–1,300 New York Times. “Flood Victims Need Great Relief Fund.” 5-22-1912, p. 10.
— 500 Washington Post, DC. “500 Dead By Floods….Breaks in Levees” 4-24-1912, p. 1.
— 245 Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year Book for 1913, Vol. 29. p. 116
— ~200 Blanchard estimate.
— 200 Estherville Democrat, IA. “Storms and Floods Since 1421,” Oct 6, 1926, p. 12.
— 200 New York Times. “Former Floods Have Cost Many Lives, June 5, 1921.
— 30 By Apr 8. Defiance Democrat. “Thirty Dead…Thirty Thousand Without Homes.” 4-10-1912, 1.
— 18 By Apr 5. Sandusky Register, OH. “Lower River District…” 4-6-1912, p. 1.
— 8 By Apr 4. Times Enterprise, Albert Lea, MN. “Floods…Death List…Eight.” 4-10-1912, p1.
— 2 By Apr 3. Titusville Herald, PA. “Crest of Big Flood is Nearing Memphis.” 4-2-1912, 1.
— 1 March 30. Sunday State Journal, Lincoln, NE. “Water’s Rise Rapid.” 3-31-1912, p. 1.

Summary of State Breakout

Illinois/Indiana ( 9)
Iowa ( 3)
Kentucky ( 5)
Louisiana ( >59)
Mississippi (50-100)
Missouri ( 6)
Tennessee ( 2)
State not noted ( 3)

Total: 137-187

Breakout of Flood-Related Fatalities by State and Locality (where noted)

Illinois/Indiana ( 9)
–9 Along Kankakee River, ~Apr 1 (runs in northwestern IN and northeastern IL.)

Iowa ( 4)
–3 Cedar River flooding, early April.
–1 Waterloo area, Cedar River, March 31. Drowning; boat capsized; Walter Downing, 21.

Kentucky ( 4)
–1 Burkesville, Cumberland Riv. ~Apr 3-4. Drowning; boat capsized; Miss Allen Alexander.
–1 Hickman, March 29. Baby dropped into water; was being handed from one parent to the other.
–3 Fulton, ~April 4. Railroad men.

Louisiana (>59)
–>59 Blanchard tally from locality breakouts below, not using high number for Torras area.
–Several hundred. Le Mars Sentinel, IA. “Important News Notes of a Week.” 5-17-1912, p. 3.
–~20 Brown. The Mississippi River Flood of 1912. Bul. Amer. Geographical Soc, V. 44, p. 654.
Locality breakouts (where we have seen data)
— 2 Baton Rouge, May 7.
— 3 Bayou Latenache, May 7. Attempt to make high ground; raft breaks-up; farmer’s wife/2 daughters drown.
— 1 Convent City. Drowning; man drowns when “boat filled with refugees capsized…”
— 3 Covington, Tchefuncte River, May 12. Drowning; boys 13, 15, and 18.
— 1 Erwinville area. Drowning; H. Marchind, operating rescue boat when it overturned.
— 6 Glendale plantation. Olean Evening Times, NY. “Try Desperately to Rescue 5,000.” 5-16-1912, 1.
— 1 Morgan City. Drowning when refugee boat capsized.
–30 Pointe Coupee Parish; levee failure, May 6.
–30 “ “ Kane Daily Republican, PA. “Thirty Lives Lost in Flood.” 5-6-1912, p. 1.
–25 “ “ Levee fails, May 7. Drownings.
–20~ “ “ Atlanta Constitution. “Heavy Loss of Life Reported…Flood.” 5-7-1912, 20.
–17 “ “ Cedar Rapids Republican, IA. “Death Toll of Flood Raised.” 5-8-1912, p. 1.
–17 Torras region. (We choose to use the Wikipedia number for our tally.)
— 60 May 9 report. Postville Review, IA. “Flood Toll Grows.” 5-17-1912, p. 6.
— 28 Principally in Lettsworth, Batchelor and Erwinville communities to the south.
— 17 Torras area when levee breached. Apparent drownings.
— 16 May 7. Bradford Era, PA. “Flood Victims. Sixteen…Men…Drowned.” 5-8-1912, p.2.
–14 Lettsworth neighborhood.

Mississippi (50-100)
— ~300 Bolivar County, Beulah levee break.
— 200 Bolivar County, Beulah levee break.
–50-100 Yazoo Delta area from Beulah (Bolivar County) levee break.
–20 Benoit area. Green County Herald, Leakesville, MS. “Flood Claims Heavy Death Toll.” 4-26-1912.
–2 Benoit. Green County Herald, Leakesville, MS. “Flood Claims Heavy…Toll.” 4-26-1912.

Missouri ( 6)
–5 Bird’s Point area, ~Apr 6. Drownings; William Lynn, wife and three children.
–1 New Madrid, ~Apr 5. Drowning.

Tennessee ( 4)
–2 Clarksville area, ~Apr 4. Two men drove off the road into overflow water of the Red River.
–2 Lake County ~Apr 5-6. Two children reported drowned when they fell from a boat.

State not noted ( 3)
–3 Defiance Democrat. “Thirty Dead…Thirty Thousand Without Homes.” 4-10-1912, 1.

Narrative Information

Brown: “….The Ohio River began to rise after March 11, following the first of a series of southwest storms. This storm occurred on March 11-12 and it brought heavy precipitation throughout nearly the entire central and southern portions of the country. A second storm, March 14-15, moved over nearly the same course as the storm of March II-I2 and it was accompanied by heavy precipitation over most of the area. Following this storm the first warning was sent out on March I6, by the Weather Bureau. A third storm, March 20-2I, was accompanied by moderate rains. At this time the Ohio River at Cairo had passed the 45-foot level. The entire Ohio was in flood, at Pittsburg the river was 6.I feet above the flood stage. A fourth southwest storm set in on March 23-4 with unusually heavy precipitation and high temperatures, and a fifth on March 28-9 passed over the same area, again with heavy precipitation. At the end of the month, the highest stages of the river ever recorded were predicted between Cairo and Memphis; the water at Cairo was then at 51 feet, higher than during the I903 and I907 floods, and at Memphis, 38.1 or 3.I feet above flood stage….. [p. 650]

“The rainy condition continued into April. On April I-2 another southwest storm brought heavy rains. This was, however, the last of the series of storms which brought unusual rains and which easily account for the stages of the Ohio. The rapid succession of the storms made the extreme stages continue longer than usual by supplying a fresh burden of water and made the flood condition in the lower reaches of the river hazardous. It was not until May that New Orleans began to suffer, and on May 9, Governor Saunders of Louisiana sent out his appeal to the Nation to protect his State from flood. After the middle of April, rains began to be excessive again and now the lower river received the brunt of the storms. For the week ending April 22, I912, the precipitation ranged from four to eight inches above the normal over the lower parts of the Mississippi Valley. Mobile for the week reported a departure of + Io.53 inches with a normal of I.07 inch. The rains continued into May, and at New Orleans the rainfall on April 30 was 1.2 inch, on May 6, 2.44 inches, May 7, I.o6 inch, May Io, .76 inch, and May II, 6.94 inches….

“The complete data of the I912 flood have not been issued at the time of this writing, but enough has been published to give a good basis for comparison with the floods of other years. The I912 flood at nearly every station on the Mississippi exceeded the highest gage reading since 1871, when river gages were first established along the river. Thus at Cairo, the record was 54.00 feet, the highest previous being 52.2 in 1883; at Memphis, 44.9, the highest previous being 40.3 in 1907; and at Helena, 54.2 as against 51.8, the highest previous in I897….[p.651]

(Brown, Robert M. The Mississippi River Flood of 1912. Bulletin of the American Geographical Society, Vol. 44.)

Chicago Daily News Almanac: “One of the most destructive floods in the history of the Mississippi Valley occurred in the spring of 1912. Owing to the heavy and late snowfalls and the somewhat sudden melting of the snow in the latter part of March and the first part of April a vast volume of water was poured into the Mississippi river by its tributaries. At some places the levees were broken and at other places they were overflowed, with the result that thousands of acres of rich farming lands were inundated. At Cairo, Ill., May 4, the river stood at 53.9 feet, which was 1.7 feet above the high water mark of 1883. At Memphis the high record mark was broken by 3 feet.

“At the request of the mayor of Cairo troops were sent to patrol the levees at that city April 2. The soldiers were supplemented by hundreds of railroad and other laborers and through their efforts the dikes protecting the town were strengthened sufficiently to withstand the pressure. The Mobile & Ohio levee broke April 4 and the drainage district north of Cairo was flooded, causing a damage estimated at $5,000,000. Railroad service was almost cut off, being maintained in some instances only by the use of tugs where the lines were under water. April 5 the government levee west of Hickman, Ky., protecting the Reelfoot lake district of Kentucky and Tennessee, gave way and a large area of country was inundated.

“April 7 it was estimated by government engineers and state levee boards that as a result of the floods, which then had continued two weeks, thirty persons had been drowned and 30,000 made homeless, that 2,000 square miles of territory had been inundated and that damage had been caused amounting to $10,000,000. Several levees on both sides of the Mississippi above and below Memphis had given way and large areas of land in Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Mississippi and Louisiana were under water. In the northern part of the city of Memphis twenty-five blocks were submerged, 1,300 persons were made homeless, and 3,000 were thrown out of work by the shutting down of factories. Railroad traffic was interrupted and Hickman, Ky., for a time was on the verge of a famine on account of the lack of supplies. The destitution in the flooded districts was great until relieved by federal and state aid.

“In Mississippi, where the flood was at its worst about April 20, many deaths from drowning occurred. Fifteen persons were lost near Benoit in the flood that came from a break in the levee between that place and Beulah. It was reported that altogether about 200 lives were lost in Bolivar county, Mississippi. The majority of the victims were colored.

“Congress, at the request of President Taft, appropriated $350,000 April 2 for the relief of the flood sufferers. May 7 congress appropriated the further sum of $1,239,179.65 for the same purpose. The money was expended for supplies furnished by the quartermaster-general and the commissary-general of the army.” (Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year Book for 1913, Vol. 29. p. 116.)

Estherville Democrat, IA: “1912 – Overflow of the Mississippi River in Mississippi caused loss of life amounting to 200 and property loss of $45,000,000.” (Estherville Democrat (IA). “Storms and Floods Since 1421,” Oct 6, 1926, p. 12.)

NYT: “The lower Mississippi River Valley has had many disastrous floods and the problem of checking the damage and loss of life caused by them is still under discussion by engineers. One of the worst of these floods in recent years was in 1912, when 200 lives were lost and a property loss of $45,000,000 was caused in Bolivar Country, Mississippi.” (NYT, June 5, 1921)

The Survey: “…in the flood of a year ago on the Wabash River there occurred 400 cases of Typhoid fever at Peru, Ind., and 100 cases at Logansport, Ind., …” (The Survey, “Flood Problems Tackled By Drainage Convention,” Vol. XXX, No. 4, p. 131)

1912 Newspapers

March 29: “(By International News Service.) Cairo, Ill., March 29. – The levee at Bryant’s landing on the Missouri side of the Mississippi at Texas bend, 12 miles above Cairo, broke at noon today and water is now covering the big lake region in Missouri. A great effort is being made to save the drinking water levee on the Missouri side back of Cairo. The Iron Mountain railroad is interested in the levee and nearly 500 men are fighting back the water, which is only two inches from the top. The breaking of this levee would cover another big section and cause great damage.

“Farmers in low sections of Missouri and Illinois are bringing their families and stock into Cairo for safety. Mayor George Parsons had all the levees around Cairo inspected today and yesterday. With the river gauge here marking 51.3 feet, Cairo is high and dry and can stand at least five feet more of water…

(Joplin Morning Tribune, MO. “Levee Breaks and Water Covers Country.” 3-30-1912, p. 9.)

