The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-05-01
FIGHT TO PREVENT
OTHER BREAKS In
LEVEE GOES ON
Ten Thousand Men Engaged TO
Hold Swollen Mississippi
River in Channel.
SEARCH IS BEING MADE
FOR NARROWED FAMILIES
Many Are Being Cared for in
Hastily ImprOvised Refugee
Camps by Red Cross.
tBy The Assseiatsd PrssO


NEW ORLEANS, April S0.--Whfla
water flowing through the three crew
asses in the lower Mississippi river
continued to cover more lands today,
the fight to prevent other breaks in
the levees was carried on without any
letup. Thousands Of men spent their
Sabbath filling and piling sand bags
to strengthen the weak places and TO
raise low stretches of the embank-
ments to meet higher river stages than
any yet recorded.
In the third Mississippi levee dis
trict alone no less than 10000 men
were engaged In the fight to hold the
swollen river in its channel, the a, 600
employed by the government in this
district being reinforced by more than
5000 civilians who have volunteered
their services for the common pro-
lection of their homes. Church serv-
ices We're dispensed with in many
places, the pastors leading their floeks
to the levees where the day was spent
in hard labor to prevent further flood
ing.
Other hundreds spent the day in
searching the flooded areas for ma
small boats to places Of safety
Throughout the day the numbers he
ing cared for in hastily improvlsed
refugee camps, established by the Red
Gross or 10y private citizens, were aug
mented ~ the arrival OF other desl
tute, and sometimes hungry. refuge
who had been marooned in their fl8oG-
ed homes for several days.
So far as could be determined late
today there was no alienation OF the
serious situation growing out of the
depletion of food supplies at a num-
Der Of the refugee camps, especially
lat Harrisonburg, La, whore 1900 per-
sons were reported yesterday to be
practically without food. Nothing is
known here of the progress of the boat
load of provisions dispatched from
New Orleans yesterday for the stricken
black river district, where 1000 des-
titute refugees are awaiting food White
existing on restricted diet
Reports from Yazoo city, Miss today
state that food is scarce IN that dis
trict, the supplies there being prac-
tically exhausted and that conditions
were even worse in Issequena county
where a large area hAd been under
water for the last six weeks.
At Jonesville, La, where several
hundred destitute refugees from the
Black, Little Tensas and Ouachita river
districts are being cared for, back wa
ters have completely flooded the town
While the refugee camp there is 10
Gated on higher ground than the town
itself, it is expected that even the
camp site win be inundated.
Preparations are being made to care
for 5000 refugees. at Harrisonburg.
where a refugee camp was established
and at Rinehart where a camp was
opned yesterday.
More than 1900 people are already
1 concentrated in these two camps and
the number is constantly being in
creased.
Water from the Ferriday crevasss
today reached the town of Waterproof,
La, and late reports were that the town
is slowly being flooded. At VidaIia,
La, efforts to erect temporary levees
to prevent the water entering that
| place were continued throughout last
night and today, with some hope OF
success.
No dangerous developments in the
Ievee situation in the lower reaches Of
the river were reported today,
Weather bureau predicti0&g indi-
cate that there will be little change
| in the river stages for the next few
days, but that water in sight Indicates
that recently established high records
win be broken at all points on the low
er river.