The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-05-16
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dip in the telegraph line, ran our
propeller clear Of its wires and drew
alongside.
Looking Into Valley
We had the odd experience OF
looking down from the water onto a
valley. This board fence was in fact
the extension of a ten.foot levee
and formed a second line Of defense
against the overflow Of the great
river to the east.
Down that valley ragged aud bub-
bled a yellow current. A mile to
north two low sand pits, with an
open gap of a thousand yards be-
tween, marked the ruin of the
Bayou Des GLASSES levee. which had
gone down only that morning. In
its path lay Moreauville; a pleasant
little town clustered round a cotton
gin. The frail little Negro huts OF
its outskirts seemed knocked out OF
line. One was already floating. The
waters swerved and eddied against
the corners Of a row Of five, substan-
tial houses.
Tapping at Platform
The railway station, fringed with
line Of stranded freight cars, stood
on slightly higher ground The
waves were tapping on its platform.
A stray Jersey COW, missed that
morning in the rush to get the stock
to the levees. was splashing and
raised her muzzle in faint omen Of
an agonzed moo. Suddenly she
plunged in, swan away behind the
station. 1 did not see her emerge.
Working Like Mad
We ran along the levee for an.
other two miles. Here and there n
roof appeared, and always at these
spots men were working like mad.
For. though the flood was rushing
down the valley from the north,
these houses stood on higher ground,
at its edge. If our levee held, they
might be safe.
Suddenly from n section where the
roofs peeped thicker than usual
came frantic waving of arms and
sheets. We slowed down to turn.
A lifeboat of the coast guard serv-
ice, tagging us, suddenly shot out OF
line and put alongside the levee.
When we had turned, frantic arms
warned us away from a point two
hupdred yards beyond. We looked,
and the line of boards was gone.
Roar Like Niagara
AS the engine stopped. we heard
a roar like Niagara. We leaped atop
the dixie and ran. The levee had
broken under our eyes.
Across gap, perhaps a hundred
feet wide, poured the whole million
ton force of the mighty Mississippi.
It dubbed in rapids as wild and tur.
bulent as the Royal Gorge Of the
Arkansas, and with infinitely more
terrible force.
A fine, substantial house, with tur-
rets and bay windows, had stood
just opposite the break. 1t lay
turned half around, crumpled up as
you would crumple a match box in
your hand.
Under the levee above II lay half
a dozen little houses with barns and
corrals. In one Of these someone
had stupidity or neglectfully shut a
COW and her calf. The COW was
believing madly; the calf seemed to
stand in a stupor. The water was
at it's belly, then halfway up to it's
back, and now it was swimming.
and all the time the mother beloved
frantically for help, which could not
come. For between her and the
levee raced a hundred feet of water
so mad that no man alive could
swim it.
Behind us. as we watched the tor
rent from the edge of the break, the
Coast Guardsmen were loading men.
The women had been taken off long
ago into the lifeboat; and cows,
horses. a newborn calf, a protesting
SOW onto a Hatboat.
Get Back"
Suddenly voices roarod at us In
English and Caiian-"get back. -
There was an ominous creaking Of
boards. The cinema men gathered
up their cameras and we ran toward
our boat as twenty feet of levee
gave, broke and spilled a new ac-
cession into the torrent. Then a
Cajan farmer pointed and said some
thing in French, which would have
meant nothing to a Frenchman. a
Out Of the levee bank at our feet
was oozing and bubbling a little
spring. That is the first sign OF
a break. The levee was going at
least a thousand yards. the skipper
Of our boat estimated, before morn-
ing. The three boats loaded up
and pushed off in nervous haste; had
1t broken on us at that instant, we
might as we'll have been in grip OF
Niagara.
Too Many Passengers
There were too many passengers,
human and four-footed, for the trans
port at hand. AS we shot away the
wall before us was beginning to bulge
and tho men were running their
livestock southwark along the top
of the bank.
They were safe nnnuph dow, tbera