March 31: “Rapidly melting snow is making a raging torrent of every river and stream in the upper half of the Mississippi valley, wrecking houses, inundating lands and endangering lives. No relief is in sight. The weather gradually is growing warmer, which will result in further melting. All of the larger rivers are at floodtide or within a few inches of it. Ice floes constantly threaten dams and bridges. In many places dynamite is being use, but the swiftly moving currents, it is feared, will carry away the huge gorges before they may be broken up into pieces small enough to render them harmless.

“Mississippi river cities are said to be in the gravest danger. At. St. Louis last night the river stood close to the danger mark, thirty feet, and was reported rising rapidly. Great fear is entertained for residents of the conjunction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Gangs of men are working night and day repairing the damaged levees.

“In the north the Platte and the Des Moines rivers are causing much damage. The Platte is filled with ice gorges, which have ripped away several bridges. The Des Moines river still is below flood stage, but is rising.

“High water drove families from their home in Rock Island, Ill., and Waterloo, Ia.; Yankton, S.D.; Norfolk, Neb., and Schneider, Ind., yesterday. Near Schneider, a dike in the Kankakee river broke, releasing fifteen feet of water.

“Many other cities threaten to be flooded within a few hours. Warnings have been issued to all residents of lowlands to prepare to move.

“Cairo, Ill., March 30. – The flood in the Cairo district, the confluence of the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers became desperate tonight. Refugees were brought here from flooded sections and more are expected during the night. At Cairo the river reached the stage of 51.9 feet tonight, a rise of three-tenths of a foot in twenty-four hours. A stage of 53.5 feet is predicted for Thursday. The stage tonight is the highest ever recorded, except in 1893, when the gauge went to 52.2. The Cairo levees will hold fifty-six feet of water. The steamboat Three States went to Texas Bend, Mo., and brought back 300 men, women and children from that district. The boat returned for other refugees and live stock.

“The levee at Texas Bend, which broke yesterday, went to pieces this afternoon and the country back of it was flooded. The big lake region of Missouri is entirely under water. The levee at McClure islands was still holding tonight, but water from the Mississippi went around it higher up on the river and spread over the country. The Drinkwater, Mo., levee is being protected by 1,000 Iron Mountain railroad men, who piled sacks of dirt on places where it was thought it would break. The levee is nine miles long.

“Reports from Hickman, Ky., are to the effect that the water is about even with the top of the levee. At Columbus, Ky., the business section is reported to be under four feet of water.

Columbus, Ky., Inundated.

“Louisville, Ky., March 30. – Columbus is under four feet of water, houses are floating about in the streets and all the inhabitants have fled to high ground. The property damage is great. The Mississippi levee at Hickman held throughout the night, gradually, and it is feared the snapping point of the levee’s strength will be reached today. All night long gangs of men piled hundreds of sand bags behind the levee and built up the great bank while barges armed with rifles patrolled the levee to prevent some of the townspeople from cutting the levee at the lower part of the town in order to avert the flooding of the upper part.

“St. Louis, March 30. – With the Mississippi here marking twenty-nine feet early this morning and rising rapidly, it was expected that the danger mark, thirty feet, would be reached. Reports of broken levees are being received from the flooded territory in the vicinity of the conjunction of the Ohio and Mississippi. The first death due to the high water was reported from Hickman, Ky., last night. A woman, standing in a skiff, dropped her baby into the water while it was being handed to her by her husband, as they were preparing to flee from their flooded home.

“Hammond, Ind., March 30. – An ice gorge forced a big gap in the Grant William dike in the Kankakee river and a torrent of water swept through, inundating the country surrounding Shelby and Schneider. The financial loss will reach a quarter of a million dollars. The submerged land, consisting of many miles of most valuable land in Indiana, reported to the town of Schneider on the Chicago, Indiana and Southern railway. Reports from Schneid4r indicate the water is slowly flooding the town. Fears are entertained that other portions of the dike, jammed by ice, will be swept away.

“Albert Lea, Minn., March 30. – A large portion of the new dam which the city is building here at the lower end of Fountain lake, broke today and about one-third of the city is under water. The Rock Island yards are submerged and water to the depth of four feet surrounds the railway station. The loss to date is estimated at $100,000. Many families are homeless….

“Rock Island, Ill., March 30. – Many families in the west part of the city were driven from their homes today when the Mississippi overflowed its banks. It is rising at about three inches an hour….” (Sunday State Journal, Lincoln, NE. “Water’s Rise Rapid.” 3-31-1912, p. 1.)

April 1: “Hammond, Ind., April 1. – With 25,000 acres of farm land completely flooded and three towns partly submerged, Hammond, Gary and other larger places along the Kankakee river valley are today making desperate defenses against the onrush of the flood.

Pouring Through Dykes.

“Property loss is reported to exceed $5oo,000, and at a score of places near Shelby, Walter Valley and Schneider, the flooded towns, the river is pouring through breaks in the Grant Williams dyke. The Hack dyke, south of Schneider, has also given way and lowlands on both sides of the river are a complete waste of water. Three towns are approachable only with boats.

Choked With Ice Gorges.

“The Calumet river, choked with ice gorges, is also threatening the town of Gary and dynamite crews have been sent out along that river as well as the Kankakee to break up the ice. Railroad traffic through this district is almost suspended. Trainloads of rock and other ballast are being rushed to the district to keep railroad embankments from being washed away.

Platte Flood Crest Passed.

“Omaha, Neb., April 1. – The crest of the Platte river flood, which crippled railway traffic Saturday and inundated thousands of acres in eastern Nebraska has passed into the Missouri river. The Platte is steadily lowering, but water still overflows large areas and train service is demoralized….

Ohio Rise Nearly Over.

“Evansville, April 1. – The Ohio river is expected to come to a stand today. It is believed a stage of about 43 feet will be reached. Local United States Weather Observer Bland has been sending out flood warnings during the past week. Many of the side streams of the lower Ohio are rising at a rapid rate and it is feared a good deal of damage will be done to growing wheat in the bottoms.

“The plant of the Evansville Water-works, a mile above the city, is surrounded by water, and workmen are compelled to go to and from their work in skiffs. Hundreds of homes in the lowlands between here and Cairo, Ill., are surrounded by water and much live stock has perished….

“Kansas City, Mo., April 1. – A flood warning was issued by the weather bureau today when the Kaw river reached a stage of twenty-two feet, which is the flood mark. A twenty-five foot stage is forecasted by tomorrow night. This will flood the bottom where many of the big manufacturing plants and packing plants are located.

Nine Drowned; 2000 Homeless.

“Chicago, April 1. – Two thousand persons, it is estimated, has been rendered homeless by the floods, and a serious loss of life is feared. Nine persons are reported to have been drowned along the Kankakee river. An army of farmers are working desperately to save homes that have not already been destroyed by the flood. The flood drove fifty families from residences at South Gary and Highlands yesterday. The water continues to rise at an alarming rate and a large area on both sides of the Calumet river is inundated….” (Daily Review, Decatur IL. “Towns Cut Off.” 4-1-1912, p. 1.)

April 2: “By Associated Press. The greatest volume of water in the history of the Mississippi river is straining today at 200 miles of levees, which have broken in several places and flooded large areas. Breaks in Hickman, Ky., opposite on the Missouri side, and at Memphis have made thousands homeless and done untold damage. Sufficient warning had been given, however, and to date only two lives have been reported lost. Two thousand persons marooned at Hickman are suffering actual hunger, while trains with food supplies cannot be run into the city.

“From Cairo, Ill., to Helena, Ark., persons living near the river are rapidly abandoning their homes and moving their effects and live stock to higher ground….” (Titusville Morning Herald, PA. “Crest of Big Flood is Nearing Memphis.” 4-2-1912, p. 1.)

April 2: “Omaha, Neb., April 2. – The flood situation in eastern Nebraska was greatly relieved today and 2,000 passengers who had remained in Omaha for forty hours were able to continue their journey westward….it was announced that twenty-three trains held up in Fremont would start east during the night.” (Titusville Morning Herald, PA. “Flood on the Upper Missouri Subsiding.” 4-3-1912, p. 1.)

April 2: “Pittsburgh, April 2. – Incessant rains of the last forty-eight hours changed to snow tonight, and flood conditions east and north of here are improved. Cold weather is expected to check the rising water although the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers which, with their many tributaries, are swollen and are carrying much water into the Ohio river. Portions of Warren and Franklin, Pa., are under water. Inundation of the low lands of the western part of Pittsburgh is expected tomorrow.” (Titusville Morning Herald, PA. “Snow Has Improved Flood at Pittsburgh.” 4-3-1912, p. 1.)

April 4: “St. Louis, April 4. – The area affected by the flood caused by almost an unprecedented volume of water in the Mississippi has not extended a great deal, but the situation at the deluged centers continues to become more menacing. But two more levee breaks were reported. These were near Chester, Ill., where 30,000 acres of farming land were inundated….

“The number of lives lost was brought to eight when the death of three railroad men near Fulton, Ky., was reported and two more were drowned near Clarksville, Tenn. The latter drove off the road into overflow water of the Red river. That the loss of life has not been greater is due to the warning given lowland dwellers of the coming high water….” (Times Enterprise, Albert Lea, MN. “Floods Become More Menacing…Death List Reaches Eight.” 4-10-1912, p. 1.)

April 5: “No sign of abatement of the flood that for days has dealt or threatened disaster all along the banks of the Mississippi river from St. Louis to Arkansas City, was apparent last night. Instead, the water came from the north in ever increasing volume, along with predictions that more would follow.

“The river has come within two-tenths of a foot of what the Memphis weather forecaster has termed the dead line – 44 feet…A stage of 45 feet…I predicted. Weak spots have developed at Mound City, Ark., and at the Reelfoot levee, west of Hickman, Ky. All along the river the shifts of men engaged in reinforcing the sorely tested levees were urged to redoubled efforts, while behind the dikes those who had not obeyed the warning and fled, gathered up or secured their movable property and then hastened to the hills. Numerous unconfirmed reports of breaks in levees not designed to withstand an unheard of flood increased anxiety the length of the danger zone. The day brought relief in the shape of provisions and tents to the 3,500 refugees at Hickman, the number including the 2,000 driven from their homes in the factory district there and the 1,500 gathered in from the submerged area across on the Missouri side. Governor Harmon of Ohio yesterday offered more tents for the Tennessee and Kentucky sufferers.

“At Memphis where no less than a dozen first class river steamboats are tied up, the flooding of the whole of the low-lying north section, it is feared, has polluted the water supply. The health authorities have warned the residents of the close in section to boil their drinking water as a preventive measure.

“The death list has reached ten. At Burkesville, Ky., Miss Allen Alexander was drowned when a boat capsized in the overflowed section of the Cumberland river. A negro was drowned at New Madrid, Mo.

“One of the phases of the flood is the tying up of practically all traffic, not only on the Mississippi, but on the Ohio and the other navigable tributaries of the father of waters. Usually “a big river,’ is the signal for an unusual amount of traffic. Especially is this true of the coal fleets from Pittsburgh, which go down the Ohio whenever possible on a rise. Now, however, hundreds of barges and coal boats are fast waiting until the Mississippi is open for towboats again. High water, too, on most of the streams, keeps the larger steamboats tied up because they cannot get under the bridges.” (Nebraska State Journal, Lincoln. “Water All Around.” 4-5-1912, p. 1.

April 6: “St. Louis, April 6. – The levee at Wyanoke Landing, Ark., seven miles south of Memphis broke late today. Water is rushing through the crevasse at a terrific rate and by tomorrow it is anticipated that the gap will be a mile in width. The territory over which the water will spread is sparsely settled.

