankfuI"
stage, Of the Mississippi IS 35 feet
on the Memphis gauge. The most
serious flood. in 1913. left a record
reading Of As feet at Memphis.
While there is little fear that the
river Will go 20 such a height this
spring engineers say that even II
Il does it still will be several feet
short OF the dire danger point They
are confident that the great en-
bankments viii stand a Stage Il so
feet
There are no places in the lower
reaches or the Mississippi where the
lcvees on the two banks are nearer
together than one mile. The aver
age probably Is two miles At some
points they are so far apart that a
noodway SIX 20 eight miles wide is
left for the Father of Waters" At
Memphis the levee line - on the
Arkansas side Of the river only. the
high bluffs on the Tennessee side
serving TO hold the river 20 les chan
ncI. The Arkansas Ievees. however.
are more than three miles from the
main channel OF the river The land
Intervening a sort OF "no man.
land" already has been inundated.
Islands in the river likewise are un-
Ger water The few families that
exc out a perilous existence IN
such places however. were early 20
quiz their ersSNhile1 homes. Most OF
them as has been their custom.
VIII return 90 the islands and the
river banks as soon as the food re-
N edes and perhaps Tor two or three
ears viii manage 20 raise crops and
n small amount OF livestock with a
certain degree or success.