“The United States engineers’ office at Memphis had announced a short time before that the main Government levee at St. Clair, Ark., nine miles north of Memphis, had broken. This means that the great St. Francis Basin, covering a large section of Eastern Arkansas, probably will be flooded.

“The first break in the Louisiana levees was reported today on the Atchafalaya river, in West Baton Rouge. The crevice is reported more than 200 feet wide and water will flood the Atchafalaya lowlands, much of which is swamp country.

Trend of Danger Zone Southward.

“While the trend of the danger zone in the Mississippi flood district moved southward this morning, yet keenest attention was directed toward the Reelfoot Lake country, in Tennessee, which was inundated last night when the levee at Hickman, Ky., was breached.

“Greatest anxiety centered in the question of loss of life. In the 500 miles of inundated country of Northwest Tennessee hundreds of persons were forced to flee before the flood’s rush. Advices received from several points in the afflicted district up to noon indicate that practically all the farmers and villagers in the sweep of the tide escaped. The only reports of death came from a farming district in Lake county. Two children are said to have been drowned when they fell from a boat.
Rescue Parties Sent Out.

“Most of the Reelfoot refugees are at Tiptonville and Ridgley. They have been provided with shelter, and now the State has been asked to send them food and clothing. Probably 2,000 of the homeless are gathered in the two towns. Rescue parties have set out in boats to bring in persons who are marooned on housetops and rafts.

“The greatest pecuniary loss has been sustained in the drowning of cattle. Many farmhouses are under water, but the loss from this source will not mount high. There were no crops in the field and planting had not been begun….” (Baltimore Sun, MD. “Three Levees Breached.” 4-7-1912, p. 1.)

April 8: “St. Louis, April 8. – As a result of a two-weeks flood in the Mississippi valley, 30 persons have been drowned, 30,000 are homeless, 2,000 square miles of country inundated and a financial loss of $10,000,000 sustained. These figures were arrived at by government engineers and officials of state levee boards engaged in battling with the ravaging sweep of the Mississippi river from points in Illinois to threatened places in Mississippi and Arkansas.

“Water is pouring into Arkansas through three new breaks in the levee south of Memphis. Thes4e gave way and several hundred square miles are subject to flooding. Railroad traffic in these sections is practically paralyzed.

“Hundreds of persons still are menaced by the tide of thee river at points in lower Missouri, northwest Tennessee and Arkansas. They are marooned on housetops, in trees and on anchored rafts directly in the sweep of the rampaging river. Conservative judgment at Memphis was expressed in belief that the great majority of these flood prison4rs will be rescued.

Golden Lake Levee Holds.

“The most dangerous point in the flood situation was at Golden Lake, the Arkansas levee guarding the pressure of the Mississippi. Had this embankment been breached it would have added to the tide already sweeping through northwest Arkansas. The Golden Lake levee held and, as it continued to baffle the swirl of the flood, danger in the southern part of the valley increased. As long as the flood remains in the levees north the strain on the southern embankments increases.

“Hourly the danger zone works southward. In the upper reaches, the Ohio and Mississippi rivers are practically at a standstill. This means that the flood’s crest now is exerted on the dikes from the Missouri line southward.” (Defiance Democrat, OH. “Thirty Dead and Thirty Thousand Without Homes.” 4-10-1912, 1.)

April 11: “The highest water the Mississippi has ever known is washing the tops of weakened levees from Cairo to Memphis and below.

“The rich Reel Foot Lake district in northern Tennessee is in imminent danger, as a 300-yard stretch of levee is threatening to go out at any minute….

“At Caruthersville, Mo., the situation is most serious. Men are working day and night, waters are within a foot of the top of the levee and the town is full of refugees. A company of militia keeps order.

“Hickman, Ky., has thousands of refugees, and is working night and day on the levee. Looting was reported and troops have been asked for.

“Couriers ride through the lowlands north and south of Memphis, warning all to seek high ground. The city itself is safe, the mayor says.

“William Lynn, his wife and three children were drowned near Bird’s Point, Mo.

“Memphis, Tenn. – St. Francis Levee Board officials admit that the water is topping the levee in many places and a heroic effort is being made to stop the overflow with sandbags placed on top of the levee.

“The point threatened is Golden Lake, on the Arkansas side, where a cave-in is feared. The overflows at Mound City, Holly Bush and other points have been checked by sand-bags. The forces at Scanlon’s Landing and White River have succeeded in preventing breaks.

“Lake county, Tenn., is overflowed from the break below Hickman, and train loads of refugees are crowding into Oversburg.

“Seven thousand persons are homeless about Memphis. Ten thousand others are fleeing from the St. Francis basin. A score of small towns report that their business sections are flooded.

“Points below Memphis are now beginning to feel the effects of the flood. The river is rising rapidly at Natchez, Miss., and a 55-foot stage is expected there. River steamers are swamped with calls from farmers to move live stock. Farms are being depopulated and all stock driven to high ground or sent by steamer to points believed to be out of the flood district.

No Relief at Hickman.

“Hickman, Ky. – The city officials of Hickman have more than 3,000 persons to feed and house, but no funds and little food. The situation is the most critical since the first water entered the town some days ago. Refugees are flocking here from Missouri and Kentucky points. Local merchants have sold all their stocks, and though the churches and public buildings have been thrown open to the refugees, there are still hundreds unsheltered in the hills back of the town. The last block of the business district has been inundated, and part of the town is under 10 feet of water.

“….Not one of the five railroads entering Cairo can operate a train into the city. The Illinois Central was the last one to give up. More than 3,000 feet of its track was washed out by the flood in the drainage district. The little tug boat connection of the Big Four, between Cairo and Mound City, is the only outlet for travel.

Congress to Withhold Appropriation.

“Washington, D.C. – Unless Mississippi flood conditions become worse, congress will not appropriate money for the relief of the flood victims. Chairman Fitzgerald of the house appropriation committee stated after a conference with President Taft and Red Cross officials. ‘In so far as the president is advised, the war department, Red Cross and local authorities are able to afford ample relief for those made homeless by the floods,’ Fitzgerald stated. ‘We will hold in abeyance the James resolution appropriating $250,000 for relief of the flood sufferers.’

“Governors of Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee, telegraphed the Red Cross office here asking aid. It sent $1,500 to the flood district. A hast inventory of all stores available in the quartermaster’s department revealed the fact that only 100 suitable tents are left in the St. Louis depot, the nearest supply statin to the flooded district. Notwithstanding the optimistic opinion expressed by Fitzgerald, reports of army engineers to the war department were that conditions along the Mississippi were worst than in the big flood of 1897.” (Iron County Register, Ironton, MO. “Flood Situation in a Nutshell.” 4-11-1912, p. 7.)

April 12: “St. Louis, Mo. – There is no relief for the flood doomed sections of the lower Mississippi valley. All indications are that the water will go higher and that the present damage will be but a detail to what is to follow. These indications are based on reports of phenomenal rises at points above the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, and weather bureau predictions.

“The government levee a short distance below Hickman, Ky., on the Mississippi protecting the famous fertile Reel Foot Lake district gave way shortly before dark. Over a hundred square miles of splendid farming lands were swamped under the sea that rolled in like a tidal wave. Hickman is entirely under water. Between seven and ten thousand people outside of the town have been rendered homeless. Farm houses were swept away like so many ant hills. The loss of live stock will be enormous.

“Reports of loss of life are numerous, but it will be several days before news can be procured from isolated places now covered by the temporary lake of swirling water, logs and wreckage. It is the general opinion of refugees in Paducah that many people have been drowned.

“Paducah, the highest point within miles of the junction of the Mississippi and Ohio and the Ohio and Tennessee rivers, is crowded in tents pitched on high places along the Mississippi. In many sections food supplies are scarce and hundreds of men, women and children are living on scant rations. Supplies are being hurried from Paducah and other places, but in the majority of cases the relief expeditions are checked by flooded lowlands before they reach their destination.

“Cairo is entirely surrounded by water and transportation on all railroads is cut off. A trip around the levees gives one a better idea of the vast area that is inundated than can be drawn from a verbal or printed description. The situation, however, is encouraging. All levees about the city are reported safe and sound. Plenty of men with material are on hand prepared to make all repairs necessary on a moment’s notice. The city is considered secure from flood. The breaking of the government levee at Hickman is expected to relieve Cairo.

“The entire drainage district north of Cairo is under from ten to 20 feet of water. From the subway north the scene is one of destruction and extreme destitution.

“The situation at Memphis is gradually growing worse.

“The levees protecting the upper Yazoo section and the White river levees are also remaining intact, according to reports received by Major Clark E. Smith, chief government engineer.

“At Kangaroo Point, 50 miles below Memphis, water has begun to flow over the levees and every available man for miles around was sent to the scene. Five hundred men were also rushed to Modoc, a point 25 miles below Friars Point, Miss., where water was flowing over the levee.

“The entire town of Wyatt, Mo., is under three feet of water. At East Prairie, Mo., the water is on three sides of the town and threatening to overflow the village.

“At New Madrid, Mo., flood conditions are worse. There are no prospects of relief and the flood damage is increasing every hour. The river continues rising and food is becoming scarce.” (The Republican, Gilead, Morrow County, OH. “Water Inundates Fine Farm Lands.” 4-12-1912, p. 1.)

April 12: “Greenville, Miss., April 12. – The Mississippi river levee at Panther Forest, nineteen miles above Greenville, on the Arkansas shore, gave way late today and today the water is finding its way over 200 square miles of rich farming lands and several prosperous towns.” (Titusville Morning Herald, PA. “Another Levee Breaks.” 4-13-1912, p. 1.)

April 14: “When the Ohio, the Upper Mississippi, and the Missouri are in flood at the same time, as they are now and have been for more than two weeks, 5,000,000 American citizens living in the valley below the mouth of the Ohio face a situation unlike anything they have ever before been called upon to face.

“When the Ohio and the Upper Mississippi are in flood, or the Missouri and Ohio, or any other combination of two of the three might streams, it is a serious matter, but one with which the millions before mentioned have often struggled….

“For more than 100 years prior to the building of dikes in the upper part of the valley of the united Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio, there had been simply little dikes along the Mississippi in Louisiana three and four feet high, to keep the Spring floods away from the rich cane and cotton lands. Now those dikes are twenty feet high at New Orleans and eighteen outside the city. When Kentucky, Tennessee, Southern Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas overflow lands were reclaimed, the volume of water thrown upon the lands of Louisiana and Mississippi increased amazingly.

“The State of Louisiana alone has spent $50,000,000 to keep off the water the States above her send down to her. She has been the most energetic of the States bordering the great river, possibly because she had to be.

“It is seventy years since there has been a river flood in New Orleans, so migh6ty are the dikes the people of that bedeviled city have constructed.

“For two weeks Louisiana and Mississippi people have been piling sand-filled bags upon the crown of their chains of levees, and then facing the dikes of bags with sheet piling to keep the water away. They do not intend their States shall go under water. They watch the gauge readings of the upper rivers with more care than a doctor watches the clinic report of the patient he is taking through an attack of typhoid.

“The Weather Bureau is not a joke to them. That service has told them of the coming of floods weeks in advance of the rise. They know the agents of the service read the water gauges of all the streams that empty into the tributaries of the Mississippi.

“Ten days hence the people of the lower valley will know whether they have built well enough for the unusual combination of the three rivers being in flood at the same time….

“Should there be a general destruction of the levees in Southern Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana, the loss would run into hundreds of millions. But Gen. Bixby [head of US Army engineers] thinks the levees will hold. He has had reports from all the army engineers along the stream. He knows that millions of bags of sand have been piled on the crown. All the available free and convict labor has been put on the levees….There are substantially 1,800 miles of levee, and 100 men to a mile is a low estimate. Women and children are also employed wherever the danger is so great that every member of the community realizes it…..Inspectors walk the levees at all times, but in times of high water the patrol is increased, so that instant warning may be given of any softening that takes place in the mound of earth that holds back the water….” (New York Times. “How They Are Fighting The Worst Flood in Years in the Mississippi Valley.” 4-14-1912, p. 3.)

April 14: “Tallulah, La., April 14. – All of the town of Tallulah, north of the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific railroad, with the exception of a few business houses, is under water tonight. Every able-bodied man is lending his aid in the desperate fight being made to save the rest of the town. Dwellings and small houses are floating about in the flooded area, some of which is ten feet under water.

“The Mississippi levee for miles along here presents a weird scene tonight. Fires made of driftwood dot the embankment, on which thousands of refugees are roasting the carcasses of beeves for food.

“A fifteen-foot wall of water, fifty feet wide, that burst suddenly through the levee at Salem, La., Friday evening, inundating within twenty minutes two miles of farm land, drove the refugees from their homes. Ahead of this mighty rush of waters rode a score of negroes from the Alsatia plantation mounted on mules and horses. They rode all night through the darkness and rain as fast as their mounts could gallop, warning the inhabitants until, overtaken by the rising tide, they were forced to flee for their own lives.

“Rescuers found families on top of houses, having chopped holes in the roofs and perched upon the ridge poles. One boat found a whit man and a negro clinging to a sapling almost exhausted. An unconscious negro was entangled in a barbed wire fence….” (Indianapolis Star, IN. “Town Engulfed by Mississippi Flood.” 4-15-1912, p. 1.)

April 15: “New Orleans, LA., April 15. – Parts of thirteen parishes in northeastern Louisiana are facing a deluge unparalleled in the history of disastrous floods of the lower Mississippi valley. Numerous small towns in East Carroll and Madison parishes already have been wiped out, vast stretches of valley lands are covered by from six to twenty feet of water and a wall of the devastating flood waters, twenty feet high and more than a mile in width, is rushing through the great Dogtail crevasse near Alsatin, La. Already thousands are homeless and destitute. What will be the total when the waters from the Panther forest and Redfork crevasses in Arkansas join the water pouring through the Dogtail breach no one can say. Parts of thirteen Louisiana parishes and two Arkansas counties will be under water and a conservative estimate is that the loss in that section will total at least $10,000,000. A per cent of territory 160 miles in length and from sixty to eighty miles in breadth will be inundated. To add to the alarming situation a veritable cloudburst in the Tensas district of north Louisiana today gave forth from four to six inches of rainfall in ten hours….Relief work is centered at Vicksburg, Miss., where already hundreds of homeless and destitute persons from the flooded Louisiana territory are quartered.” (Nebraska State Journal, Lincoln. “Face Great Deluge.” 4-16-1912, p. 1.)

April 17: “Cedar Rapids. – James Colgan and wife, who lived on an island in the Cedar river were drowned while trying to escape the floods in a boat accompanied by their son and their household goods. The boat was overloaded and capsized.” (Upper Des Moines-Republican, Algona, IA. “Family Drowned in Flood.” 4-17-1912, p. 1.)

April 20: “New Orleans, April 20. – Harassed on all sides by the mighty Mississippi river which at the present time inundates twelve prosperous villages in Mississippi near Greenville and handicapped by lack of money and facilities with which to battle the water which is sweeping over their very houses, the people of Greenville tonight have sent out countless messages to every available source calling for aid. A message received here tonight says that at least 20,000 persons are homeless and that many lives have been lost. Some estimates place the number of dead at 200. This, however, cannot be confirmed as news from the flooded area practically is unobtainable.

“A raging flood covers twenty square miles in the vicinity, the water pouring into two bayous and is expected to reach the levee at Greenville before morning.

“Twenty-one negroes are known to have been drowned near Benoit. Great loss of life is believed to have occurred in the section between Beulah and Greenville.

Towns Are Under Water.

“The towns of Scott, Avondale, Wilczinski, Winterville, Choctaw, Dunleith, Holly Knowe, Helm, Elizabeth, Napanee, Stoneyville [Stoneville?] and Lenand [Leland?], are several feet beneath water, the scantily clad and destitute people in some of them marooned on the roofs of their homes.

“Calls for aid in the delta counties north of Vicksburg are hourly growing more urgent and 2,500 square miles will be inundated….

“Much of the blame for the condition of the levee is laid on the shoulders of the Grand Isle railroad which it is stated has gradually encroached upon the levee from time to time until scarcely more than a perpendicular wall now exists. In many sections it is asserted an entire new revetment must be placed and the embankment practically rebuilt….” (Joplin News Herald, MO. “20,000 Are in Distress as Flood Rages.” 4-21-1912, p. 1.)

April 22: “Jackson, Miss., April 22. – Reports have reached here that 200 persons have been drowned in Bolivar county, Mississippi, by the flood that swept through that section when the river dikes broke near Beulah. Bolivar county is covered with water. The reports declare many white persons were swept away by the deluge, although it is said the majority of victims were negroes, who failed to reach high ground in time to get out of the flood’s path.

“Governor Earl Brewer was advised today there are 6,000 refugees in camp at Cleveland and that the food supply will last less than 24 hours.

“Greenville, Miss., April 22. – Fifteen persons are known to have been drowned near Benoit in the flood that came from the levee break between Benoit and Beulah, Miss. Unverified reports of other and more extensive loss of life are being received here. Because of the extent of the present flood river observers express the opinion that the loss of life in this section of the delta will reach 200.”
(Republican-Atlas, Monmouth, IL. “200 Die in Big Flood.” 4-25-1912, p. 4.)

April 23: “Memphis, Tenn., April 23. – Five hundred persons have been drowned and three hundred towns and hamlets have been inundated and partly destroyed by the floods now sweeping the Mississippi valley. These are the estimates made today from reports received at the office of the United States engineers who are in charge of the levees along the Mississippi River.

“The heaviest loss of life occurred in the Mississippi delta districts. Here hundreds of persons refused to leave their homes when warned of the impending danger of floods. Many of them could not escape when the levees gave way and the waters, from 10 to 15 feet deep, swept over the delta. A large percentage of those drowned were colored. The loss of life throughout the Mississippi and Louisiana flood districts has been heavy. Many whites are among those who perished.

300 Towns Wiped Out.

“According to the government engineers’ report fully 300 towns in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana have been practically wiped out by the water. These towns vary from villages of several hundred inhabitants to plantation settlements and trading settlements where ore or two stores and a small colony of poor whites and colored were centered for the convenience of plantation owners.

“The reports of the loss of life in towns is substantiated by private reports coming from people thoroughly familiar with conditions in the flooded section. The flood today is still spreading and sending the water over various sections of plantation lands.” (Washington Post, DC. “500 Dead By Floods….Breaks in Levees” 4-24-1912, p. 1.)

April 24: “Memphis, Tenn., April 24. – One thousand men are battling with the high water near the mouth of Red river, forty miles below Natchez, Miss., where breaks are threatening at a dozen places. Water from the overflowed sections of southern Arkansas and north Louisiana is coming back into Mississippi river. The total death list from this flood probably will never be known. Bodies are found every day. Conditions in Arkansas opposite Memphis are greatly improved. Fully two thousand refugees are at the fair grounds being cared for by the flood committee.” (Tribune, Wakarusa, IN. “1,000 Battle With Flood.” 5-2-1912, p. 2.)

April 26: “Memphis, Tenn. – With a death list variously estimated at from 50 to 100 people, mostly negroes, the break in the lower Yazoo delta at Beulah, Miss., rapidly widening, the beautiful Mississippi delta, the most thickly inhabited section yet visited by the flood, is being rapidly converted into an inland sea. Already it is estimated more than twenty-five square miles have been inundated and the water is spreading with greater rapidity than from any break which has yet occurred. Thousands of families are deprived of homes, hundreds have been rescued and many more are awaiting rescue in remote parts the limited number of rescuers have been as yet unable to reach.

“A score of small towns are now under water from three to fifteen feet deep and relief of all the homeless is a stupendous task. Deaths from exposure are reported daily. So far most of the fatalities have been among the negroes, but news was received of the death of two white women at Benoit.

“Relief work among the thousands of homeless people is being well conducted under the supervision of state and federal officials with headquarters at Vicksburg, where already about 3,000 negroes from Louisiana are quartered. Relief stations have been established at a dozen points in Northeastern Louisiana and at points in Mississippi throngs of destitute folks are being fed and given clothing, cooking utensils, medicine, etc.

“A number of levees were reported almost at the breaking point, and the federal and state engineers admitted they may not be able to hold all of them if heavy rains continue for another week.

“The conditions will grow worse during the next week in the Sunflower valley of Mississippi, which is rapidly being inundated by the waters from the crevasse at Beulah, and in Northeastern Louisiana, where the flood waters are pouring through the Dog Tail crevasse near Alsathia [Alsatia?], La., are slowly spreading over portions of thirteen parishes. Several thousand square miles of rich bottom lands will have been inundated before the waters from these two great crevasses finally return to the Mississippi river through the Yazoo and Red rivers.

“Except in the vicinity of the Beulah crevasse, the floods in that section so far have claimed no lives, at least news of such has not reached the towns in the district which are yet in telegraphic communication with the outside world.

Governor Make Appeal.

“The governors of Mississippi and Louisiana and mayors of cities throughout these states have issued appeals for relief funds and provisions are rapidly being rushed to the flood sufferers. The flood waters will cover a vast area of the present inundated territory for perhaps two months longer and it will be necessary to raise many thousands of dollars yet to succor the homeless and destitute.

“The river at and above Memphis continues to fall at a constantly increasing rate. At every point on the upper rivers reporting to Memphis falls were recorded, with the exception of Cincinnati, where a rise of 1.2 feet was reported. This, it is believed, will not materially affect the lower Mississippi.

“The upper Yazoo district is still intact and stands well above the water. No weaknesses worth mentioning have developed in that line and none is expected to develop.” (Green County Herald, Leakesville, MS. “Flood Claims Heavy Death Toll.” 4-26-1912.)

April 26: “Greenville [MS]. – The conditions of most intense suffering in the flooded district center in the Bogue Phalia country, in thee vicinity of Napanee, Choctaw and Elizabeth. No authentic reports of the loss of life are obtainable at this time, but it is a known fact that it is great.

“A large number of negroes and one colony of Italians in this vicinity are still marooned in their houses. The water ranges from three to ten and fifteen feet in depth and is rising at the rate of eighteen inches in twenty-four hours. Five hundred negroes rescued from this section are loaded in box cars at Stoneville and no sort of provisions have as yet reached them. Two hundred negroes rescued in the vicinity of Benoit were brought to this city and provisions provided.

“A rescue party consisting of Capt. W. A. Chipman, Will Beach and Bob Wing arrived from the vicinity of Benoit and report heart-rending and indescribable scenes of distress. This party has rescued 200 white people and negroes in the vicinity of Benoit. They report all the flood-stricken sufferers in that vicinity now in a place of safety, but they are still in destitute condition and with the scantiest food supplies. The party reports the total number drowned in this vicinity as twenty.

“The government relief boats King and Wynoka [Waynoka?] arrived here from Helena with 250,000 rations for the flood sufferers in this section. A portion of these were transported to Leland, while the balance is being distributed from here.” (Green County Herald, Leakesville, MS. “Many Lose Their Lives.” 4-26-1912.)

April 30: “Baton Rouge, La., April 30.–Not only has the record for high water in the Mississippi here been broken long since, but the indications were today that the estimate of the United States army engineers and weather officials would also be exceeded. For the twelve hours ending at 6 p.m. today a rise of five-tenths was recorded. If the rise continues the estimated height will be exceeded by tomorrow morning.

“From the mouth of the Red river to Baton Rouge on the west side the levee is one unbroken line of guards watching to prevent the levee being cut or to give the alarm promptly in the event an incipient crevasse makes its appearance. Volunteers were organized here tonight and sent to the assistance of the levee guards.

“Fifteen hundred persons in the newly overflowed sections near the mouth of the Red river were reported destitute today and supplies were immediately dispatched to their relief by the army commissary department. Suffering was reported from the vicinity of Melville, Bordenville, Lake Bond. Hamburg. Lacour [Lacour] and Naples. The overflow is caused by the waters from the Dog Tall crevasse.

“Much uneasiness was caused by the rapid rise here today and droves of cattle have been driven out from the plantations to high ground around Baton Rouge.

Guarding Levee at New Orleans

“New Orleans, April 30. – The 1903 high water record of 20.5 feet at 7 p.m. was equaled here tonight, the gauge registering an increase of one-tenth within twelve hours. As an extra precaution during the present high water, Inspector of Police James Reynolds, after a conference with Mayor Martin Behrman, today ordered a patrol of mounted police to watch the levees about the city. The patrol will be maintained day and night. They are under instructions to report anything that appears the least suspicious or threatening and to keep constant and close watch on the levees.

More Farms Submerged.

“Monroe, La., April 30. – A fall of one-tenth was recorded on the Black river gauge here today. The water from the Panther Forest break is gradually encroaching upon the plantations east and south of this place, and hundreds of additional acres of open land have been inundated. The levee about Rayville is still holding tonight, and the inhabitants are hopeful as the water there was reported about stationary.” (Atlanta Constitution. “Alarm Spreading All Along River.” 5-1-1912, p. 10.)

May 2: “New Orleans, La., May 2 — What is expected to prove the most disastrous crevasse in the history of the Mississippi valley occurred when the levee at Torras, La., broke. The combined torrents of the Mississippi and Red rivers are sweeping madly southward, fast covering the section known as the “Sugar Bowl of America.”

“There is nothing to bar the progress of the waters between Torras and the gulf, and in a few days, at the most, the entire sugar producing section of the state will be under water of a depth varying from 10 to 20 feet or more.

“The levee at Torras is near the Morganza levee, the highest in the United States, which for several days has been the scene of great anxiety. All along the line gangs have been working desperately. Armed guards have patrolled the dikes day and night.

Five Feet Go at Once.

“The dike broke half a mile south of the Texas & Pacific railroad depot, at Torras. Five feet of the bank went out all at once and in half an hour the gap had widened to 200 feet, while on each side the mud walls, soaked with rain and loosened from the long strain, were going with almost unexampled rapidity,

“Torras is a sort of junction point of three rivers, the Mississippi, the Red and the Atchafalaya. Ordinarily the Red flows into the Mississippi and the Atchafalaya finds its way into Gulf.

“For some days, however, the Mississippi waters have been flowing up into the estuary of the Red, through what is known as Old River, and down the Atchafalaya. The levees of the Atchafalaya have been unable to restrain the waters of that stream alone which unaided made two crevasses along the banks.

“The parishes that will be flooded and which include many of the most prosperous towns in Louisiana, include St. Mary, Iberia, Point Coupee, St. Landry, Ascension, Assumption, Lafourche, West Baton Rouge, Iberville, Terre Bonne and St. Martin.

Break Saves New Orleans.

“So serious was the situation considered that two weeks ago sixty volunteers from St. Mary parish, far to the south and bordering on the gulf of Mexico, and 200 from New Iberia, in practically the same latitude, went up to help hold back the floods….” (Daily Free Press, Carbondale, IL. “Break in Torras Levee Floods La.” 5-2-1912, p. 1.)

May 2-3: “New Orleans, La., May 2. – (AP) — The flood waters of the Mississippi made still further increases over the previous record stages from Natchez south during the 24 hours ending at 7 a. m. today. The crevasse of last evening at Torras may slightly relieve the situation south of the Red River, but already the Mississippi from there to a point 30 miles below New Orleans has within its banks more water than flood history ever before recorded and there is increased anxiety for the safety of the remaining levees in this district.

Wide Area Under Water.

“Already there are parts of thirteen Louisiana parishes under water, ranging from shallow pools to a depth of 22 feet, and sections of eight other parishes are likely to be inundated by the waters from the Torras crevasse.

“The federal government is supplying rations to approximately 90,000 homeless Louisiana people and if predictions as to the effects of the Torras crevasse are realized this number will be almost doubled within the next three weeks.

Three Lives Are Lost.

“Only three lives have been sacrificed to the flood waters in this state, so thoroughly prepared were the people to hustle out of the lowlands on receipt of news of a levee break, and two of these deaths, negro children, were due to carelessness.

“At Baton Rouge today the Mississippi river gauge registered 42.3 feet, almost two feet higher than ever before recorded. At Donaldsonville the stage was 33.5 feet and at New Orleans 20,7 feet….
Panic at Torras.

“Torras, La., May 2. – (AP) – Tossing about the streets like persons bereft of their reason, women screaming as they hurried into their homes and grabbed their children and what articles of clothing and valuables they could place their hands on, in their mad rush to reach places of safety, and the stampeding of animals turned loose by their owners to seek safer places, were some of the chaotic conditions that prevailed in Torras last night, when the alarm was sounded that the levee at the junction of [unclear three letter word] old and Mississippi rivers had given way to the mighty pressure of the flood waters.

“All hope of closing the Torras crevice was abandoned at 1 o’clock this afternoon. At that hour the crevice had widened to nearly 700 feet and was crumbling rapidly. An official conference of engineers gave it up.

“Although it had been known that several weak spots had developed where the break occurred, little attention had been paid by the citizens, and they were caught unprepared. Within a few minutes after the break had become known the townspeople were thrown into a panic which continued for two hours before any semblance of quiet was restored. Few thought of going toward the crevasse and make an effort to stop it, safety apparently being the only thought in their minds.

Spend Night on Levee.

“Before the streets were entirely submerged a majority of the inhabitants had sufficient time to reach places of safety. Three hundred women and children were placed aboard a freight train which had just arrived in Torras. These were taken to a point below here. Practically the remainder of the population spent the night on the levee along the embankment of the Texas & Pacific railroad and in the railroad station, which is out of reach of the flood, being built high on piling.

“No loss of life has been reported, but it is feared some fatalities may occur in the interior, as the water has been rushing through the country as rapidly as a mill race.

“Food supplies have been massed near Torras by the government in anticipation of a break here, and those in charge of the work are preparing to give relief to 40,000 people in this vicinity. Four hundred tents have been ordered from the war department and every available craft has been secured by the government to be sent out into the affected territory in getting the people and live stock out of the danger zone….

“New Roads, In Pointe Coupee parish, will be the first of the larger towns to be inundated. The town of Port Allen, across the river from Baton Rouge, will probably also feel the effects of the flood. The latest advices received last night from Lettsworth, eight miles below here, were that the town was being inundated. A number of other small towns directly south, including Blenvue, Smithland and Bachelor, also reported that everything would be under water within the next few hours….
Governor Goes to Torras.

“New Orleans, La., May 2. – (AP) – Governor Sanders of Louisiana, Captain Sherrill of the corps of government engineers stationed here and Major Frank M. Kerr, chief of the state engineers, together with a number of railroad officials left here last night for the scene of the crevasse in the levee at Torras. The object of the trip was to assist in the efforts being made to check the water now flowing through the break. According to advices received by Captain Sherrill the engineers in charge of the levee work in the bayou des Glaize and Atchafalaya districts are having great difficulties in holding the embankments. Twenty-five miles of levees in that district are said to be in grave danger of an overflow. Captain Sherrill notified the engineers to take all necessary action to hold the embankments and authorized the expenditure of $40,000 for material and labor.” (San Antonio Light, TX. “Flood Waters Continue to Rise Rapidly. Parts of 13 Louisiana Parishes Inundated…” 5-2-1912, p. 1.)

May 3: “Baton Rouge. La.. May 3 — With an ever-widening rent in the west levee line at Torras, letting the waters of the Mississippi through to the rich sugar lands of Point Coupe Parish; with the state’s big farm at Angola, on the east side of the river flooded by a crevasse at noon today, with weak spots in the Grand Bay embankment above Morganza and threatening conditions in Baton Rouge, and with a steady rain falling to soften the already strained levees, the situation in central Louisiana is the most desperate since the floods began pouring down through the Mississippi Valley.

“It became apparent early today that the Torras crevasse with its 12-hour start could not be stopped and the federal and state engineers turned from the constantly widening gap there to devote their labors to the almost hopeless task of saving remaining levees where even great damage might be done by crevasses.” (Atlanta Constitution. “Flood Smashes More Levees; Ruin Follows. Richest Portions of Louisiana Are Being Turned into a Vast Inland Sea.” 5-3-1912, 1.)

May 3: “New Orleans, La.. May 3. — Eight persons were drowned this afternoon when the Mississippi river levee at Morganza, La., broke, flooding the surrounding country.

“Exerting the tremendous strength against the walls of weakening dikes, the Mississippi’s angry torrent continued to menace the fertile acres and prosperous towns of middle Louisiana today.

“At noon the levee let go near Bayou Sara, a town on the east bank of the river. It is feared that by night the entire town will be inundated with water from four to fifteen feet deep.

“The front levee at Baton Rouge is expected to go out at any minute. Six hundred men are working on a protection levee at the south end of the town and another force is working almost hopelessly to save the Baton Rouge city waterworks plant and sewerage pumping station from overflow….

“New Roads, La., May 3. – The yellow waters of the Mississippi river today are sweeping through a thousand-foot breach in the levee at Torras, in an ever increasing torrent. It is difficult to estimate the financial loss which must come to the whole of one parish at least — Pointe Coupee — and parts of several others, but it is certain that it will run up high into the hundreds of thousands of dollars….” (Weekly Sentinel, Fort Wayne, IN. “Eight Drown as Levee Gives Way.” 5-8-1912, 7.)

May 4: “New Orleans. La.. May 4. – Flood conditions in the lower Mississippi valley continue today to grow worse. No one, not even those who have dealt with similar problems, will forecast the outcome of the passing of the greatest volume of water ever recorded in the great stream. At New Orleans today the former record was buried by almost a foot.

“The water at Torras. La., is pouring through the levee crevasse with an ever widening gap, another breach is threatened there….

“A telephone message from Lettsworth, early today said the town was deep under water and hundreds of persons in the surrounding country are marooned in their homes, in cotton gin houses and on housetops. Motor boats have been sent to Lettsworth for rescue work.

“A special train arrived at New Roads last night with several hundred refugees from the deluged country. Most of them were negro women and children.

Flood Victims Near Starvation.

“A relief expedition arrived at Bachelor, ten miles south of Torras last night with a large number of victims who were on the verge of starvation….

“Bayou Sara, where a break occurred yesterday, is today under water ten to 25 feet deep…

“Vicksburg, Miss., May 4. – There has been a great amount of suffering among the flood refugees of the Black river district in Louisiana. Reports reaching here say that of the hundreds of persons from the Black river country who have gone to the concentration camps at Harrisonburg, great numbers were at the point of starvation, and many were almost naked.” (Muscatine Journal, IA. “Flood Conditions Still Grow Worse.” 5-4-1912, 1.

May 4: “New Orleans, May 4….No other breaks occurred on the Mississippi today, but on the Bayou Des Glaize, in central Louisiana, where the great volume of flood water from the disastrous Dog Tail crevasse is hourly mounting higher, one break was reported in the levees. At Simmesport official reports to the engineers stated a serious crevasse was expected at any hour.

Thousands Desert Their Homes.

“On the Atchafalaya River, from Melville north, the levee situation became more threatening, and several thousand persons deserted their homes in that territory and are rapidly getting out their live stock and household goods.

“Water from the break at Torras has spread over the entire upper half of Pointe Coupee parish, and is slowly creeping upon towns farther south. One week more and the waters from that crevasse alone will cover all of Pointe Coupee parish, a part of West Baton Rouge parish, and sections of St Landry parish.

“The Torras crevasse then, will join its forces with the flood from the Atchafalaya, which already has overflowed a territory 25 to 30 miles wide and 60 miles in length….” (Washington Post. “Floods Held in Check…Danger has not yet Passed.” 5-5-1912, p. 1.)

May 5-6: “From Vicksburg Miss., south to New Orleans, the Mississippi river is from half a foot to two and a half feet above any previous flood record stage. An additional rise this week of approximately one foot from New Orleans north to Baton Rouge is predicted by the weather bureau. Soundings made by United States army engineers show that this record-breaking volume of water in the big river is moving at the rate of 8.1 feet per second, or approximately one mile per hour faster than ever before recorded in the Mississippi’s flood history.

“Danger points in the levees in Louisiana: Baton Rouge, Bonnet Carre, 35 miles north of New Orleans, Plaquemine, Scotts Landing, Cypress Hall and third district. New Orleans….

“New Orleans, La , May 6. — Large sections of fifteen Louisiana parishes west of the Mississippi river are under water, four other parishes have some flood water and are bound to get more this week, approximately one hundred thousand persons in that territory have been driven from their homes, trains are taking out hundreds of families daily, fleets of motor-boats and skiffs are being used to rescue marooned people, about a dozen lived all told have been sacrificed, principally because the people refused to heed the warnings; several hundred thousand dollars worth of rations have been distributed among the refugees, who are sheltered in all manner of houses from cabins to churches and lodge buildings.

“Every day brings stories of suffering and of heroic rescues, of new sections inundated by the waters from the crevasses already recorded in the levees of the Mississippi river. The funds that will be required to take care of the flood victims for yet other weeks, many of them for months perhaps, cannot be expressed in a few hundred thousands of dollars.

Pathetic Picture and Big Problems.

“It is a pathetic picture and presents a big problem which Louisiana and Mississippi, ably and generously assisted by the federal government, are giving their sympathetic efforts in grappling with. But withal the still bigger question of protecting the remaining levees along the Mississippi river from the mouth of the Red river south is causing deeper concern for the moment. Millions of dollars’ worth of property is at stake and thousands of lives would be jeopardized if some of the biggest of the levees should give way.

“Federal engineers, state and parish officials and an army of men scattered along the river from a point 60 miles below New Orleans to the Red river are bending every energy to prove themselves equal to the task which they shoulder.

“Reports today were more reassuring than on yesterday, and the federal and state engineers declared they had firm faith in their ability to hold every remaining levee on the Mississippi. But
the danger is not past by any means. Lack of labor, due largely to the unconcern of negroes who have been drawing government rations, has been the most serious drawback. Stringent tactics have been forced upon the officials…convicts are working, in some instances day and night, on the weak stretches of the Mississippi levees from the Red river Junction to the mouth of the river, and hundreds of others are laboring equally hard to hold the levees along the Bayou des Glaize. If a break occurs, however in the front Mississippi levee at Baton Rouge, the engineers hope to confine the damage to a small section of the city.

“There is alarm among some of the residents of New Orleans, though the dally reassuring statements of the city officials and levee board engineers have been accepted at face value by others, who feel not the slightest apprehension.

“Extreme precautions have been taken to meet any emergency, and at points all along the river barges and flat cars are loaded with timber, sand sacks, wheelbarrows, shovels and other material necessary in stopping wash holes, arresting crayfish and muskrat depredations and closing small breaks and threatened crevasses of every description.

Situation in New Orleans

“At New Orleans the railroads whose lines pierce the protection levees above the city were ordered to place pile-drivers and all necessary material right at the gaps and keep ready at all hours sufficient laborers to close the levees in event of a break in the Mississippi levees at any point north of New Orleans. The protecting levees extend from the Mississippi river back toward Lake Pontchartrain and would prevent any serious damage to New Orleans in event of a crevasse further up the stream.

“In the “third district” of New Orleans the situation is still grave, and a thousand laborers worked all day long today filling in dirt between the levees and the revetments. The water is over the dock at Esplanade street, and the rear of the Southern Pacific transfer station there is 18 inches deep in water. Sacks of sand are piled on top of the levee at that point, and dirt has been banked along the rear of the big steel wharves from Canal street down to Esplanade.

“At Flood street there is considerable seepage, and crayfish holes have given the engineers considerable trouble. Work continued tonight, and armed guards patrolled the levees at all weak
points in the city.

“Water from the break at Torras reached Morganza tonight, but nearly all of the women and children have been removed to places of safety. The depth of this water will reach there at a time only to be conjectured. No break in the Morganza levee is feared, as all weak places have been repaired and watchmen are constantly on the alert.

Outlook Not Encouraging.

“A heavy rain extending over the southern portion of the state began shortly after 3 o’clock this afternoon and the outlook was regarded as anything but encouraging by the engineers who are making a heroic fight against the constantly rising stages that have already eclipsed former flood records by as much as two feet at places.

“The fight to hold the levees in the Baton Rouge territory became more desperate because of the coming rise in the river and heavy rains. The levees were dotted with gangs of workmen. For miles and miles on both sides of the river whites and blacks are working to strengthen the embankments threatening to give-way.

To Get Labor By Force.

“The following telegram was received at United States engineer’s office here this afternoon:

“Melville, La., May 5. – Continued rise in river, incessant rains and scarcity of labor render situation here extremely grave. Persons affected by any breaks that might occur in the Atchafalaya and Bayou Des Glaizes levies should be warned of probable overflow.
H. S DOUGLAS, U. S. Assistant Engineer.”

“Captain C. O. Sherrill, engineer in charge of the office here, said that he had made every effort to secure labor at Melville and Natchez. but so far there had been little response; that quarter-boats and supplies sufficient to accommodate 500 laborers were in the Atchafalaya section, but his assistants were unable to secure laborers to man them.

“A long distance message from Baton Rouge this afternoon stated that Governor J. T. Sanders had instructed officers in command of the national guard to secure the 600 laborers needed by the United States engineers in the Atchafalaya district, and “get them if it takes every soldier you’ve got to do it.”
“No Work. No Rations.”

“”No work, no rations,” was the mandate to the hundreds of able-bodied negro refugees receiving free food from the government, issued today by Lieutenant W. B. Holliday, in charge of the supply depot at Natchez, when advised of the difficulties the engineers are experiencing in getting labor. It was feared that a ten-mile stretch of the levee in the Bayou des Glaize section would be lost because of the lack of labor. Assistant Engineer H.S. Douglas sent the steamer La Fourche and two barges to Assistant Engineer E. B. Gettys, at Natchez, with instructions to pick up all the idle laborers available. Mr. Gettys reported that only six men were secured. The matter was referred to the engineer headquarters here with an appeal for assistance….” (Atlanta Constitution. “Higher and Ever Higher Creeps the Flood in the Big River.” 5-6-1912, pp. 1-2.)

May 6: “Baton Rouge, La., May 6. — The fight to hold the levees against the increasing river stages became more desperate here this afternoon because of a heavy rain….All the labor for many miles back from the river has been concentrated on the levees.

“The possibility of serious loss of life in the Atchafalaya territory in the path of the oncoming Torras flood has aroused the army officers here to unusual activity. There has already been some loss of life, all negroes. In spite of the warnings of the federal authorities and runners sent through the threatened districts, many refused to leave their homes until the water was right in their front yards, and in five instances they were too late. Many persons are perched on the roofs of their submerged cabins patiently waiting to be rescued.

Fleet of Rescue Vessels.

“A fleet of rescue vessels will be started out tomorrow to join the fourteen boats already in the Atchafalaya territory. The government boat Major left today for Batchelor with supplies. Captain Logan, in charge of the relief and rescue work, is now being assisted by additional officers who arrived today. Sergeants have been sent to Morgan City, Martinsville, Port Barre, St. Martinsville, Plaquemine, Beaux Bridge, Laureauville [Loreauville?] and Lafayette. Captain Bennett, of the Philippine Scouts, has established headquarters at Opelousas, while Lieutenant Weeks is in charge of a station at Batchelor.

“The work of rescue has been going on all day, and the refugees arriving here tell of narrow escapes from drowning. One man waited until the water reached his yard, because he thought he had time to get some of his possessions together. Before he could get his clothes together the flood floated his house away, and on this raft he managed to get to a railroad embankment, where he was picked up. Nearly a thousand refugees have arrived here, and the condition of the children, and especially the babies, is particularly distressing because of the scarcity of milk.

Mother Fled With Babes.

“All the Sunday schools were dismissed today, the children being instructed to make a thorough canvass for milk and take it to the supply depots for distribution.

“One mother arrived here with five children, the youngest of which was 4 months old and wrapped in a towel. She said she did not know where her husband was. He had gone to drive off the live stock, but the water rose so fast about her house that she was forced to flee with her little ones. She said she had not seen him since.

“Governor J. Y. Sanders today ordered Major Allison Owen, in command of the Louisiana troops at Natchez to take the 500 Louisiana negro refugees at Natchez, put them on boats and take them to New Roads to assist in holding the protection levees in that territory. The governor ordered that the troops be used to force the negroes to work, if necessary.

“The transfer boat, William Edenborn, running between Angola and Naples, was caught by the swift current in Old river this morning, crashed into the Texas and Pacific bridge pier and sank with its cargo of loaded freight cars. The crew of twelve escaped

Men Work Night and Day to Build Emergency Levee

“Vicksburg,, Miss., May 5. — Five hundred men and three hundred teams are working night and day on an emergency levee at Fitlers Landing, Miss., 60 miles north of Vicksburg, where the main levee has shown signs of weakness. The emergency levee will be 1,000 feet long, and is expected to be completed by Wednesday. Despite rains and high winds today, the main levee was holding well tonight….” (Atlanta Constitution. “Desperate Fight to Hold the Levees.” 5-6-1912, p. 2.)

May 6: “New Orleans, La,, May 6. – Thirty persons were drowned in the interior of Point Coupee Parish today when water from the break in the Mississippi levee rushed into the district without the slightest warning. Survivors reported that 12 bodies have been recovered and that, the dead list may reach fifty. Loss of property and destruction of crops will be enormous.

“Mellville, La., May 6. — The Mississippi river levees broke five miles above Mellville at one o’clock today. The gap ii fifty feet wide and still spreading. The surrounding country will be flooded for four miles.” (Kane Daily Republican, PA. “Thirty Lives Lost in Flood.” 5-6-1912, 1.)

May 6: “New Roads, La., May 6. – With the steady arrival here of refugees from the country inundated by the crevasse in the Mississippi-levee at Torras many stories of loss of life are being told. That a large number have perished is believed to be certain, but it is impossible to confirm all these reports owing to the remoteness and inaccessibility of the country from which they have come.

“Some of the sufferers reaching here today told of a score or more of persons drowned in localities from which they themselves had been rescued after thrilling experiences.

“The property damage will run high into the millions of dollars.

“Appeals for immediate assistance reached here late last night from the little town of Lettsworth, directly in the path of the Torras torrent. Half a hundred persons were reported to be in imminent danger of being drowned. The house in which they had taken shelter had been dislodged from its foundation and was being tossed about in the current. There are at least 1,000 people who remain to be rescued from the inundated country west of Lettsworth and Batchelor. Some of them are reported to be drifting about on hastily constructed rafts.

“The crevasse water is spreading at a rapid rate, inundating sections of Point Coupes parish which have never before been reached by overflows. Town after town and farm after farm is being buried beneath muddy waters and today it is estimated that three-fourths of the parish is under water ranging from a depth of 1 to 15 feet. Every station on the Texas and Pacific railroad between Innis and Morganza, a distance of 15 miles, is flooded, and to the west of here the water
is rapidly spreading.

“The last of the special trains which have been engaged in bringing refugees out of the country around Batchelor arrived here last night. When the two relief trains were about ready to leave there word was received that there was grave danger of them being cut off by a threatened washout in the tracks several miles east of that place. When the first train arrived at the point of trouble the water was flowing over the tracks for a distance of 5 miles. The first train passed over
in safety. By the time the second section arrived the water was rushing over the embankment about 2 feet deep. An attempt was made to reach this side, but when about half-way across the track gave way and the caboose and. three cars were toppled over….Occupants of the derailed cars were thrown into the water, but escaped without injury. They were transferred to other cars and brought on to New Roads.

“When the first section of the relief special sped through the crevasse water was running over the tracks just north of Morganza, scores of people were seen standing waist-deep in water near the railroad embankment signaling the train to stop. The water was rising so rapidly that those in charge of the train decided that it would imperil the lives of all those on board to delay and they were left behind….

“The gap at the Torras break is reported this morning to be 1,400 feet wide….

Situation More Desperate in Pointe Coupee Parish”

“Bachelor, La., May 6. — The situation in Pointe Coupee parish is hourly growing more desperate. Every hour marks the further steady progress of the Torras crevasse waters southward, and they, now threaten the early inundation of every section of the parish. This morning the water is rushing into the outskirts of Morganza, ten miles north of New Roads, and engineers here are of the opinion that the water will go beyond the latter place.

“Today the alarm is being sent broadcast to the people in southern Pointe Coupee and in Saint Landry parishes to gather together their live stock and flee to places of safety. A fleet of motorboats will continue the rescue work in the territory around Bachelor and then will move southward to save human life in the more recently inundated sections.

“In the Anlanche swamps a relief party found many negroes and whites marooned in cabins and on high knolls of earth and they were removed to safe places along the levees, where later they will be taken off by steamers and transported to Baton Rouge. The rescue work is made dangerous and difficult by the swiftness of the current and at times the little motorboats used are almost swamped.

“Thousands of carcasses of cattle are floating in every direction. Hundreds of lives are still endangered and suffering and scenes of near-starvation are beyond description.

“The last relief train went out of Bachelor last night and today the entire northern half of Pointe Coupee parish is cut off from the outside world so far as rail transportation is concerned.” (Atlanta Constitution. “Heavy Loss of Life Reported by Fugitives from Flood.” 5-7-1912, p. 20.)

May 6: “By United Press. Nee Orleans, May 6 – Thirty persons were drowned at an interior point in Coupee parish early today when a levee broke and swept the district without the slightest warning.

“Survivors report that 12 bodies were recovered, and that the death list may reach fifty. The people were caught entirely unawares. The place was several miles from either telephone or telegraph. Boats have been sent out to pick up additional survivors.

“Motor boats sent out from various points picked up survivors, who told of the loss of life. They were directed to many points. Four survivors said entire families are marooned on house-tops, but the rescuers found no trace of them and the people are supposed to have been swept away.

“Government officials have been notified that at least 1,000 persons were rescued yesterday.

“A train passing through Morganza could not stop, owing to the rapid rise of the waters. People were standing waist deep at the station and the train was forced to pull out, leaving them there.

“2 p.m. – Just after noon the levee broke five miles above Melville, flooding the surrounding country. Immense damage will be done. The gap is sixty feet wide and spreading.” (Decaturs Daily, AL. “Frightful Loss of Life Results From Levee Break Today.” 5-6-1912, p. 1.

May 7: “Baton Rouge, La., May 7. – Seventeen lives are known to have been lost in the Torras crevasse in the Mississippi levee. Three were drowned today on Bayou Latenache when a raft on which a white farmer, his wife and two daughters were endeavoring to reach high ground was broken to pieces by the swift current from the break. The man was the only one rescued.

“Fourteen negroes lost their lives in the Lettsworth neighborhood….” (Cedar Rapids Republican, IA. “Death Toll of Flood Raised.” 5-8-1912, p. 1.)

May 7: “New Orleans, La., May 7. – Twenty-five persons are reported to have been drowned at Point Coupee when the levee gave way before the flood-swollen Mississippi. Several bodies have been recovered.
Loss May Total Millions

“The Torras crevasse has developed into a great disaster. Many lives undoubtedly have been lost, while property damage will run high up into the millions.

“What the exact loss of life has been is not known, and never will be known. That a large number have perished is certain, but it is impossible to secure names or details. Stories were told about a score or more of people having been drowned in the crevasse water in remote and inaccessible sections of the inundated district, but the localities were not reached by the rescue parties, and confirmation of the reports could not be obtained.

Motor Boats Rescue Many.

“The motor boat fleet engaged in rescue operations is small, and the boatmen were kept so busy that they did not have time to go to the places where the loss of life was reported to have occurred to investigate. The boatmen worked all night in their endeavors to save human life and only the necessity for sleep and rest caused them to cease work. Couriers brought in reports of people marooned in houses. As fast as one family was rescued the boats went after others and the launces were worked to the limit. Information was received from Lettsworth that fifty persons were crowded into one house west of that place and were in imminent danger of being drowned. The house had been washed off its foundations and was floating around in the water.

Ring Bells to Attract Boats.

“A courier brought in another message that a score of persons were huddled together on top of a barn several miles west of Batchelor, but there were not enough boats available to reach them. They were ringing bells and shouting and making all sorts of noise to attract the attention of rescue parties. The property loss will reach enormous figures. Hundreds of people have not only lost their crops, but thousands of farm animals have been drowned….” (Oelwein Daily Register, IA. “Perish In Flood.” 5-7-1912, p. 1.)

May 7: “New Orleans, La., May 7. – Eighteen persons, sixteen of them negroes, engaged in rescue work or already rescued, were drowned in three accidents tonight. Near Torras, a motor boat containing fourteen negroes capsized and all were swept away by the swift current. The boat struck a barge on which were two other negroes. It also capsized, drowning them.

“At Baton Rouge tonight two white men met death by the overturning of a motor boat in the rushing waters.” (Bradford Era, PA. “Flood Victims. Sixteen Colored Men and Two Whites Were Drowned.” 5-8-1912, p. 2.)

May 8: “New Orleans, La., May 8 – Fighting against time and the rushing flood waters of the Mississippi River, scores of relief parties today succeeded in bringing in refugees by the hundreds to the different points between Baton Rouge and Natchez, still above the water. Many lives have been lost to northeast Louisiana. Nearly every incoming boat is loaded, mostly with women and children…” (Washington Post, DC. “Flood Toll Piles Up.” 5-9-1912, p. 1.)

May 8: “….“Nearly every incoming boat is loaded, mostly with women and children….It is estimated that more than 150,000 persons are in the concentration camps.

Entire Family Lost.

“Stories of dwellings and cabins being swept away with their occupants are told every day, while today a farmer coming into New Roads told of an entire negro family, the father excepted, being swept away with their cabin. A negro baby was swept from its mother’s lap and drowned when the water rushed through the front door….

Situation in New Orleans

“….There is more water banked up against the levees protecting the city than ever before in its history, but both the United States and state engineers declare there is not the slightest danger of a break here….

“Captain Wood, of the battleship Nebraska, which is now at Bayou Sara, received instructions yesterday from the navy department at Washington ordering him to give every possible aid to the flood sufferers. Launches from the battleship will be sent out into the flooded country today to assist in the rescue work.

Hundreds Marooned in Flooded District.

“New Roads, La., May 8. – With the water from the Torras crevasse running into this place tonight, fully three-fourths of Point Coupee parish is under water and is rapidly spreading.

“Today has been a great day with the rescuers at New Roads. More than 1,000 persons, made destitute and homeless, have passed through this place today on their way to the several concentration camps. Probably 250 of those rescued were whites. Many were taken from housetops after long exposure and they were in a pitiable condition. Many had to have medical attention upon their arrival. In the confusion of handling so many people, members of families have become separated. All the rescued and hundreds of head of stock have been carried to the depots free of charge by the Texas and Pacific.

“Hundreds are yet in the inundated country awaiting to be rescued, and the work will continue as rapidly as disabled motor boats and wheezy motors will permit….

“A force of workmen was rushed to Lacour, 8 miles north of Morganza, today, where reports indicate the levee is in bad shape. One report states that the cray fish holes are so large that fish are coming through them….

“At Cowhead Bayou houses are being washed away and large trees uprooted, so swift is the current. Scores of refugees are reported isolated on the remaining levees along that stream patiently and hopefully awaiting to be picked up by rescue boats. Families brought in from that section are numerous, many with from eight to twelve little ones….” (Atlanta Constitution. “150,000 Persons in Sore Distress Because of Flood.” 5-9-1912, p. 1.)

May 9: “New Orleans, May 9. – Thousands of acres were added to the flooded regions of Louisiana when the levee at St. Sophia, forty miles above New Orleans, broke Tuesday. The country over which the water is spreading has always been regarded as absolutely safe from floods. The desperate fight for control of the situation goes on, with reports coming in of heavy loss of life and great property damage.

“Sixty persons have lost their lives in the Torras region alone, and it is feared that when reports come if from the remote sections that the number will be much larger. The total area of devastation to date is 4,590 square miles. One hundred and five thousand people are homeless in the section from Rosedale, Miss., to Natchez, and from Arkansas City to the Rod river, and absolutely dependent upon the government for rations. These figures exclude the greatest flood center – that from Torras, La., south.” (Postville Review, IA. “Flood Toll Grows.” 5-17-1912, p. 6.)

May 10: “New Orleans, May 10. – With the Mississippi river and its tributaries still rising and not yet at flood crest, and five new gaps in the levees since Wednesday night, the flood situation is growing worst hourly.

“At Torras 1,400 feet of levee went out, widening the crevasse to 3,000 feet and sending a great flood of water through the already inundated parishes of Pointe Coupee and St. Landry and reaching as far as new Roads.

“New Roads has been abandoned by nearly all its inhabitants, only a few persons remaining in the town. The population is dense in this vicinity and it is feared that the loss of life on the river side of the town has been heavy.

“Two breaks occurred at Moreauville and one near Longbridge in the Bayou Des Glaizes levees. Half of Moreauville is under water. Fifty per cent of the sugar crop in this action has already been ruined….” (Urbana Courier-Herald, IL. “Looters Add to Horror of Floods.” 5-10-1912, p. 1.)

May 12: “New Orleans, May 12. – Another day of sunshine in New Orleans and throughout southern Louisiana today cheered more and more the hearts of those who are concerned over the high flood stages of the Mississippi river. State and federal engineers announced that the few reports received today from points north of New Orleans where gangs are repairing and strengthening the levees, were encouraging….A fall of two-tenths of a foot in the Mississippi river at New Orleans was recorded in the twenty-four hours ending at 7 o’clock tonight, the gauge registering 21.3.” (Atlanta Constitution. “Sunshine Aids in Flood Fight.” 5-13-1912, p. 8.)

May 13: “Today’s 8 o’clock bulletin shows a fall throughout the whole Mississippi system with the exception of the upper Missouri and the upper Arkansas….

“In the lower Yazoo and Sunflower basins the water is now on a stand-still and is expected to begin receding shortly. In lower Washington, and the country around Silver City, however, the water is slightly receding.

“New Roads, La., May 13. – The Torras crevasse water today is rapidly spreading ruin and devastation over fields and towns of the thickly settle country south of here. Plantation after plantation, some of them the largest and richest sugar cane producing fields on the west bank of the Mississippi, are covered by muddy water. Towns and villages are being rapidly inundated. In some instances, the water is rising at the rate of an inch an hour. The flood has reached the outskirts of Port Allan, opposite Baton Rouge. Evansville today reported fourteen feet of water in that town. A hundred and fifty persons are said to be marooned there….” (Daily Democrat, Greenville, MS. “Fertile Sugar Country Scene of Devastation.” 5-13-1912, p. 1.

May 14: “Today’s report shows a marked increase in the rate of fall in the upper river and tributaries, with the exception of the Ohio at Pittsburg. This would indicate that the flood is beginning rapidly to recede and would promise the beginning of a marked fall locally within the next ten days. We would get the Cairo fall earlier than that, but this will in some measure be counteracted by the rise in the Arkansas river. This rise will serve to check the rate of all at Arkansas City, but will hardly produce a rise at that point, or south. The fall on the local gauge continues slight, but it has slowly brought the flood water in front of the city below danger stage, as the water is now about on a level with Main street….

“Moreauville, La., May 14. – With the west bank of the Bayou Des Glaises still crumbling before the swift water of that stream, the entire levee from Voorhes [Voorhies?] to Long Bridge, a distance of twelve miles, is carried away. Many fine farms and growing crops are ruined by water from the wide breach. Considerable damage has been done in Moreauville. A number of buildings were demolished by the break in the bayou in front of town.” (Daily Democrat, Greenville, MS. “Break at Moreauville Now Twelve Miles Wide.” 5-14-1912, p. 1.)

May 16: “(By United Press.) New Orleans, May 16. Every effort is being made to rescue the 5,000 or more persons directly in the path of the waters which are pouring through the Hymelia crevasse. The crevasse is now one thousand feet wide, but the engineers hope to stop the widening of the break by noon. The United States engineers are co-operating with the state forces in repairing the break but the state will have to pay the bill. The preliminary work will cost two hundred thousand dollars.

“The town of Killona [LA] and twenty-five others of considerable size are deserted and the water is standing in the streets.

“Government reports show that 14,000 flood sufferers are now being fed daily.” (Daily Herald, Biloxi, MS. “5,000 Live in Path of Waters.” 5-16-1912, p. 1.)

May 17: “The flood situation in Louisiana is more distressing that at any time since the water of the Mississippi began to rise. Appeals for boats are coming into New Orleans and other points from every direction, much faster than they can be responded to. How many lives have been lost cannot even be estimated, but the dead will number at least several hundred.” (Le Mars Sentinel, IA. “Important News Notes of a Week.” 5-17-1912, p. 3.)

May 18: “Seventeen lives are known to have been lost in the Torras crevasse in the Mississippi levee.” (Fair Play, Sainte Genevieve, MO. “Around the World.” 5-18-11912, p. 1.)

May 18: “Natchez, Miss., May 18. – More than 29,000 people in the Natchez and the Black and Tensas rivers district have been made homeless by the flood and have been under the care of the government here since April 19.

“Twelve thousand refugees are being cared for in the Natchez district and are now receiving rations and supplies from the government.

“Seventeen thousand refugees in the Black and Tensas rivers district are receiving supplies at distributing stations in that section and will continue to do so until the river recedes and they are able to go back to their homes and plant their crops. This territory has been covered with water for several weeks.

“From the Natchez station there have been 500,000 rations issued to refugees and in addition to this amount there have been 150,000 rations sent out to the Tensas and Black rivers country from Monroe, La.

“This vast amount of supplies does not include the supplies given out by the local relief committee and the associated charities.

“Back water at Ferriday, Newellton and Clayton is said to be falling several inches daily. These towns have been under from five to ten feet of water for over three weeks.

“At Vidalia the back water is on a standstill with a depth of over three feet in the highest parts of the town. A fall is expected there within twenty-four hours, should the weather remain clear.

“The river gauge here reads 50.4, a fall of .1 in twenty-four hours. The levees in the district are reported as being in good condition and are now almost sure to keep intact.” (Quincy Journal, IL. “Thousands Are Made Homeless.” 5-18-1912, p. 1.)

May 22: “National News Assn. Telegram – New Orleans, May 22. – The flood area in the lower Mississippi Valley increases daily as fresh breaks in the government levees appear and the loss of life will never be known. The government rations sent for the relief of the refugees who have been driven from their homes with only the clothes they wore will soon be exhausted and the business organizations will then have to provide more.

“At Melville today the water is seven feet deep in the streets. At Beulah, Miss., a new crevice has extended the flood district over an area containing fifty thousand people. The residents of Plaucheville, La., today were compelled to abandon their homes.” (Centralia Evening Sentinel, IL. “Flood Area Increasing.” 5-22-1912, p. 1.)

May 23: “New Orleans, May 23. – Caring for the thousands of homeless people is the burning question of the hour since the devastation of the Mississippi flood seems to be on the decline. More than $100,000,000 in cash and a still larger amount in clothing and supplies have already been devoted to the sufferers and a half million dollars more is in sight for immediate relief.

“The United States relief corps and local relief committees have been very prompt in dispatching food and medicine supplies. Local relief committees are caring for such as need other care than that of mere food for the army relief corps is daily feeding 140,000 of the 170,000 left homeless by the floods.

“People all over the hills and in towns have thrown open their doors to the homeless and their pastures to the flocks….” (Joplin News Herald, MO. “Homeless People Are Problem Now.” 5-23-1912, p. 2.)

May 30: “Vicksburg, Miss.—Gradual restoration to conditions resembling normal is following the receding of the flood in the lower Mississippi valley. The relief camps at Hickman, Ky., maintained for more than a month, and at Memphis and Helena, Ark., were closed.” (Sullivan News, MO. “River Floods Nearly Over.”5-30-1912, p. 6.)

Sources

Atlanta Constitution. “150,000 Persons in Sore Distress Because of Flood.” 5-9-1912, 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=5343206

Atlanta Constitution. “Desperate Fight to Hold the Levees.” 5-6-1912, p. 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=5343122

Atlanta Constitution. “Heavy Loss of Life Reported by Fugitives from Flood.” 5-7-1912, p. 20. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=5343185

Atlanta Constitution. “Higher and Ever Higher Creeps the Flood in the Big River.” 5-6-1912, 1.
Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=5343113

Atlanta Constitution. “Sunshine Aids in Flood Fight.” 5-13-1912, 8. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=5343582

Baltimore Sun, MD. “Three Levees Breached.” 4-7-1912, p. 1. Accessed 4-25-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/baltimore-sun-apr-07-1912-p-2/

Bradford Era, PA. “Flood Victims. Sixteen Colored Men and Two Whites Were Drowned.” 5-8-1912, p. 2. Accessed 4-24-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/bradford-era-may-08-1912-p-2/

Brown, Robert M. The Mississippi River Flood of 1912. Bulletin of the American Geographical Society, Vol. 44. Accessed 4-22-2020 at: https://archive.org/stream/jstor-200812/200812_djvu.txt

Cedar Rapids Republican, IA. “Death Toll of Flood Raised.” 5-8-1912, p. 1. Accessed 4-24-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/cedar-rapids-republican-may-08-1912-p-1/

Centralia Evening Sentinel, IL. “Flood Area Increasing.” 5-22-1912, p. 1. Accessed 4-23-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/centralia-evening-sentinel-may-22-1912-p-1/

Chicago Daily News Almanac and Year Book for 1913, Vol. 29. Chicago: Chicago Daily News Company, 1912. Digitized by Google. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=n2MTAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Daily Democrat, Greenville, MS. “Break at Moreauville Now Twelve Miles Wide.” 5-14-1912, p. 1. Accessed 4-23-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/greenville-daily-democrat-may-14-1912-p-1/

Daily Democrat, Greenville, MS. “Fertile Sugar Country Scene of Devastation.” 5-13-1912, p. 1. Accessed 4-23-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/greenville-daily-democrat-may-13-1912-p-1/

Daily Free Press, Carbondale, IL. “Break in Torras Levee Floods La.” 5-2-1912, p. 1. Accessed at: https://newspaperarchive.com/

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Daily Review, IL. “Towns Cut Off.” 4-1-1912, p. 1. Accessed 4-25-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/decatur-daily-review-apr-01-1912-p-1/

Decaturs Daily, AL. “Frightful Loss of Life Results From Levee Break Today.” 5-6-1912, p. 1. Accessed 4-24-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/decatur-daily-may-06-1912-p-1/

Defiance Democrat, OH. “Thirty Dead and Thirty Thousand Without Homes.” 4-10-1912, p. 1. Accessed 4-25-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/defiance-democrat-apr-10-1912-p-1/

Estherville Democrat, IA. “Storms and Floods Since 1421,” 10-6-1926, p. 12. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=136807264

Fair Play, Sainte Genevieve, MO. “Around the World.” 5-18-1912, p. 1. Accessed 4-23-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/sainte-genevieve-fair-play-may-18-1912-p-1/

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Quincy Journal, IL. “Thousands Are Made Homeless.” 5-18-1912, p. 1. Accessed 4-23-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/quincy-journal-may-18-1912-p-1/

Republican-Atlas, Monmouth, IL. “200 Die in Big Flood.” 4-25-1912, p. 4. Accessed 4-24-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/monmouth-republican-atlas-apr-25-1912-p-4/

Republican-Atlas, Monmouth, IL. “Death Toll 300.” 4-25-1912, p. 4. Accessed 4-24-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/monmouth-republican-atlas-apr-25-1912-p-4/

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https://books.google.com/books?id=gCkKAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

The Tribune, Wakarusa, IN. “1,000 Battle With Flood.” 5-2-1912, p. 2. Accessed 4-24-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/wakarusa-tribune-may-02-1912-p-2/

Times Enterprise, Albert Lea, MN. “Floods Become More Menacing…Death List Reaches Eight.” 4-10-1912, p. 1. Accessed 4-25-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/albert-lea-times-enterprise-apr-10-1912-p-7/

Titusville Morning Herald, PA. “Another Levee Breaks.” 4-13-1912, p. 1. Accessed 4-24-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/titusville-herald-apr-13-1912-p-1/

Titusville Morning Herald, PA. “Flood on the Upper Missouri Subsiding.” 4-3-1912, p. 1. Accessed 4-25-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/titusville-herald-apr-03-1912-p-1/

Titusville Morning Herald, PA. “Snow Has Improved Flood at Pittsburgh.” 4-3-1912, p. 1. Accessed 4-25-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/titusville-herald-apr-03-1912-p-1/

Upper Des Moines-Republican, Algona, IA. “Family Drowned in Flood.” 4-17-1912, p. 1. Accessed 4-24-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/algona-upper-des-moines-apr-17-1912-p-3/

Urbana Courier-Herald, IL. “Looters Add to Horror of Floods.” 5-10-1912, p. 1. Accessed 4-24-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/urbana-daily-courier-may-10-1912-p-1/

Washington Post, DC. “500 Dead By Floods….Breaks in Levees” 4-24-1912, p. 1. Accessed 4-24-2020 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/washington-post-apr-24-1912-p-1/

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Wikipedia. “Torras, Louisiana.” 8-23-2018 edit. Accessed 4-24-2020 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torras,_Louisiana

1912 – late Mar-May, Flooding/levee failures/boats capsize, esp. MS River, esp. LA, MS– ~200